The Carer’s Assistance (Young Carer Grant and Carer Support Payment) (Miscellaneous Amendment and Saving Provision) (Scotland) Regulations 2025: scrutiny report

1.1 Overview

The Scottish Commission on Social Security (SCoSS) provides independent scrutiny of proposed social security regulations which are referred to us by Ministers. This report is on the draft Carer’s Assistance (Young Carer Grant and Carer Support Payment) (Miscellaneous Amendment and Saving Provision) (Scotland) Regulations 2025. In this report, we refer to these as the ‘draft regulations’.

The main changes in the draft regulations are:

• Introducing a new Carer Additional Person Payment for people who get Carer Support Payment and care for more than one person;
• Replacing Carer’s Allowance Supplement which is paid twice a year, with Scottish Carer Supplement paid alongside Carer Support Payment;
• Extending the Young Carer Grant to include 19-year-old carers;
• Extending how long carers continue to be paid after the death of the person they care for;
• Removing the requirement for carers to have cared for a certain period before they can continue to get support when they have a temporary break from caring.

These changes are being made after most carers in Scotland have transferred from Carer’s Allowance paid by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to Carer Support Payment paid by Social Security Scotland. These changes mean that carers in Scotland can get additional entitlements, compared to an equivalent carer living elsewhere in the UK. The Scottish Government has identified these as the priority changes to make to carer support.

1.2 Human rights and principles

The Scottish social security principles are listed in Annexe C. Our Charter, which sets out what people can expect from the social security system¹Social Security Scotland – Our Charter, is based on these principles. The principles and Charter underpin the Scottish Government’s policy development, regulations and delivery of Carer Support Payment, and we consider them in our scrutiny.

Social security for unpaid carers contributes towards meeting their human right to an adequate standard of living but they are still more at risk of poverty than other people.²The right to an adequate standard of living is protected by Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) Caring for more hours or for more than one person makes the risk of poverty higher still.³Carers UK – Poverty and financial hardship of unpaid carers in the UK Introducing Carer Additional Person Payment, worth an extra £10 a week for each additional cared for person, is another step towards addressing poverty for these carers and an additional investment overall of £7 million in 2025/26 (principles (a) and (e)).⁴Scottish Fiscal Commission – Supplementary Costing – Carer Support Payment: September 2023 However, it has also introduced more complexity so will take greater effort to ensure eligible carers take up their entitlement.

From its launch in November 2023, Carer Support Payment, which replaces Carer’s Allowance in Scotland, largely mirrored the Carer’s Allowance rules with the notable exception of wider access in Scotland for carers in education. However, Carer’s Allowance is an out-of-date benefit, and improvements are needed to bring it more in line with the needs of carers today. We welcome that the Scottish Government consulted at an early stage with carers and stakeholders on which changes were most pressing. Involving people with lived experience in this way is a promise in the Charter and designing policy with the people of Scotland on the basis of evidence is a fundamental principle (principle (f)).

Making entitlement to Carer Additional Person Payment dependent on being paid Carer Support Payment continues to exclude people receiving benefits which overlap with Carer Support Payment, like the state pension. This potentially goes against principle (g) putting the needs of those requiring assistance first and advancing equality. As this predominantly affects older carers, this may require more consideration of how to meet the needs of older carers and better recognise their caring role.