How to use this Handbook

This Handbook is intended for those who advise and work with children and families in Scotland. It covers situations where a child is living away from home, or away from their parents, for a variety of reasons. The Handbook covers the rules affecting benefits in these circumstances.

Up to date

This Handbook is up to date as of 1 September 2025. The benefits rates listed are those from April 2025.

If you are interested in having a link from your organisation’s website to the online Handbook, please contact us at staff@cpagscotland.org.uk or on 0141 552 3303.

Structure of the Handbook

Chapter 1 provides information about the main relevant benefits. Chapter 2 provides information about claiming, decision making and challenging decisions. The rest of the Handbook is divided into chapters about the various situations that may apply to you (eg, children living with kinship carers and children at residential school) and how benefits are affected in these circumstances.

Chapters are footnoted with references to the legal sources. Where an abbreviation is used in the footnotes or in the text, this is explained in the Appendix and the Abbreviations. If you are challenging a benefit decision, you may want to refer to the law.