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

Regulation 3(9) replaces the existing 8-week period that Carer Support Payment continues to be paid after the death of a cared for person, with a longer 12-week period. It also extends the run-on to cover all three payments. This is intended to allow the carer more time to adjust following the loss of the cared for person as they consider next steps such as moving into paid work or education, or rebuilding support networks.

Stakeholders support the extension of the run-on, noting that it “will provide additional time to access advice and support” to address the “varying transition needs of carers following a bereavement.”¹Submission to SCoSS by Citizens Advice Scotland, January 2025 Although some felt that 26 weeks would be more appropriate.

However, some carers will not get the full benefit of the extended run-on unless a misalignment with Universal Credit is addressed. Carer Support Payment is deducted pound for pound from Universal Credit because it is regarded as income, but carers get additional Universal Credit in the form of a carer element. At present, the run on of the carer element after a death is more or less aligned with the 8-week run-on of Carer Support Payment. However, extending the Carer Support Payment run-on by four weeks, means that the carer element may end before the Carer Support Payment award ends. Essentially this means that the remaining award of Carer Support Payment would be offset by Universal Credit without any additional carer element. Were this to happen, it would be contrary to the Fiscal Framework, which sets the rules for how Scotland’s social security powers are managed, and says that new benefits introduced by the Scottish Government ‘must provide additional income for a recipient and not result in an automatic offsetting reduction by the UK government in their entitlement elsewhere the UK benefits system.’²Scottish Government – Fiscal framework: agreement between the Scottish and UK Governments

We understand that the Scottish Government is continuing to discuss this issue with the DWP. It is clearly a complicated interaction and complete alignment may be hard to achieve. Any solution should not put an additional burden on bereaved carers.

Recommendation 10: We encourage the Scottish Government to work with the UK Government to make sure that the extended bereavement run-on benefits carers on Universal Credit.

6.1 Bereavement run-on and Carer Additional Person payment

A carer getting Carer Additional Person Payment for looking after two or more people still has caring responsibilities when the cared for person dies. Yet, when Carer Support Payment comes to an end after 12 weeks, the consequence is that Carer Additional Person Payment ends too. This will need to be clearly communicated to carers. There is also an opportunity to help those whose ‘additional’ caring role would also qualify them for Carer Support Payment. This will not be appropriate in all situations, however, processes could be designed so that if it is the right option for the carer, there is a smooth transition to switch their Carer Additional Person Payment entitlement to Carer Support Payment so benefit can continue at the end of the 12-week run on without a gap.

A similar situation could arise when there is a break in care.