Social Justice and Social Security Committee

Meeting date: Thursday, May 11, 2023

Official Report 429KB pdf

Subordinate Legislation

Council Tax Reduction (Scotland) Amendment (No 2) Regulations 2023 (SSI 2023/113)

Our next item of business is consideration of a negative Scottish statutory instrument.?The instrument makes amendments to working age and pension age regulations as a result of the introduction of the Bereavement Benefits (Remedial) Order 2023 in February.

The 2023 order allows for cohabiting parents with dependent children who need support following the death of their partner to qualify for Department for Work and Pensions bereavement benefits. Previously, only bereaved parents who were married or in a civil partnership could qualify for those benefits. The order also allows retrospective claims to be paid as a lump sum in some circumstances, and it will prevent such a payment from affecting entitlement to or eligibility for a council tax reduction, which would normally be dependent on a person’s capital.

The instrument is laid under the negative procedure, which means that its provisions will come into force unless the Parliament agrees to a motion to annul it. No motion to annul the instrument has been lodged.

As members have no comments to make on the instrument, I?invite the committee to agree that it does not wish to make any recommendations in relation to the regulations. Do members agree to note the instrument?

Members indicated agreement.

That concludes our public business for today.