The Scottish Child Payment Amendment Regulations 2021

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Scottish Child Payment Regulations 2020 (S.S.I. 2020/351) (“the principal Regulations”).

The principal Regulations make provision about a Scottish child payment, a type of assistance to be given by the Scottish Ministers under section 79 of the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018. These Regulations amend regulations 15 and 21 of the principal Regulations.

Regulation 3 substitutes regulation 15 of the principal Regulations. The substituted regulation 15(1) provides that an award made in error or a nil award is not to be regarded as a kind of assistance specified in regulation 14 of the principal Regulations for the purposes of entitlement to a Scottish child payment. Substituted regulation 15(2) provides that any deduction from the sum awarded to an individual in respect of a liability or by way of a sanction is to be disregarded for the purposes of paragraph (1)(b). Where an individual has a nil award as a result of such a deduction, the individual is therefore to be regarded as having been awarded that kind of assistance for the purposes of regulation 18(f) of the principal Regulations.

Regulation 4 amends regulation 21 of the principal Regulations, to allow the first payment date of an award of a Scottish child payment in respect of a child to be aligned with the next payment date of any other award of a Scottish child payment that may be due to the individual in respect of another child.

No business and regulatory impact assessment has been prepared for these Regulations as no impact upon business, charities or voluntary bodies is foreseen.