Date Legislation considered: 3 July 2025
Date Legislation in force: 6 November 2025 (subject to regulation 1(3).
Relevant Withdrawal Agreement/EEA EFTA Separation Agreement Right(s): Residence
What does the legislation do?
The draft Social Security (Cross-border Provision, Case Transfer and Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2025 (“the 2025 Regulations) amend the Child Disability Payment, Adult Disability Payment, Pension Age Disability Payment, Carer Support Payment and Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance regulations.
The majority of the changes are not relevant for the purposes of this report, however the Scottish Government have taken the opportunity in the 2025 Regulations to make amendments to the Welfare Foods (Best Start Foods) Amendment Regulations 2023 (“Best Start Foods Regulations”) and the Early Years Assistance (Best Start Grants) (Scotland) Regulations 2018 (“Best Start Grants Regulations”) in response to previous concerns raised by the IMA. A summary of this work has been published on our website here and the legislation monitoring report identifying the issue with The Best Start Foods Regulations 2023 can be found here.
Regulations 4 and 5 of the 2025 Regulations make amendments to the Best Start Foods Regulations and the Best Start Grants Regulations to make clear that applicants to the EU settlement scheme (“EUSS”) and joining family members in the first three months of residence are entitled to apply for the benefits. This is currently provided for by direct effect of the Withdrawal Agreements. The Best Start Grant Regulations also revoke references to redundant EU law.
Comments
The IMA welcomes the amendments to clarify entitlement to Best Start Foods and Best Start Grant for applicants to the EUSS and joining family members and raises no issues of concern , however any citizen experiencing difficulties in exercising their rights is encouraged to report a complaint through the IMA Portal.
Further information about the IMA and guidance on how to report complaints can also be found on the Website.