# The National Assistance (Sums for Personal Requirements) (Scotland) Regulations 2026

S.S.I. 2026/43 · made 29 January 2026

These Regulations prescribe the amount which a local authority is to assume that a person will need for their personal requirements per week, in assessing the person’s ability to pay for accommodation provided under the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 (“the 1968 Act”) or section 25 of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 (“the 2003 Act”).

Made under: 1948 c. 29 (Section 22); Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 (Section 87)

PDFs: Printed copy https://openlegislation.uk/national-assistance-sums-for-personal-requirements-scotland-regulations-2026/pdf/ssi_20260043_en.pdf; Policy Note https://openlegislation.uk/national-assistance-sums-for-personal-requirements-scotland-regulations-2026/pdf/ssipn_20260043_en_001.pdf

## Introductory text

NATIONAL ASSISTANCE SERVICES
Made 29th January 2026
Laid before the Scottish Parliament 2nd February 2026
Coming into force 6th April 2026
The Scottish Ministers make the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by section 22(4) of the National Assistance Act 1948, as applied by section 87(3) and (4) of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 and all other powers enabling them to do so.

## 1 Citation, commencement and extent

(1) These Regulations may be cited as the National Assistance (Sums for Personal Requirements) (Scotland) Regulations 2026 and come into force on 6 April 2026.
(2) These Regulations extend to Scotland only.

## 2 Sums needed for personal requirements

For the purposes of section 22(4) of the National Assistance Act 1948, as applied by section 87(3) and (4) of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968, the amount which a local authority is to assume that a person will need for their personal requirements per week is £37.65.

## 3 Revocations

The National Assistance (Sums for Personal Requirements) (Scotland) Regulations 2025 are revoked.

## Signature

TOM ARTHUR
Authorised to sign by the Scottish Ministers
St Andrew’s House,
Edinburgh
29th January 2026

## Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations prescribe the amount which a local authority is to assume that a person will need for their personal requirements per week, in assessing the person’s ability to pay for accommodation provided under the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 (“the 1968 Act”) or section 25 of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 (“the 2003 Act”).
Section 22(4) of the National Assistance Act 1948 as applied by section 87(3) and (4) of the 1968 Act requires a local authority to assume in assessing a person’s ability to pay for accommodation provided under the 1968 Act or section 25 of the 2003 Act that the person will need for their personal requirements such sum per week as may be prescribed by regulations.
These Regulations prescribe the sum of £37.65 per week from 6 April 2026.
These Regulations revoke the National Assistance (Sums for Personal Requirements) (Scotland) Regulations 2025 which previously prescribed the sum of £35.90 per week.
A Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment has been prepared and is available online at legislation.gov.uk.
No Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment has been prepared in respect of these Regulations on the basis that there is no foreseeable impact on business, charities or voluntary bodies.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2026/43 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/national-assistance-sums-for-personal-requirements-scotland-regulations-2026
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.