Carer benefits evaluation: phase 1 - case transfer and Carer Support Payment

Footnotes

1 See Carer Support Payment statistics to 31 December 2025, p.18.

2 See Carer Support Payment statistics to 31 December 2025, p.18.

3 See ‘Benefits case transfers’ reports from the Social Security Experience Panels: publications - gov.scot

4 This is the 2025-26 rate.

5 2025-26 rate. The amount uprates every April.

6 A very small number of carers who receive a ‘lifetime award’ for Carer's Allowance from the Department for Work and Pensions have not had their award transferred to Carer Support Payment, even if they live in Scotland. Anyone living in Scotland who remains on Carer's Allowance will still be able to receive Carer's Allowance Supplement after it is replaced by Scottish Carer Supplement from 15^th March 2026.

7 Carer’s Allowance clients can also choose to be paid weekly in advance.

8 In certain circumstances, Carer Support Payment may also be paid weekly in advance.

9 As of December 2025, of the 33,905 cases with underlying entitlement most (90%, n=30,670) had been transferred over from Carer’s Allowance. See Carer Support Payment statistics to 31 December 2025 - Social Security Scotland.

10 As noted in Section 3.2.4, households where there was only one adult and at least one child are used as a proxy measure for lone-parent households.

11 It is important to note that these results are intended to offer an indication of levels of trust only. There are various considerations when looking at these figures across years. The most recent Client Satisfaction Survey report (pp.11-12) notes that ‘because [Social Security Scotland] is a growing organisation, year on year bringing in more clients with different needs and backgrounds, the populations across each of the yearly publications of this survey are not easily comparable. For example, in 2022-23 the largest benefits were Five Family Payments, whereas in 2024-23 it was Adult Disability Payment (including transferred awards). This year, Carer Support Payment and Pension Age Disability Payment were included, as well as their award transfer counterparts. Therefore, caution is advised when comparing the main overall measures of the survey across years.’

12 As noted above, these are intended to allow a general overview of trends only and more robust data would be required to fully analyse trends over time. See the 2024-25 Client Satisfaction Survey report, pp.11-12.

13 A small number (<1%, 175) were made through other methods, where the application channel is neither online, paper nor phone.

14 In Table 14, Financial Year 2023 - 2024 includes the months from November 2023 to March 2024. Financial Year 2024 - 2025 includes the months from April 2024 to March 2025. Financial Year 2025 - 2026 includes the months from April 2025 to 31 December 2025.

15 These figures cover the months of April – 31 December 2025 only.

16 Figures will not round to 100% of the total applications as withdrawn applications are not included. For the full figures see Carer Support Payment statistics to 31 December 2025 - Social Security Scotland.

17 Source data: Carer Support Payment December 2025 Tables

18 Data for the most recent financial year 2025-2026 is only available to December 2025.

19 A take-up rate is the percentage of people entitled to a benefit that receive it. It is calculated by dividing the number of recipients of a benefit by the number of people estimated to be eligible for it. Some people do not apply for benefits that they are entitled to, for a variety of different reasons. These can include social barriers such as the stigma of applying for benefits, low awareness of the benefit, or complicated application processes.

20 The survey was distributed to 33,836 Social Security Scotland clients who had a re-determination during the period of March 2023 – November 2024, and 1303 responses were received. The figures from this survey are therefore drawn from a general client population, rather than Carer Support Payment applicants specifically. For more information see the Client Experiences of re-determinations, appeals and complaints 2024 report.

21 In qualitative evidence from the Client Experiences survey, reasons for disagreeing with this statement included a lack of clear guidance on the process and providing supporting information for this, confusion over what would happen during the process, and waiting times for decisions.

22 For more information on backdated payments see the Backdating Carer Support Payment mygov webpage.

23 A previous report by the Social Security Experience Panels highlighted that Carers who have English as a second language may face significant barriers. These included low awareness of benefits and eligibility criteria, additional communication needs and social and cultural barriers.

24 From 15th March 2026 Carer Additional Person Payment will be available. This is a recognition payment that will deliver extra support for carers getting Carer Support Payment who have multiple caring roles. For more information see Increased support for carers - gov.scot.