Carer support payment priority improvements: impact assessment updates

Fairer Scotland Duty considerations

This section of the impact assessments update considers the changes against our Fairer Scotland duties.

As highlighted in the State of Caring Report 2023^[71], the Department for Work and Pensions’ Family Resources Survey highlighted that 1 in 5 households in receipt of Carer’s Allowance in the UK reported living in food insecurity – nearly three times the rate of the general population. The report also noted that 62% of carers agreed that the rising cost of living has made it increasingly difficult for carers to manage their finances. The recent WPI Economics report with Carers UK^[72] found that the poverty rate for unpaid carers was 50% higher than for those who did not provide care, and that carers aged 25-44 have the highest rate of poverty of any other age group, at 38-39%.

We recognised in our Carer Support Payment impact assessment that the benefit has complex links to reserved benefits delivered by the Department for Work and Pensions, and, as set out in the Equality Impact Assessment section, making changes to Carer Support Payment increases complexity. It is therefore vital to continue to work closely with colleagues in the UK Government to ensure that changes we make do not risk carers’ other financial support.

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

Under the current system, a carer could lose out on the equivalent of 6 months of Scottish Carer Supplement payments due to not being eligible to receive Carer Support Payment for just one week, if this week happened to fall on the week of the qualifying date. This could be due to exceeding the earnings threshold, or to certain temporary breaks in care.

As a result of this change, carers will receive the Supplement for any award week in which they receive Carer Support Payment. With eligibility based on receipt of Carer Support Payment, carers who lose eligibility due to a break in care or exceeding the earnings threshold will lose the Supplement only for those weeks for which Carer Support Payment is not paid. This approach therefore provides a more stable income for carers, particularly for carers with fluctuating earnings. It will also support carers on lower incomes with budgeting for essential items like food and heating^[73].

We recognise that some carers prefer the lump sum payment, and that carers will need to be fully aware of this change in good time to support their financial planning. A key element to raise awareness of the change, alongside communication approaches set our earlier in this document, will be a notification sent to all eligible carers in advance of the change. The timescale and wording of this notification has been developed through user research with carers.

Introducing Carer Additional Person Payment

We do not have data on income levels for carers who care for more than one disabled person compared to those who care for one, however we do know that Carer Additional Person Payment will provide extra financial support to thousands of carers in receipt of Carer Support Payment, the majority of whom are in the lower half of income deciles.

In the Scottish Government consultation^[74] on the changes, some respondents expressed the view that this new payment will help recognise the financial burden and additional stress faced by carers providing care for more than one person.

Extending the bereavement run-on

By increasing the bereavement run-on by 4 weeks, we will provide more stability and prolonged support for carers on lower incomes, at what is likely to be an emotionally challenging time during a transitional period in their lives. This extended financial support is intended to allow carers to have longer to adjust and consider their options to re-enter education, training or employment opportunities.

However, some carers receiving Universal Credit this extension will not receive the full potential impact of this change. Carer Support Payment and Carer’s Allowance are counted as unearned income and deducted from the Universal Credit maximum amounts £1 for £1, where it is paid during an assessment period. Carers can benefit from the Universal Credit Carer Element, which is added to the maximum amount of Universal Credit within each assessment period where the carer provides regular and substantial care for the whole of the assessment period. Where the Carer Support Payment bereavement run-on ends within an assessment period, and Carer Support Payment is not paid for the whole of the assessment period, the Universal Credit Carer Element is not applied for that full assessment period.

This has the effect that Carer Support Payment is deducted £1 for £1 within the assessment period without the Carer Element being added to the Universal Credit maximum amount for that same period. While all carers who receive Carer Support Payment will receive additional financial support for the entire extra 4 weeks of support, for some carers who rely on additional support through Universal Credit, they will not receive the additional Universal Credit Carer Element on top of their award where their Carer Support Payment award extends beyond the third assessment period and any Carer Support Payment paid will be deducted £1 for £1.

We do not have access to the number of carers this would affect, and are continuing to discuss this issue with the Department for Work and Pensions.

Extending Young Carer Grant to 19-year-olds

We know from the 2011 census that young carers are more likely to live in the most deprived areas. The Census shows that 3.1% of younger people (aged under 25) living in the 20% most deprived areas in Scotland are carers compared with 1.7% of younger people in the least deprived areas^[75].

Extending Young Carer Grant to 19-year-olds will provide a disproportionately high number of carers on lower incomes with additional financial support.

Amendments to the principal regulations

The further minor amendments to the principal regulations do not change how the benefit is delivered but aim to increase 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, and to provide clarity.