Please note that information about some of these changes may be limited at present and also subject to further change. Although some will happen quickly, others may be introduced gradually over several years.
If you are worried about how you may be affected you should discuss this with a benefits adviser. You can use our Find an Adviser tool to find one in your area.
2020
From 2020, Disability Benefits in Scotland will be changing. The Scottish government will take over responsibility for DLA for children, PIP and Attendance Allowance.
People who are already receiving these benefits will carry on getting them, but new claims will be claims for the Scottish equivalent of these benefits.
The Scottish government plans to make some changes to how decisions are made on these benefits – they want to reduce the number of assessments and make decisions on medical evidence where they can.
This will only affect people who live in Scotland.
April 2020
Benefit freeze ending?
The freeze which has kept most working age benefits at the same level for the past four years, is due to come to an end in April 2020, unless the government decide to renew it.
National Minimum Wage Increase
The National Living Wage (for workers aged 25 and over) will increase by 6.2% to £8.72 per hour. The National Minimum wage increases to £8.20 per hour for 21-24 year olds, £6.45 per hour for 18-20 year olds and £4.55 for under 18s. The National Minimum Wage rate for apprentices rises to £4.15 per hour. There is more information about the National Minimum Wage on the Gov.uk website.
Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay
The government will introduce a new legal entitlement to two weeks’ leave for employees who suffer the death of a child under 18, or a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy. Employed parents will also be able to claim pay for this period if they meet the qualifying conditions. However, we are awaiting further announcements on what the qualifying criteria is going to be.
June 2020
The free TV licence will no longer be available to all people 75 or over. From 1 June 2020 you will have to be aged 75 or over and getting Pension Credit in order to qualify for the free licence. You can find out more information from the TV Licensing website.
July 2020
Claimants will receive an additional fortnight’s worth of Income-based Jobseekers’ Allowance, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance or Income Support if they are on one of these benefits when they move over to Universal Credit
September 2020
Self-employed Minimum Income Floor Grace Period
Self-employed people, whose earnings are low, may have their Universal Credit worked out on higher earnings than they have. This is called the Minimum Income Floor. If you have started your business within the last 12 months then the minimum income floor does not affect you for the first 12 months of your Universal Credit claim. The government have announced that they will extend this 12-month ‘grace period’ to all people that are gainfully self-employed.
Although this will be available to a few claimants that the government will transfer over to Universal Credit from July 2019; it will be fully implemented from September 2020.
Winter 2020
From the winter of 2020, the Scottish government is planning to extend Winter Heating Assistance (which will replace the Winter Fuel Payment in Scotland) to families with severely disabled children
Updated: January 2020