Carer Support Payment now Scotland-wide

Many more unpaid carers in Scotland – including Orkney - can now apply for a new benefit. The Carer Support Payment, which is a payment of £81.90 per week paid by Social Security Scotland, has been introduced in phases since November 2023. It has been extended to people living in 19 more local authority areas including Orkney. 

It is now available in every local authority in the country – and payments can be backdated for those eligible. 

To get fully backdated payments, carers should apply within 13 weeks of the benefit becoming available in their area. The deadline for carers living in the new areas - including Orkney - is 2 February 2025. Carers may still be able to get fully backdated support after this if they have a good reason for missing the deadline. 

It is for unpaid carers who provide 35 or more hours of care a week to someone who gets disability benefits. 

Carer Support Payment is the replacement in Scotland for Carer’s Allowance which is delivered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). 

Unlike Carer’s Allowance, Carer Support Payment is available to some carers in education. This includes full-time students aged 20 or over and students under 20 who are in advanced or higher education. 

In June, eligibility was extended to carers aged 16-19 in non-advanced education. This includes those studying for National Certificates, Highers and Advanced Highers, who meet certain criteria, for example, not having any parental support. 

As part of the roll out, new backdating rules were introduced meaning that some carers - mostly full-time students - living in the new areas can apply to have their payments backdated to when Carer Support Payment was introduced. 

Integration Joint Board Chair Rachael King said: “There are many individuals in our community who take on the role of carer because they are family, friends, neighbours and wider community members.  Alongside our valuable paid carers, the part they play is often unnoticed but is always immeasurable.   

“A welcome addition is that many students will now be able to get this financial support for the first time and I urge anyone who thinks they might be eligible to apply and to do this as soon as possible, as there is a deadline in place for backdated payments.” 

Carers can find out more, and apply at https://www.mygov.scot/carer-support-payment 

Background  

Carer Support Payment opened for new applications in further areas on 4 November. Unpaid carers in Argyll & Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dumfries & Galloway, East Dunbartonshire, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Glasgow, Highland, Inverclyde, Midlothian, Orkney, Renfrewshire, Scottish Borders, Shetland, Stirling, West Dunbartonshire and West Lothian can now apply. 

Changes to allow more young carers in education to access Carer Support Payment have been in force since June. Carers aged 16 to 19 in full-time ‘non advanced’ education can be eligible if they have certain exceptional circumstances - including if they have no support from parents or are responsible for a child or young person. Non-advanced education includes school and college courses such as National Certificates, Highers and Advanced Highers.  

Special backdating rules for the Carer Support Payment roll out mean that carers who are not eligible for Carer’s Allowance but are eligible for Carer Support Payment, and are living in areas outside of the initial pilot areas, can apply to have their payments backdated to the date Carer Support Payment first became available. The rules are designed to stop carers missing out on money they are entitled to because they live in an area included in the later phases of the rollout.  

To get fully backdated payments under these special rules, carers should apply within 13 weeks of the benefit becoming available in their area. The deadline for carers living in the new areas (Argyll & Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dumfries & Galloway, East Dunbartonshire, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Glasgow, Highland, Inverclyde, Midlothian, Orkney Islands, Renfrewshire, Scottish Borders, Shetland Islands, Stirling, West Dunbartonshire and West Lothian) is 2 February 2025. 

The deadline for carers living in the areas where the benefit opened in August – Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Fife, Moray and North, East and South Ayrshire – is 17 November 2024. Carers may still be able to get fully backdated support after this if they have a good reason for missing the deadline.  

Carers in Scotland who already get Carer's Allowance will have their benefits automatically transferred to Carer Support Payment. Social Security Scotland will write to people in advance to let them know that their award will be moving.