Carer support payment priority improvements: impact assessment updates

Carer Support

To make provision for a new Carer Additional Person Payment, and for the Scottish Carer Supplement, to be paid alongside Carer Support Payment, the regulations make changes to the principal regulations so that all three can be awarded as separate components of an overall award of ‘Carer Support’. This is intended to simplify the application, determination, change of circumstances, any re-determination and appeals, and payment processes – both for the carer and for Social Security Scotland. The regulations allow for Scottish Ministers to award Carer Support to carers already in receipt of Carer Support Payment removing any need for them to re-apply.

These regulations make the priority improvements to Carer Support Payment that the Scottish Government committed to as part of the Carer’s Assistance consultation. These are:

1. to pay Carer’s Allowance Supplement payments alongside carers’ regular Carer Support Payment awards, meaning carers would receive higher regular payments rather than six monthly lump sum payments – to be called Scottish Carer

2. to introduce extra support for those caring for more than one person – the Carer Additional Person Payment

3. to increase the run-on of Carer Support Payment payments after a cared for person dies, from 8 to 12 weeks.

In addition to these regulations making the above changes they also amend The Carer's Assistance (Young Carer Grants) (Scotland) Regulations 2019 regulations:

1. to extend the upper age limit of Young Carer Grant from 18 to 19 years.

Lastly, the regulations make the amendments as described above, in addition to some further amendments to the principal regulations including:

1. to amend the breaks in care rules, removing the requirements for carers to have provided care for a certain period before they can continue to get support through Carer Support Payment when they have a temporary break from caring.

2. to update the cross border rules for the introduction of the Carers support ‘uplift' payment of Scottish Carer Supplement and, where relevant, Carer Additional Person Payment (this matches the amount they would have received during the time they were living in Scotland on or after 15th March 2026 had they been in receipt of Carer Support rather than Carer’s Allowance)

3. to clarify effectives dates following case transfer.

4. to correct the Carer Support Payment earning provisions.

5. to allow for determination without application to award additional backdated support and to clarify backdating rules in light of feedback received during the pilot period.

6. to align Carer Additional Person Payment rules with existing Carer Support Payment rules on the Common Travel Area.

7. to remove provisions that are no longer needed in the principal regulations and to make relevant transitional and savings provisions.

Change 1: Paying Scottish Carer Supplement as a regular payment alongside Carer Support Payment

Introducing Carer's Allowance Supplement in 2018 was one of our first priorities with our new devolved social security powers. Temporary provision for Carer's Allowance Supplement was therefore set out in sections 81 and 82 of the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018. The change was in recognition of the fact that Carer’s Allowance was paid at the lowest rate of all working-age benefits. The Supplement provides additional income at 13% above the Carer’s Allowance rate. Carer's Allowance Supplement, worth £293.50 (2025/26 rate), is currently paid automatically twice a year as a lump sum to carers living in, or in certain circumstances with a genuine and sufficient link to, Scotland who are in receipt of Carer’s Allowance or Carer Support Payment on certain qualifying dates.

In 2022, as part of our public consultation, we set out our proposals to integrate Carer's Allowance Supplement so that it would be paid alongside carers’ more frequent payments of Carer Support Payment once case transfer from Carer’s Allowance was complete. We also proposed that eligibility for Carer's Allowance Supplement should no longer be based on specific bi-annual eligibility dates, but that Carer's Allowance Supplement should be paid for any award week in which Carer Support Payment was paid to the carer.

In our response to the consultation, as a majority of respondents (62%) agreed with these proposals, it was confirmed that the Scottish Government would proceed with plans to integrate the Supplement, providing carers with a higher regular income to support with day-to-day expenses.

As outlined above these regulations make Scottish Carers Supplement a component of Carer Support. For most carer’s Scottish Carers Supplement will replace Carer's Allowance Supplement. It will be paid automatically to carers in receipt of the Carer Support Payment component.

A small number of carers living in, or abroad with a sufficient link to, Scotland who continue to receive Carer’s Allowance administered by the Department for Work and Pensions, will still receive Carer's Allowance Supplement administered by Social Security Scotland under saving provisions contained in the amendment regulations.

The regulations also ensure carers receiving Carer Support Payment because of a bereavement or cross-border run-on on 14 March 2026 can still receive Carer's Allowance Supplement. These carers will not transfer to the new Carer Support so will not be eligible for the Scottish Carer Supplement component.

Change 2: Introducing Carer Additional Person Payment

The amendment regulations provide for the introduction of Carer Additional Person Payment component worth £520 per year for carers, paid as a £10 per week award alongside Carer Support Payment. The extra payment is intended to provide recognition and support for those with multiple caring roles for the additional impacts this can have on their health and wellbeing.

The Scottish Government set out proposals for the extra payment in the 2022 public consultation, where a majority of respondents agreed with the proposed eligibility criteria (72% agreed) and payment frequency (73% agreed) of the extra payment. The Scottish Government’s response to the consultation confirmed that the extra payment would be introduced after completion of case transfer from Carer’s Allowance to Carer Support Payment.

The payment will be paid to the carer for each additional person they care for. Carers will need to be receiving Carer Support Payment and caring for at least one additional cared for person who is not a person in respect of whom they receive Carer Support Payment who are in receipt of a qualifying disability benefit and provide at least 20 hours of care a week to the additional cared for people, to qualify for Carer Additional Person Payment. The 20 hours of caring can be provided to additional cared for persons at the same time the person for whom the carer is entitled to Carer Support Payment.

The regulations also align Carer Additional Person Payment with existing Carer Support Payment rules in regards to absences from the common travel area. Where a carer is away with the additional cared for person for whom they claim Carer Additional Person Payment, in connection with their medical treatment, the carer will be treated as present.

Change 3: Extending the bereavement run-on

These amendment regulations make provision to extend the period Carer Support is paid after the death of a cared for person (the ‘bereavement run-on’) from eight to twelve weeks. This will provide more financial support to carers at what is a key transitional period in their lives. This change will apply to all three components of Carer Support including the new Carer Additional Person Payment. This means that all three components, if appropriate, may be paid for 12 weeks. This will apply where the cared for person died on or after 15 March 2026. The 8 week run on will apply to carers if the cared for person died before that date.

Many carers are likely to have undertaken their caring role for many years, so require a longer period of adjustment, particularly when their caring role comes to an end. The extension of financial support for carers may allow more time for some carers to consider options around next steps in their life, for example, re-entry into employment, education, or volunteering, in the short or longer term.

A majority (89%) of respondents to the 2022 public consultation agreed with the plans to extend the bereavement run-on. The Scottish Government’s response to the public consultation therefore confirmed plans to extend the run-on to twelve weeks, which these amendment regulations provide for.

Change 4: Extending Young Carer Grant to 19-year-olds

These amendment regulations will extend eligibility to Young Carer Grant to 19-year-olds. Currently, Young Carer Grant is a yearly payment of £390.25 (2025/26 rate) for young carers aged 16-18 in Scotland. To be eligible, young carers must have been caring for an average total of 16 hours per week for at least the last three months. The caring hours for up to three cared for people can be combined to bring the total hours spent caring to 16 hours each week.

Carer Support Payment opens up entitlement to carers in higher education, with carers in any kind of education from age 20 eligible. Carers aged 16 to 19 in full-time ‘non-advanced’ education are not entitled unless they have certain exceptional circumstances. This means some carers aged 19 may not have access to either Carer Support Payment or Your Carer Grant. To address this, we are extending entitlement for Young Carer Grant to all 19-year-olds. In line with the recommendation of the Scottish Commission on Social Security, we will explore the relationship between access to benefits for young carers, incentives to take on larger caring roles and the impact on remaining in education.

Change 5: Further amendments to the principal regulations

Lastly, the regulations make some minor amendments to the principal regulations:

1. Breaks in care

This amendment removes the requirement for carers to have provided care for at least 14 or 22 of the past 26 weeks to continue to be paid Carer Support during a temporary break in care. This is intended to remove barriers to breaks in care for carers. Provision is also made to apply the same breaks in care rules to the payment of Carer Additional Person Payment for any breaks in care for the additional cared for person.

2. Cross-border moves to Scotland and missed case transfers

The second amendment updates the rules for cross-border moves from the rest of the UK to Scotland and for missed case transfer cases, to recognise the introduction of Carer Support. Where the date of the move, or the date Scottish Ministers become aware the carer’s award should have transferred to Carer Support Payment but did not, is after the coming into force date of these regulations, and carers apply for Carer Support within 26 weeks of the date of their move, they will be awarded Carer Support starting from the award week in which Carer’s Allowance entitlement ceased, or from 15 March 2026, whichever is the later date.

Where a carer in either of these situations would have been entitled to any payment of Scottish Carer Supplement or Carer Additional Person Payment, between 15 March 2026 when Carer Support was introduced, and the date their Carer’s Allowance entitlement ended – had they been getting Carer Support instead of Carer’s Allowance – we can increase the amount of Carer Support they are given by the value of any payment of Scottish Carer Supplement or Carer Additional Person Payment they would have been entitled to in that period.

3. Effective dates where a determination without application is needed following case transfer

This amendment provides for specific ‘effective dates’ for situations in which a new determination is needed after an individual’s benefits have been transferred from Carer’s Allowance to Carer Support Payment, because Scottish Ministers become aware of a change to the Carer’s Allowance award the individual was entitled to before transfer. The amendment provides that the ‘effective date’ of any change made to the Carer Support Payment award in this context should be the first day of the award week of the original case transfer determination. This provides that the effective date of any change should be the day when Carer’s Allowance ceased. This will replace the original case transfer determination for Carer Support Payment with one based on the new information about the Carer’s Allowance entitlement.

The ‘effective date’ rules in these regulations mean this change would apply from the beginning of their Carer Support Payment award. This change to the regulations provides greater clarity on what will happen in this situation but have no impact on how the benefit is delivered.

4. Effect of earnings on entitlement to Carer Support Payment

This amendment updates provision of when an individual’s earnings affect their entitlement to Carer Support Payment. Amendments provide that a carer will not be entitled to Carer Support Payment in any award week in which their earnings in respect of the immediately preceding week exceed the earnings threshold. This is a change to existing provision under which a carer is not entitled to Carer Support Payment in any award week in which their earnings in respect of that same week exceed the threshold. The change aligns provision with that for Carer’s Allowance, and the intended policy approach for Carer Support Payment.

5. Determination without application to award additional backdated support

The regulations update provision for determinations without application to award additional backdated support to an individual after an initial determination of entitlement. These provisions are intended to ensure carers don’t miss out on support where they find out after they have applied that they were entitled to more backdated support than they applied for. This may happen, for example, in situations where a carer receives welfare rights advice after an application. The current specific provisions allow for an additional 13 weeks of backdated support to be provided where an individual notifies Scottish Ministers and meets the eligibility criteria. Updated provisions will allow for the individual to be awarded all of the backdated support to which they are entitled, where Scottish Ministers is notified within 13 weeks of the original decision, or later if they have good reason. Individuals can already receive additional backdated support after an application under other provisions but this change will provide greater clarity in regulations and ensure carers can get all of the support they are entitled to.

6. Absence from the Common Travel Area and the introduction of Carer Additional Person Payment

The regulations provide for a carer to be treated as present in the Common Travel Area where they are away with the additional cared for person for whom they claim Carer Additional Person Payment, in connection with their medical treatment, provided that the cared for person continues to be paid a qualifying disability benefit. This amendment would align Carer Additional Person Payment rules with existing Carer Support Payment rules.

7. Revocation of provisions for the initial period of applications

Finally the regulations also removes provisions in the principal regulations that were there to ensure carers didn’t miss out on support as a result of being resident in an area to which Carer Support Payment became available after the initial pilot phase of Carer Support Payment in 2023. The last relevant date for this backdating was in February 2025, as a result these provisions are no longer needed.

8. Scope of this policy note on updates to impact assessments

The scope of this policy note on updates to impact assessments is set out above. The Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment will be published alongside this update.

9. Equality Impact Assessment

Background

This impact assessment update builds on the work already done in the Carer Support Payment Equality Impact Assessment^[3] and The Carer’s Assistance (Miscellaneous and Consequential Amendments, Revocation, Transitional and Saving Provisions) (Scotland) Regulations 2025 policy note^[4]. To consider these further updates, we engaged with our Carer Benefits Advisory Group^[5] who shared their equalities knowledge. We also revisited information gathered from the Scottish Carer's Assistance consultation and user research for the introduction of Carer Support Payment. We also reviewed feedback from our Experience panels^[6], that surveyed 242 panel members who had recent experience of carer benefits.

In addition, data was gathered from a range of sources including those used in the initial Equality Impact Assessment for Carer Support Payment^[7]. We have also incorporated new data from recent publications including Scotland’s Census 2022^[8], the Carers Census, Scotland 2022-23^[9] and Social Security Scotland statistics publications^[10].

As outlined in our recent impact assessment policy note for The Carer’s Assistance (Carer Support Payment) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2024^[11], evidence on existing Carer’s Allowance recipients in Scotland tells us that 69% are women^[12]. Recipients are more likely to be in the bottom half of the income distribution. Black and minority ethnic carers are more likely to face financial difficulties and those with intensive caring roles are more likely to live in socially deprived areas^[13]. 

As set out in the Carer Support Payment Equality Impact Assessment in 2023^[14], we continue to work to improve the data and information we have on carers and others who may be affected by Carer Support Payment policy and services. This includes direct research such as Social Security Scotland Client Surveys. We continue to engage with organisations that work with carers through our Carer Benefits Advisory Group, including for example through quarterly meetings and an annual carer benefits equalities event. This helps improve our understanding of and address equalities issues set out in the equalities impact assessments. In addition, we have established an Equalities Impacts Tracker to monitor progress against actions identified.

We will also continue to monitor the impact of Carer Support Payment and Young Carer Grant through full evaluations that will be carried out during 2025/26. These will bring together a range of data, including bespoke research, to help us to consider the impacts of the changes that we are making to both benefits.

The following sections sets out the most recent findings of our equalities impact assessment of each change by protected characteristic. However it is important to highlight that with the actions we are taking to seek to ensure that the changes we are making reach all of those who can benefit from them.

We recognise that the introduction of the Carer Additional Person Payment in particular could feel complex for carers to understand, particularly where there is more than one additional cared for person that they are caring for 20 hours a week or more for. The letter sent to carers who have been transferred to Carer Support will invite them to apply for Carer Additional Person Payment. As with all our benefits, the eligibility criteria and support available will be explained in plain English and thoroughly user tested with different groups to ensure that they are accessible. Carers will also be offered the full range of communication channels to notify us that they care for more than one person.

To reduce the impact on new clients, the Carer Support application will allow them to notify Social Security Scotland of all of the relevant additional people that they care for. For carers already in receipt of Carer Support, the additional caring role can be notified by way of a Change of Circumstances, and will not require a new application for CAPP.

As with all our benefits, we will provide carers with the choice to make an application in many different ways including by post, online, by phone or with face-to-face support from our Local Delivery team who offer home visits.

The mitigations set out above will help ensure that carers, including those with challenges accessing IT and with lower levels of literacy in English, are able to access the support that they are entitled to. These challenges will be more prevalent in multiple protected characteristics and particularly where characteristics are intersectional.

Further detail on actions to help mitigate the increased complexity introduced through the changes we are making is set out in Annex A.

The minor amendments to the principal regulations do not change how the benefit is delivered but aim to increase the fairness and provide greater clarity in regulations. Changes to breaks in care and the new uplift payment aim to stop a carer missing out on payments. We do not expect these changes to any significant positive or negative impact on carers from any group with protected characteristics.

Age

As Carer Support Payment is an income replacement benefit, carers who receive another income replacement benefit at the same or a higher level do not receive it, as this would duplicate the function of the benefit. This is known as the overlapping benefits rule, with carers who meet the eligibility criteria for Carer Support Payment having only ‘underlying entitlement’ to Carer Support Payment.

As the eligibility criteria for both Scottish Carer Supplement and Carer Additional Person Payment require the carer to be in receipt of the Carer Support Payment component, we expect a neutral impact for carers with underlying entitlement. The biggest proportion of carers with underlying entitlement are older carers receiving State Pension.

In addition, carers with underlying entitlement on low incomes may be entitled to extra payments for their caring role through Pension Credit, similar to those on Universal Credit. Our communications will signpost carers to wider financial support including to benefits and premia they may be entitled to as a result of having an underlying entitlement - such as Pension Credit^[15].

We know that carers with only underlying entitlement to Carer Support Payment who are in receipt of State Pension (and other carers with underlying entitlement) can feel a lack of recognition for their caring role when they begin to receive their State Pension and payments of Carer Support Payment subsequently stop. The introduction of Carer Additional Person Payment for Carer Support Payment recipients only could intensify this feeling.

Our consultation^[16] invited views on alternative support which could be considered for long term carers, including those getting State Pension. This is a new policy idea and we consider this to be one of the longer-term Carer Support Payment options to be considered in the future. We intend to explore this proposal further, as a longer-term change, in line with other ongoing work to support unpaid carers, and taking into consideration the consultation responses.

Age: Paying Scottish Carer Supplement as a regular payment alongside Carer Support Payment.

The amendment regulations provide for Scottish Carer Supplement to be paid for any award week in which Carer Support Payment is paid as part of a Carer Support award. This means that carers will not miss out on six months’ worth of payment if they were not in receipt of Carer Support Payment on specific eligibility dates. This will benefit carers whose earnings may fluctuate week to week, so will benefit working-age carers in particular. The 2023 State of Caring Report acknowledged that the employment rate for working-age carers is 64%. When compared to the employment rate of non-carers being 74%, this is relatively low^[17].

Age: Introducing Carer Additional Person Payment

As a new payment this will provide a positive impact to carers who provide care to multiple people. While it doesn’t discriminate by age, as noted above carers with only underlying entitlement to Carer Support will not be eligible for Carer Additional Person Payment. However these carers will not be disadvantaged. For example, at the current rate of £230.25 (2025/26 rate) per week, full State Pension is significantly higher than the amount they could receive through carer benefits as Carer Support Payment and three CAPP awards would total £113.30 a week (based on the current 2025/26 rates). Older carers are therefore not disadvantaged financially, compared with carers of working age. As of August 2024, there were 40,015 carers who had underlying entitlement only, which was 32% of all those who meet the eligibility criteria for Carer's Allowance^[18].

Age: Extending the bereavement run-on

We know from the 2022-23 carers census that 39% of cared for people were aged over 65^[19]. Given the nature of ageing this may mean that the caring role for those caring for them is more likely to end in bereavement. We also know that over 50% of carers who provide over 35 hours of care per week are aged between 35 and 64^[20]. However, we lack data that links the age of a cared for person to the age of the carer, so how bereavement affects carers from different age groups is unclear. That being said, we would expect that extending the bereavement run-on from 8 to 12 weeks will have a positive impact on carers of all ages through additional support.

Age: Extending Young Carer Grant to 19-year-olds

By extending Young Carer Grant to 19-year-olds, more young carers will receive social security support than under current regulations, so this change will particularly benefit young carers. It also means there is benefits provision for young people with a substantial caring role aged 16 and over, regardless of educational status.

We estimate that extending Young Carer Grant to 19-year-olds will increase the caseload by up to 1,200 in 2026/27, its first full year, after accounting for population changes and the fact that more 19-year-olds take-up Carer Support Payment than 18-year-olds^[21]. We assume that there would be no switching from Carer Support Payment to Young Carer Grant for those 19-year-olds already receiving Carer Support Payment.

It should be noted however, that other forms of support for young carers, such as the Young Scot Young Carer Package^[22], are only available to young carers aged 11-18. In extending YCG to 19-year-olds, this would also deviate from the legal definition of a young carer, as set out in the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016^[23]. We will develop strong communications to mitigate any impacts of this. Young carers who apply when they are 18 will be able to request a reminder in 12 months’ time to remind them to apply for Young Carer Grant again when they are 19.

Disability

As set out in previous impact assessments, a high proportion of carers are themselves disabled, with some analysis suggesting the figure is as high as half^[24]. Like carers, disabled people are more likely to live in relative poverty^[25] with a poverty rate of 24% for households with a disabled person compared to 18% for household without. Using our Client and Applicant Diversity and Equalities Analysis, we will continue to seek additional data on this intersectional issue.

Because of the close relationship between carers and the cared for person, we expect improvements we make in social security support for carers will also have a positive impact on the disabled people being cared for. This is partly through increasing the well-being of the person providing them with informal care. Across the UK, 51% of carers live in the same household as the cared for person^[26].

To aid benefit access for all disabled people, the Scottish Government committed up to £20.4 million over 2022-2026 to fund an Independent Advocacy Service^[27]. This service is delivered by the charity VoiceAbility and is entirely independent of the Scottish Government and Social Security Scotland. This service provides access to free, independent advocacy support for people who self-identify as disabled, of which there could be relevant cross-over with those who provide care. We will consider the results of monitoring data to consider if additional action can be taken to support carers to access our carer benefits.

Disability: Paying Scottish Carer Supplement as a regular payment alongside Carer Support Payment

As outlined above we expect introducing this change should have a disproportionately positive impact on disabled people, both directly and indirectly, by proving a more stable income direct and indirect.

We have not identified any negative impacts on people with this protected characteristic as a result of making changes to Carer’s Allowance Supplement and replacing it with Scottish Carer Supplement as component of Carer Support. The potentially negative impacts of increased complexity by introducing Carer Support and the component structure. Mitigations to this are set out above in the Background section.

Disability: Introducing Carer Additional Person Payment

Data on the number of carers who care for more than one person is limited, however, the Carers UK ‘State of Caring Report’ 2023^[28], which surveyed 10,751 carers found that 26% indicated they care for more than one person, with 74% cared for one person, 19% cared for two people, 5% cared for three people and 2% cared for four or more people. While these statistics don’t indicate if the carers would all be eligible for Carer Support they do give an indication of how many carers may be eligible for Carer Additional Person Payment and feel a positive impact.

Allowing multiple payments of Carer Additional Person Payment to a carer in respect of different additional cared for people could increase the fraud and error risk due to managing multiple applications/awards. Multiple significant caring roles can also carry greater risks to the wellbeing of carers and the people they are caring for. Fraud and error officials have also raised concerns that there is a higher risk of financial abuse through organised crime. We are considering ways to mitigate these risks, including client advisors contacting carers where someone applies above a certain number of Carer Additional Person Payment awards.

Disability: Extending the bereavement run on

We lack data that shows how many caring roles carried out by disabled people end in bereavement. However, we expect disabled carers to equally benefit from this improvement that will provide them with more support at a transitional time. As with all carers we expect this longer period of adjustment to have an overall positive impact on carers who have a disability.

Disability: Extending Young Carer Grant to 19-year-olds

As noted initially in the Young Carer Grant equality impact assessment^[29], Young Carer Grant is expected to have a direct positive impact on disabled young carers. Equalities data gathered from 4,600 of Young Carer Grant applicants showed that 15% reported having a long-term condition lasting more than 12 months^[30]. These stats provide evidence that our expectations were correct and Young Carer Grant provides a direct positive impact for disabled people. By increasing eligibility to 19-year-olds we expect this positive impact to increase.

Race including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin

User research has been conducted with carers to understand their experience of the services offered by Social Security Scotland, identifying pain points and user needs, and on understanding who our carer users are. This information will be used to consider their needs when developing the service and shared with our communications team to ensure we encourage eligible carers to apply for all of the support which they are entitled to.

In May 2024, the Scottish Government recently published new independent research^[31] to gain a better understanding of seldom-heard groups - those more likely to be marginalised from public services, including the social security system, or face additional barriers in accessing support. The findings from this evidence review highlight that existing ethnic minority communities are a seldom-heard group across the Scottish social security system, with these communities more likely to experience additional challenges in accessing their social security entitlements. 

Social Security Scotland publish statistics on the diversity characteristics of people applying for the benefits they administer. These statistics allow Social Security Scotland to understand who is using their services and how their processes are working for different groups of people. According to the most recent publication covering April 2023 to March 2024, Asian and Caribbean or Black applicants had higher denial rates for Social Security Scotland benefits compared to other ethnicity groups. User research has previously been undertaken by Social Security Scotland with clients whose first language is not English to support mitigating this barrier. User Researchers are also planning work to target Seldom-Heard groups, including those who speak English as a second language. Using this information, we will be able to begin addressing these barriers and encourage eligible carers to apply for all of the support which they are entitled to, alongside incorporating its findings into our comms plans to utilise in our ongoing engagement with unpaid carers.

We have also taken actions across social security to mitigate identified challenges for carers from black and ethnic minorities communities. These include some communities being less likely to identify as carers, and there being higher prevalence of language barriers. We will include communications across a range of platforms, sign posting to other support, and ensuring benefit information is available in accessible formats, and multiple languages. These are set out in the Carer Support Payment equality impact assessment^[32].

Continuous monitoring of the impacts of our mitigations will be key to mitigating barriers. We will continue to work with data specialists and relevant organisations representing this group to support this.

Race: Paying Scottish Carer Supplement as a regular payment alongside Carer Support Payment

We have not identified any negative impacts on people with this protected characteristic as a result of this change, although it may result in increased complexity. Mitigations to this are set out above in the Equality Impact Assessment background, with information on these changes being available in different languages.

Race: Introducing Carer Additional Person Payment

We understand that some minority ethnic communities may be more likely to have larger families. Unfortunately, due to small sample sizes, when breaking UK data down further^[33], it becomes too granular to draw out many further conclusions.

We acknowledge this data gap does not allow us to conclude if larger families lead to an increase in multiple caring roles for carers from minority ethnic communities. If this was the case CAPP may have a disproportionately positive impact on these carers. We are considering actions to address this data gap.

As set out above, in order to minimise added complexity of accessing Carer Additional Person Payment, there is no separate application form. There will be one application for Carer Support covering all three components. Carers already in receipt of Carer Support will able report any changes (such as caring for an additional person) through the Change of Circumstances process.

Race: Extending the bereavement run on

We lack data to know if bereavement during a caring role is more prevalent for one ethnicity over another. However, we expect the longer run on providing more stability for longer to carers will have a positive impact on all carers.

Race: Extending Young Carer Grant to 19-year-olds

We expect extending Young Carer Grant will increase how many young people benefit. 87% of the Young Carer Grant applicants included in the latest Social Security Scotland applicant diversity and equalities analysis were white^[34]. This was in line with the average across all Social Security Scotland benefits. Similar to Carer Support Payment young carers from minority ethnic communities may be missing out on carer benefits which they are eligible for due to not identifying as being a carer. As highlighted above Social security Scotland continue to try and mitigate this through communications and having information available in different languages and easy read formats. Overall, we expect the extension to have a positive impact on minority ethnic communities.

Sex

Sex: Carer Support improvements

As already mentioned, as of February 2024, 69% of Carer's Allowance recipients in Scotland were women, with the 2022-23 Carers Census showing that 74% of carers identified as female^[35]. The Carer Support Payment Equality Impact Assessment recognised that gendered nature of caring meant the introduction of this benefit could have more of a positive impact on women.

Women already face a gender pay gap and are more likely to have been affected by previous benefit changes. Women are also more likely than men to rely on social security, and for some women, Carer's Allowance, paid directly to the carer, may be their main or only independent income^[36]. We expect the introduction of Carer Support and its new components of Scottish Carer Supplement and Carer Additional Person Payment along with the bereavement run on extension to make a positive impact for women in particular.

However, it does also mean that the added complexity the changes will introduce will also impact women more. As noted above, we aim to mitigate these impacts through targeted communications and ensuring the application process is as accessible as possible.

Sex: Extending Young Carer Grant to 19-year-olds

For Young Carer Grant 53% of applicants included in the latest Social Security Scotland applicant diversity and equalities analysis^[37] were women and 41% were men. We expect this gender difference to be around the same for carers aged 19 years, resulting in the positive impact from this change affecting more young women.

Sexual orientation & Gender Reassignment

Sexual orientation & Gender Reassignment: Carer Support improvements

As noted in the Carer Support Payment Equality Impact Assessment, we do not yet have a breakdown of evidence that distinguishes between sexual orientation and gender reassignment as this is not collected for Carer's Allowance applicants.

Social Security Scotland is now collecting this information through equalities monitoring forms when applicants apply directly for Carer Support Payment. Statistics on Carer Support Payment will be included in future releases of Social Security Scotland’s applicant diversity and equalities analysis. With carer benefits soon being fully delivered by Social Security Scotland, we will begin to close this data gap.

From our Experience Panels and the Scottish Carer’s Assistance consultation^[38] we know that carers with these protected characteristics may have reduced social networks and have less confidence in support services due to past negative experiences.

To mitigate this all Social Security Scotland staff are required to undertake equality training and LGBT+ awareness training. For transgender applicants, our applications will continue to follow known good practice and not require the applicant to identify as male or female.

We have not identified any negative impacts in relation to these protected characteristics as a result of the introduction of Carer Support and its new components. We also expect these individuals to experience a positive impact overall through these improvements.

Sexual orientation & Gender Reassignment: Extending Young Carer Grant to 19-year-olds

79% of Young Carer Grant applicants included in the latest Social Security Scotland applicant diversity and equalities analysis were heterosexual, 3% were gay or lesbian, 4% were bisexual and 1% identified another way. This is in line with population statistics for 16 to 19 year olds in Scotland^[39]. This suggests that sexual orientation does not impact take-up of Young Carer Grant. 2% of Young Carer Grant applicants were transgender. This proportion was similar to the 1.5% of 16 to 24 year olds who were transgender in the most recent census^[40].

Religion or belief

Religion or belief: Carer Support improvements

As with sexual orientation, data on religion and belief for Carer's Allowance applicants is not collected by Department for Work and Pensions but will begin to be gathered by Social Security Scotland for Carer Support Payment.

Experience Panels highlighted that carers from different religions may be impacted by cultural differences, identifying as a carer and language barriers^[41]. Due to data limitations, it is not yet clear if these differences are specific to religion or belief or if they are similar to the issues discussed in the race section. However, in regard to the specific priority improvements to Carer Support Payment, we have not identified any negative impacts on people with this protected characteristic.

Religion or belief: Extending Young Carer Grant to 19-year-olds

The majority of Young Carer Grant applicants included in the latest Social Security Scotland applicant diversity and equalities analysis reported having no religion at 64%. This was similar to the 63%^[42] that reported no religion in the most recent census for 16 to 24 year olds. The two most prevalent religions for both Young Carer Grant applicants and census data were Roman Catholic and Church of Scotland. A higher proportion of young carer grant applicants were Muslim compared to the most recent Scottish census, at 5% and 3% respectively. This suggests that the extension of Young Carer Grant may have a minorly positive impact on these groups given that may be more likely to apply

Maternity and pregnancy

We have identified no negative impacts to those with this protected characteristic through this Equality Impact Assessment update for the priority improvements to Carer Support Payment, minor amendments, or Young Carer Grant extension. There is however a lack of data on the number of carers in this category.

As noted above in the section on sex, caring is gendered with the majority of Carer's Allowance recipients being women. The link between individuals with this protected characteristic and women means that information set out above in the section on sex will likely impact this group in a similar way.

We continue to engage with organisations that support women and monitor how this group’s experiences are impacted to mitigate for the lack of data.

Marriage and Civil partnership

We have not identified any negative impacts on those in this protected group however, we do not have any data on how many carers fall into this category.

Carer's Allowance is paid directly to the carer regardless of their marital status and may be their main or only independent income. This means the positive impacts of our improvements can help within all eligible households. This impact has close links with sex given that, due to the gendered nature of caring, women are more likely than men to rely on social security.