Care Leaver Payment – Guidance for Recipients

The Scottish Government introduced the Care Leaver Payment on 1st April 2026 to help young people overcome financial barriers as they leave care and move into independent living. This guidance document is designed for young people who will get the payment.

What is the Care Leaver Payment?

The Care Leaver Payment is a payment of £2,000 that you will get from your local authority as you leave care or continuing care.

Who can get the payment?

You will be eligible to get the payment if:

You were legally looked after (under section 17(6) of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995) on or after your 16th birthday. This means if you were looked after in:

Foster care (being looked after by a foster family);
Residential care (being looked after away from home, often with other children or young people);
Looked-after kinship care (where you were legally ‘looked after’ by your local authority and living with a family member or family friend);
Secure care (a form of residential care that restricts the freedom of children under the age of 18. It is for the small number of children whose needs and risks can only be managed in a secure environment);
Looked after at home (being looked after at home, but with regular visits from social workers to ensure that the objectives of a home supervision order are met);
Adoptees (who were adopted after their 16^th birthday or where the adoption has broken down); and,
Unaccompanied asylum-seeking young people (young people under the age of 18 who arrive in Scotland without parents or guardians); and

2. You left care or continuing care, on or after 1st April 2026.

You will get the payment if you were looked after on or after your 16th birthday, or left continuing care on or after 1st April 2026.

If you left care or continuing care before 1st April 2026 then you will not get the payment.

Who will I get the payment from?

You will get the Care Leaver Payment from your ‘responsible authority’. This is the local authority looking after you on or after your 16th birthday. The payment will be discussed with you by your social worker as you start to plan for life after care or continuing care.

Care Leaver Payment – Guidance for Practitioners

The Scottish Ministers have issued and published this guidance in relation to the Care Leaver Payment, to provide support and clarity to practitioners as they deliver the payment and to promote consistency across all local authorities.