Families, carers and disabled people who move from the North of England to Scotland will no longer see their UK benefits roll over automatically. From Thursday 6 November 2025, you must apply to Social Security Scotland for a fresh award, with backdating available if you meet new deadlines. The changes are set out in the Social Security (Cross-border Provision, Case Transfer and Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2025, made on 4 November and published on legislation.gov.uk as SSI 2025/336.

This is a practical shift felt most along the border – from Berwick and Northumberland up to the Borders, and across the Carlisle–Dumfries corridor – where moves for work, care and family reasons are common. The Scottish Government says the old “case transfer” route is being revoked and replaced with an apply‑and‑backdate model designed to stop gaps in entitlement when people move north, or when earlier transfers should have happened but did not.

Who’s affected? Anyone moving to Scotland who currently receives: Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Disability Living Allowance (DLA), Attendance Allowance (AA) or Carer’s Allowance. In Scotland these map to Adult Disability Payment (ADP), Child Disability Payment (CDP), Pension Age Disability Payment (PADP) and Carer Support Payment (CSP). Most provisions start on 6 November 2025, with further changes on Sunday 23 February 2026.

For disabled children on DLA moving to Scotland, CDP can be backdated to the day the DLA stopped if two timeframes are met: the child’s full name and date of birth are supplied to Social Security Scotland within 26 weeks of the move, and a full CDP application is lodged within 32 weeks of the move. Officials can accept late information where there’s a good reason, but don’t bank on it – keep proof of your move date and submit details promptly.

For working‑age adults on PIP moving to Scotland, ADP operates similar rules but with a slightly longer application window. Provide name and date of birth within 26 weeks of the move and get your ADP application in within 34 weeks to secure backdating. If you were over the relevant age on the move date, Scotland will mirror the mobility element you previously had: standard stays standard, enhanced stays enhanced, and if you had no mobility component you won’t newly gain one at this stage.

For pensioners on Attendance Allowance, the new PADP rules also allow backdating when you move to Scotland, using the same 26‑week ‘required data’ step and a 34‑week application window. A second tranche of PADP changes lands on 23 February 2026 to sort historic cases that should have transferred but didn’t, including powers for ministers to make a determination without an application where they become aware someone was missed.

Carer Support Payment replaces Carer’s Allowance when you move to Scotland. If your CSP application is received within 26 weeks of your move, your award can be backdated to the first day of the ‘award week’ in which your Carer’s Allowance ended. That means Monday–Saturday in most cases, or a shorter Wednesday–Saturday window where you care for someone on Constant Attendance Allowance. There’s also a safety net for people who should have been transferred before 6 November 2025 but weren’t.

Ministers are also tidying up past cases across disability and carer benefits. If you were eligible to be transferred under the old rules but were overlooked, the regulations create routes either to apply and be backdated to the date your UK benefit ended, or to be granted a determination without applying once Social Security Scotland identifies you. That applies to ADP, CDP, PADP, CSP and the closed Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance (for DLA‑age adults who moved north).

There is a harder edge on suspensions. Where someone repeatedly fails to provide requested information and is later found not entitled, awards can now be ended from the date suspension began. This applies to Scottish Child Payment as well as to disability assistance for children, working‑age and pension‑age clients, and to Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance.

For young families, eligibility for Scotland’s Best Start Grants and Best Start Foods is widened. People with a pending EU Settlement Scheme application, and family members covered by Article 9 of the EU Withdrawal Agreement, can qualify provided they meet the other criteria. This brings the early‑years support in line with post‑Brexit immigration rules and closes gaps that advisers across the North have flagged when clients move.

The regulations also recognise the Social Security (Gibraltar) Order 2024. That matters for coordination with Carer’s Allowance Supplement, Young Carer Grant and disability assistance where UK–Gibraltar arrangements apply. It’s a small clause with practical impact for a handful of border‑force families, offshore workers and veterans with Gibraltar‑linked histories now based in the North or moving to Scotland.

What should Northern readers do? If a move to Scotland is on the cards, keep dated proof of the move, notify Social Security Scotland with names and dates of birth within 26 weeks, and get applications in well within the 32–34 week windows. Speak to a local advice agency in Cumbria, Northumberland or the Borders if you’re unsure which clock you’re on. The key dates are 6 November 2025 for most changes, and 23 February 2026 for the remainder. These rules are set out in SSI 2025/336 on legislation.gov.uk.