What the April 2025 changes mean for single parents in Scotland

Minimum wage increase

The National Minimum Wage has increased as follows:

• aged 21 or over: increase from £11.44 to £12.21 per hour
• aged 18 to 20 years: increase from £8.60 to £10 an hour.
• apprentices and those aged 16 or 17 years old: increase from £6.40 to £7.55 an hour.

However, this means that you could be liable to start paying tax.

Personal Allowance is the amount of money you can earn without paying tax. That amount is currently £12,570 per year in Scotland. Even though minimum wage has increased, the amount of money that you can earn without paying tax (Personal Allowance) has not increased to match it.

This means that if you work for 20 hours or more per week on minimum wage, you could be liable to start paying tax now that minimum wage has increased.

You can find out more about Personal Allowance at the Scottish Government website.

How minimum wage increasing will affect Universal Credit

How much money you earn and how often you get paid affects how much Universal Credit you will get. Find out more about how your earnings affect how much Universal Credit you will receive.

When you claim Universal Credit you agree to fulfil certain criteria by signing a Claimant Commitment.  The Administrative Earnings Threshold (AET) is the amount of money you can earn while on Universal Credit, which impacts what criteria you will be asked to agree to. You will have assessment periods which determine all of this at the Job Centre.

The AET has increased from £892 per month to £952 per month for individual claimants. If you are earning below that, you will be expected to look for more work.

If you earn below the AET in an assessment period, you must prove that you’re actively looking for work which will pay you more and you must also be available for work. You will then see a work coach who will talk through your job search with you.

If you earn the AET or more, you don’t need to keep looking for work and you won’t need to see a work coach.

 

Benefits amount increase by 1.7%

All benefits have gone up by 1.7%. This will affect you if you are under State Pension age and on benefits issued by both the Department for Work and Pensions such as Universal Credit or Child Benefit, or if you’re on Social Security Scotland benefits like Scottish Child Payment.

 

Tax Credits have ended

The Tax Credit service has closed down, and all remaining accounts have been closed.

If you were on Tax Credits, you will be moved to Universal Credit. Find out more about moving to Universal Credit.

 

Move from Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to Adult Disability Payment (ADP) and Scottish Adult DLA

In Scotland, the transfer of people who are currently getting DLA is beginning.

If you’re on DLA in Scotland, you will be moved to either ADP or Scottish Adult DLA from this point onwards.

Find out about financial help if you have a disability or long-term illness.

 

You can no longer apply for Personal Independence Payment (PIP)

If you have a disability or long term illness you can apply for Adult Disability Payment instead.

If you are already getting PIP you do not have to do anything. You will be transferred over to Adult Disability Payment by April 2025 without having another assessment and will get the same amount of money.  You will receive a letter telling you when this will happen.

 

You can earn more and still get the Carer Support Payment

The amount of money that you can earn per week in order to be eligible for Carer Support Payment has increased. Previously, to be eligible you needed to earn less than £151 per week after tax, National Insurance and expenses.

From April 2025, the earnings limit for Carer Support Payment increased to £196.00 per week (the equivalent of 16 hours at the new National Living Wage), meaning you can now earn more and still claim this benefit.

The Carer’s Allowance has become the Carer Support Payment across Scotland. Find out more about this change.

 

Deductions to Universal Credit

If you are on Universal Credit and you owe money to a company, that company can apply to automatically be paid part of your Universal Credit payment, but only from the Standard Allowance element. We have more information on the different Universal Credit elements and how much each one pays.

Previously, the company were able to take up to 25% of your Standard Allowance Universal Credit income. From April 2025, they will now only be able to take up to 15% of your Standard Allowance Universal Credit income.

The company may be able to take money that you owe them for things like rent, Council Tax, child maintenance and court fines. This is known as a “third party deduction.”

 

You may be eligible for new Neonatal Care Leave and Pay

New neonatal care legislation has come into effect as of 6 April 2025. This means that parents whose babies are going through neonatal care will be entitled to leave and/or pay from their employer to support them through the process.

Find out more about what Neonatal Care Leave is, how much Neonatal Care Pay is, and how to apply.

 

Changes to Pensions

Pension Age Disability Payment (PADP) is a benefit from the Scottish Government which is replacing Attendance Allowance. PADP is currently only available in a limited number of local authority areas in Scotland, it will be rolled out nationally by 22 April 2025. If you’re unsure about whether this is available in your local area at the moment, check your postcode to find out if you can apply.

The New and Basic State Pensions, and the Minimum Guarantee element of Pension Credit will rise by 4.1% in April 2025. You can find out more about this on the Government website.