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

This report is on the draft Carer’s Assistance (Young Carer Grant and Carer Support Payment) (Miscellaneous Amendment and Saving Provision) (Scotland) Regulations 2025.

The draft regulations introduce a new Carer Additional Person Payment and replace the lump sum Carer’s Allowance Supplement with a weekly Scottish Carer Supplement. The structure chosen to deliver the new payments is through creating a single benefit called ‘Carer Support’ with three components – Carer Support Payment, Scottish Carer Supplement and Carer Additional Person Payment.

The draft regulations also extend Young Carer Grant to 19-year-olds, extend the length of time that benefit carries on after the death of a cared for person from eight to twelve weeks, and allow carers to have a break from caring sooner without losing benefit.

The Scottish Government has identified these as the priority changes to make to carer support.

The changes come with a new set of terms adding to the already complex landscape of carers’ benefits. There should be more testing with carers about whether ‘Carer Support’ is the best umbrella term for the three components. There should be a tailored and sustained communications and take-up plan to ensure all carers, particularly those with multiple caring roles, are aware of the support they are entitled to. There should also be more information on social security entitlements for carers in accessible formats and multiple languages.

To avoid doubt about the policy intention and any unintended consequence of such a misunderstanding, we have recommended that the regulations make it explicit that the 20 hours of care required for Carer Additional Person Payment and the 35 hours of care required for Carer Support Payment can run concurrently.

With Carer Additional Person Payment not being a standalone benefit but being one of three components of an award, regulations and processes should make sure that carers have the choice not to claim it, for example, because the household will be better off if another family member claims.

The Scottish Government previously decided not to extend Carer Support Payment to all 16 to 19-year-olds in non-advanced education to avoid incentivising young carers to take on significant caring responsibilities. At that point we noted that there was a lack of evidence about the impact of social security on young carers. The Scottish Government is planning an evaluation but we think they need to go further to gain the insights needed.

There are complicated interactions with Universal Credit. To make sure the extended bereavement run-on does leave carers better off, we encourage further work between the Scottish and UK Governments.

The introduction of Carer Additional Person Payment brings new consequences for a carer when the person they care for moves into a care home or dies. Processes should proactively guide people through the system.

We are grateful to officials for their detailed and prompt responses to our questions. which helped us better understand the policy behind the draft regulations.