Carer's Assistance Regulations 2025: child rights and wellbeing impact assessment

Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment

Introduction 1. Brief Summary

Type of proposal: SSI

The Carer’s Assistance (Miscellaneous and Consequential Amendments, Revocation, Transitional and Saving Provisions) (Scotland) Regulations 2025

The Carer’s Assistance (Carer Support Payment) (Scotland) Regulations 2023^[1] (the "principal regulations") set out the rules and eligibility criteria for Carer Support Payment, which replaced Carer’s Allowance in Scotland. Carer Support Payment is a form of assistance to provide support to people aged 16 or over who usually live in Scotland and provide care for 35 hours or more a week to a disabled person on certain disability benefits. Recipients may not earn more than £196 weekly after tax, National Insurance and expenses.

The Carer’s Assistance (Miscellaneous and Consequential Amendments, Revocation, Transitional and Saving Provisions) (Scotland) Regulations 2025 make several proposed changes to the principal regulations:

Introduction of Carer Support: To make provision for a new Carer Additional Person Payment, and for the Scottish Carer Supplement, outlined below, 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. The amending regulations amend the principal regulations to clarify how the rules will apply to Carer Support and each component.

To pay Scottish Carer Supplement (previously Carer's Allowance Supplement) alongside regular payments of Carer Support Payment: rather than providing a top up to Carer Support Payment as a six-month lump sum, based on a qualifying date, we will pay the Scottish Carer Supplement as a component of Carer Support alongside regular payments of Carer Support Payment. This will provide carers with a higher regular income to support with their day-to-day expenses, and so is intended to better support carers on low incomes. It is also fairer as it links the payment with weekly eligibility for Carer Support Payment, rather than depending on single qualifying dates which could mean carers missing out on the extra support if they happen to not be in payment on the relevant date/s, or are getting extra support for periods where they are not providing care.

Introducing Carer Additional Person Payment: A £10 per week recognition payment for each eligible additional cared for person. Carers would need to be receiving Carer Support Payment and providing regular and substantial care to a person (an “additional cared for person”) who is not the cared for person in respect of whom they receive the Carer Support Payment, and who is also in receipt of a qualifying disability benefit, and provide at least 20 hours of care a week to the additional cared for people. The extra payment is intended to provide extra financial support for those with multiple caring roles in recognition of the impact of additional caring role/s.

Extending the bereavement run-on: Extending the period Carer Support Payment is paid from 8 to 12 weeks after the cared for person dies. This change is intended to provide an extended period of financial continuity and adjustment for carers to consider their next steps, such as entry into education, work or volunteering. This change will apply to all components of Carer Support.

Extending the Young Carer Grant age: Raising the upper age limit of Young Carer Grant to 19 years of age. Carer Support Payment opens up entitlement to carers in higher education and carers in any kind of education from 20 years old. Carers aged 16 to 19 in school or studying school level qualifications are not entitled to it. To ensure there is provision for all carers aged 16 or older with a substantial caring role, we intend to extend entitlement for Young Carer Grant to all 19-year-olds. While the definition of a child for the purposes of this document is aged 18 and under, the extra provision will provide a degree of certainty and confidence to 16-18 year old carers who may have missed out on support if this gap remained.

Further changes to the principal Carer Support Payment regulations: These changes do not change how the benefit is delivered but aim to increase the fairness and provide greater clarity in regulations.

They make amendments:

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 cross-border rules for the introduction of Carer Support for carers who move to Scotland or their award should have been transferred can benefit from an uplift payment of Scottish Carers Supplement and Carers Additional Person Payment.

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 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.

The intention is that these changes will be made within a single set of amending regulations. The Young Carer Grant and minor changes will come into effect on 17 November, and the priority improvements will come due to come into force on 15 March 2026.

Start date of proposal’s development: Drafting of regulations began in June 2024

Start date of CRWIA process: June 2024

2. With reference given to the requirements of the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 (Annex 1), which aspects of the proposal are relevant to/impact upon children’s rights?

The policy proposals have been assessed against the relevant UNCRC articles, and will impact the following proposals:

• Article 3 (best interests of the child): The best interests of the child must be a top priority in all decisions made by administrative authorities or legislative bodies.

Social Security Scotland has been developed around the principles of dignity, fairness and respect, transparent decision making, a person-centred approach and rooted in the belief that social security is a human right. Carer Support is available to carers from age 16, so the changes being introduced will directly benefit young people aged 16 and over, and indirectly benefit young disabled people of all ages being cared for. This will also indirectly benefit the families of carers. By increasing their household income, this will ease the financial pressures faced by these households and support them to make decisions in the best interest of themselves and their children. The change to Young Carer Grant is proposed specifically to improve support for young people, as set out above, to ensure that there is benefit provision for young carers aged 16 and over regardless of educational status. All young carers in Scotland with a substantial caring role will be able to access financial support where they meet the other eligibility criteria, which will provide an increased sense of financial stability for young carers aged 16 to 18.

• Article 4 (implementation of the convention): Parties shall undertake all appropriate legislative, administrative, and other measures for the implementation of the rights.

Officials have engaged with stakeholders throughout the development of the proposed changes to ensure that both Carer Support Payment and Young Carer Grant are accessible to all in Scotland, regardless of social, economic and cultural backgrounds. As part of wider work to support Seldom-Heard groups to take up entitlements, we are looking at ways to reduce barriers that these groups, which includes carers, may face in accessing benefits. To help increase the availability of advice services within the places that people already go, the Scottish Government allocated over £1.5 million in 2025/26 to support the Advice in Accessible Settings Fund. Delivered by Advice UK, the Advice in Accessible Settings Fund encourages partnership working between advice agencies and a range of other services including youth charities, homelessness services, faith based charities and carers support services, in order to increase the accessibility and awareness of advice.

Through monitoring the age of carers and the people they care for we will be able to identify any under representation of younger carers, and be able to seek to understand and address any negative impacts specific to young people.

• Article 17 (access to information): Ensure that children have access to information and material from a diversity of sources, especially those aimed at the promotion of his or her social, spiritual wellbeing, physical and mental health.

Information regarding that changes to Carer Support and Young Carer Grant will be available in a variety of formats, including but not limited to, leaflets, information included within decision notifications, online and via telephone. Social Security Scotland has developed expertise in promoting to young carers through Young Carer Grant since 2019. We will incorporate this learning to run a marketing campaign to let carers know about the benefit and encourage them to apply We will develop it in partnership with carers, including young carers, and will work with our agencies to create content that will be effective with younger carers. We will also continue to utilise channels that will reach all of our audiences of young people, including intersecting seldom-heard groups.

With regards to the introduction of Scottish Carer Supplement being paid as a regular payment alongside Carer Support Payment, some families indicated that they would prefer the current six-monthly lump sum payments to remain. In order to mitigate any negative impacts that may arise from altering the payment schedule we will implement a communications strategy to promote the change in the payment cycles. This will help families prepare for the change.

Policy officials will continue to engage with young carers at the annual Young Carer Festival to hear from young carers directly to support understanding of the impacts of this change.

Through monitoring the age of carers and the people they care for we will be able to identify any under representation of younger carers, and be able to seek to understand and address any negative impacts specific to young people.

• Article 18 (parental responsibilities and state assistance): Both parents share responsibility for bringing up their child and should always consider what is best for the child. Governments must support parents by creating support services for children and giving parents the help they need to raise their children. This is also relevant to support services for children where parents may require help in raising a child.

The introduction of Carer Support, changes to Young Carer Grant, and other improvements will provide additional financial support to carer households which will directly benefit carers aged 16 and older, and indirectly benefit any disabled children they care for. In so doing, this can reduce the burden on parents responsible for the young carer in question by: increasing their income; improving the stability of their income; recognising their caring role and impacting positively on their wellbeing.

Carers will also be offered additional support in applying for Carer Support, should they wish. Carers can apply for Social Security Scotland benefits by phone, paper form, online, or via the Local Delivery team. Applications with the latter team will take place at a location and time that suits the carer. Locations can include a venue in their local community; their home; in hospital or prison or via video or telephone call.

• Article 23 (children with a disability): A child with a disability has the right to live a full and decent life with dignity and, as far as possible, independence and to play an active part in the community. Governments must do all they can to support disabled children and their families.

To be eligible for Carer Support, carers must care for someone in receipt of a disability benefit, for example: the daily living component of Adult Disability Payment, the middle or highest care rate of Child Disability Payment or Disability Living Allowance, or Pension Age Disability Payment or Attendance Allowance^[2].

By providing financial support to help allow those who are caring to continue to do so, this has the potential to positively impact on the cared for person, including any children who are being cared for. This would indirectly positively impact Article 23.

Improving the financial support provided to carers, and the way in which it is provided, has indirect benefits for the disabled person they care for.

A high proportion of carers are themselves disabled, with some analysis suggesting the figure is as high as half^[3]. Like carers, disabled people are more likely to live in the bottom half of income deciles. The improvements planned will therefore positively impact on young disabled carers who meet the Carer Support Payment eligibility criteria.

The Carer Additional Person Payment and other improvements will further support carers and disabled people, providing financial recognition to carers who are caring for multiple people with a qualifying disability benefit. The further 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.

• Article 26 (Social Security): Every child has the right to benefit from Social Security. Governments must provide social security, including financial support and other benefits, to families in need of assistance.

These Regulations are especially relevant to the Article 26 as the introduction of Carer Support, changes to Young Carer Grant, and other improvements will increase the income of unpaid carers in recognition of their vital role and its impact on their lives. Moving to regular payments of Scottish Carer Supplement alongside Carer Support Payment will support families on lower incomes with budgeting for ongoing living costs. Targeted communications will be provided to inform carers of these changes. The increase in upper age limit for Young Carer Grant will increase the number of carers who have access to signposting to wider benefits and financial support, which could have indirect impacts on children being cared for.

The further amendments to the principal regulations aim to avoid interruptions to payments, preserve the operation of the legislation and manage transitional circumstances to ensure there are no issues as a result of the transition to the new benefit.

This aim is met through the savings provisions and the provision to make a determination without application, the latter allowing Scottish Ministers to award additional backdated support if a carer finds out they were entitled to more backdated support than they applied for.

• Article 27 (Adequate standard of living): Every child has the right to an adequate standard of living.

The introduction of Carer Support, extending Young Carer Grant, and other improvements will increase financial support to young carers aged 16 and over, increasing household incomes and delivering it in a way that better supports households on low incomes to manage budgets for ongoing living expenses such as food and heating. This will have indirect positive impacts on disabled children in receipt of disability benefits. As of 31 December 2024, it is estimated that 93,550 children and young people were in receipt of Child Disability Payment in 2024/25^[4].

3. Please provide a summary of the evidence gathered which will be used to inform your decision-making and the content of the proposal.

From:

• existing research/reports/policy expertise
• consultation/feedback from stakeholders
• consultation/feedback directly from children and young people

Both carers and organisations that support carers were consulted with regards to the proposed changes of Carer’s Additional Person Payment, the bereavement run-on extension and the Carer’s Allowance Supplement integration through the Scottish Carer’s Assistance consultation^[5] in 2022. Previous Impact Assessments have also been revisited to inform work being carried out on the most recent priority improvements^[6].

Officials have engaged with carer organisations through the Carer Benefits Advisory Group^[7], with meetings held every quarter. Members have also been encouraged to contact officials in-between meetings should they have any thoughts, questions or feedback on the proposed changes. Materials have also been shared with stakeholders throughout their development.

Officials have also held a cross-policy working group to gather evidence to inform work on the changes being made to both Carer Support Payment and Young Carer Grant. This was conducted alongside work being carried out with analysts to further advise on how these changes would impact carers, including young carers, in Scotland.

With regards to the changes being proposed to Young Carer Grant, statistics up to the end of March 2025 demonstrated that 4% of the total applications for Carer Support Payment received are from carers aged under 18. 67% of these applications processed from this group were authorised^[8]. Similarly, as of Augst 2024, statistics show that 1% of Carer’s Allowance recipients are under 18 years of age^[9].

Carer Voice Sessions were also used to inform the impact of amendments to Carer Support Payment. These internal sessions involved colleagues from both the Scottish Government and Social Security Scotland presenting their findings and instigating discussions on various topics. The first of these sessions covered two pieces of research. These included findings from a Citizens’ Panel with people with lived experience of poverty on the impact of stigma on benefit take-up^[10] and also the recently published Evidence Review of Seldom-Heard Groups^[11].

Developing the priority improvements for Carer Support Payment has also involved engagement with internal stakeholders throughout, such as cross-cutting Policy officials, analysts, Social Security Scotland and Programme colleagues.

Carers receiving Carer Support Payment will automatically receive Scottish Carer Supplement following the implementation of this change, and receive the extended bereavement run on where the person they care for dies. The Carer Additional Person Payment will be available through the Carer Support application process for new applicants, or by a ‘Change of Circumstances’ for existing clients.

A number of user research sessions have been conducted by officials, during which the proposed changes were reviewed, as well as any materials relevant to these (for example any web pages containing information, text message correspondence or change of circumstance forms). Work included engaging with over 50 parent carers to help design processes for Carer Support Payment. No particular themes emerged around child welfare or wellbeing, except in relation to parental access to support services and the challenges in areas where these services lack staff and funding. Signposting information for carers to wider support services may partially alleviate the former issue, although this is not additionally relevant to the changes being implemented through the 2025 regulations.

In the public consultation in 2022^[12], the Scottish Government set out proposals on how the benefit should look when it first launches and sought views on future changes, including the priority improvements set out in this assessment (with the exception of the extension of Young Carer Grant to 19-year-olds^[13]). There were 192 responses in total to the consultation, of which 151 responses were from individuals and 41 from organisations. This included a joint response from the National Carers Organisations including views from Carers Scotland, Coalition of Carers in Scotland, Carers Trust Scotland, Shared Care Scotland and Minority Ethnic Carers of People Project^[14].

On future changes to the benefit, the consultation sought views on Carer Additional Person Payment (including the eligibility criteria, frequency of payments and how it should be targeted), how the Carer's Allowance Supplement should be paid in future, and whether the respondents agreed with the proposal to extend the bereavement run-on from 8 to 12 weeks^[15]. Respondents raised the following^[16]:

To pay Scottish Carer Supplement (previously Carer's Allowance Supplement) as a regular payment alongside Carer Support Payment: A majority of respondents (62%) agreed with the proposal (questions 16-18) that Carer’s Allowance Supplement should be paid alongside carers’ regular payments of Carer Support Payment in future. It should also be noted here that a significant minority also supported the current payment of a lump sum twice a year, with many respondents suggesting that carers should have a choice as to how this support is paid.

Introducing Carer Additional Person Payment: A majority of respondents (72%) agreed with the proposed eligibility criteria for this payment (questions 19-20) to recognise the additional financial and wellbeing pressures felt by caring for more than one person. Many respondents also suggested that the proposed rate of £10 per week should be increased and the caring hours requirement of 20 hours reduced or removed. A majority of respondents (73%) also agreed with the proposed frequency the benefit should be paid (questions 21-22), with many noting that more regular payments would help avoid confusion and potential overpayments when compared to a lump sum. Lastly, a majority of respondents (63%) agreed with the proposed targeting of Carer Additional Person Payment to those getting payments of Carer Support Payment (questions 23-25), though some suggested that this should also be extended to carers with underlying entitlement to Carer Support Payment.

As carers would not need to be providing care for an additional person separately from the care they already provide for the person they get Carer Support Payment for, Carer Additional Person Payment would benefit many parents or guardians who provide care for more than one child or young adult who receives a disability benefit. However, only one carer could receive the extra payment for a given cared for person, as would also be the case for Carer Support Payment.

Extending the bereavement run-on: A majority of respondents (89%) agreed with the proposed future change (questions 30-31) to continue to pay Carer Support Payment for 12 weeks after the death of a cared for person, extending from the current 8 weeks. Respondents agreed that this extension would allow carers more time to adapt to this transitional period in their life and noted that the extended support would also help reduce financial and emotional stress during this time.

4. Further to the evidence described at ‘3’ have you identified any 'gaps' in evidence which may prevent determination of impact? If yes, please provide an explanation of how they will be addressed

Overall, we recognise that we lack data in relation to 16- to 18-year-olds in respect of some elements of our policy proposals. For example, we have found it challenging to attract 16- to 18-year-olds to take part in user research, partly because so few of them receive Carer’s Allowance or Carer Support Payment.

Taking into account what we have learned through Young Carer Grant and Carer Support Payment, we think it is fair to make assumptions about the positive impact that the changes will have for younger carers and on disabled children and young people being cared for by recipients of these benefits; nothing we have learned through these benefits indicate that there would be any differential impact on these groups. However, in finalising our evaluation plans for these changes, we will consider how best to understand impacts on under 18-year-olds as a result of our policy.

User research has been conducted with carers to understand their experience of the service, 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.

Areas where we are seeking improved data include:

1. to better understand how Social Security Scotland services and processes work for minority ethnic communities. While the quantitative data currently held will not support drawing conclusions on reasons for denial rates, there is some independent evidence which suggests there may be a link between language barriers (people with English as a second language) and a lack of understanding of eligibility^[17]. User research has previously been undertaken by Social Security Scotland with clients whose first language is not English to support mitigating this barrier. Using this information, we will be able to address 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.

2. Identifying the number of Carer’s Allowance/Carer Support Payment recipients who are currently caring for more than one person and whether having protected characteristics makes a person more likely to care for multiple people. Work between policy officials, analysts, and carer organisations is ongoing to address any gaps.

5. Analysis of Evidence

We anticipate the proposed changes to Carer Support Payment and Young Carer Grant will have an overall positive impact on children and young people in Scotland.

To pay Scottish Carer Supplement (previously Carer's Allowance Supplement) as a regular payment alongside Carer Support Payment: We know that there are an estimated 100,000 unpaid carers living in poverty in Scotland, with the deep poverty rate for unpaid carers being 60% higher than for those not providing care^[18]. By paying Scottish Carer Supplement alongside regular Carer Support Payments, this would increase carers’ regular incomes and provide more financial stability. Also, removing the ‘qualifying dates’ for Carer’s Allowance Supplement would mean that more carers would be eligible for the Scottish Carer Supplement. Under the current rules, a carer could miss out on six months’ worth of support if they were not in receipt of Carer’s Allowance or Carer Support Payment on a specific qualifying date. As carers’ more regular incomes are increased, we expect this to have a positive impact on the children in the household therefore potentially positively impacting article 27 indirectly. This will also directly impact young carers who are in receipt of the added component of Carer Support as we expect that having a more regular income will provide greater stability and more consistent financial support.

Introducing Carer Additional Person Payment: This recognition payment will provide a positive financial impact for those carers who are looking after more than one child who require care. This will benefit not only the carer themselves, but also the entire household by increasing their regular income. It will also benefit those carers who are under the age of 18 and in receipt of the additional component of Carer Support. For example, this will positively impact Articles 3 (Best interests of the child), Article 18 (Parental responsibilities and state assistance), Article 23 (Children with a disability), Article 24 (Health and health services), Article 26 (Social Security) and Article 27 (Adequate standard of living).

Article 3: By implementing the Carer Additional Person Payment recognition payment, this ensures that the rights and duties of the parents, legal guardians or other individuals with legal responsibilities for any children in their household are taken into consideration. Carer Additional Person Payment will provide an additional source of financial support for these households.

Article 18: As a recognition payment, Carer Additional Person Payment acknowledges the additional impacts that a carer caring for multiple disabled people (including any children) will face, and provides additional assistance to parents of guardians with caring responsibilities.

Article 23: Similarly, Carer Additional Person Payment assists parents or guardians in carrying out their caring roles for disabled children by providing them with a recognition payment which could be used to support nutritional choices.

Article 24: As above, households with additional income will be better placed to make healthier choices, with regards to food

Article 26: Every child has the right to benefit from social security, and benefits should “where appropriate, be granted, taking into account the resources and the circumstances of the child and persons having responsibility for the maintenance of the child”. Carer Additional Person Payment ensures that carers can provide anything needed for the wellbeing of their child by ensuring that they have the financial support to do so.

Article 27: By providing additional income, this will assist carers in providing a standard of living adequate for the development of any children within their household – including with regards to nutrition, clothing and housing.

This will also directly benefit any young carers in receipt of Carer Support Payment, as they too could receive Carer Additional Person Payment if they are caring for multiple people.

Extending the bereavement the run-on: By extending the period Carer Support is paid from 8 to 12 weeks after the cared for person dies, this will provide carers with more time to adjust to the transitional period in their lives of their caring role ending. It would also provide more time to consider their future options for education and employment. We expect this to benefit those carers who are under the age of 18 and in receipt of Carer Support Payment. This would also offer additional stability for families with children. For example, this will positively impact Articles 3 (Best interests of the child), Article 18 (Parental responsibilities and state assistance), Article 23 (Children with a disability), Article 24 (Health and health services, Article 26 (Social Security) and Article 27 (Adequate standard of living).

Article 3: By extending the run-on, this ensures that the rights and duties of the parents, legal guardians or other individuals with legal responsibilities for any children in their household are taken into consideration. This change will provide a sense of continuity for these households in what can be a difficult transition period.

Article 18: Extending the run-on will provide stability for parents in the upbringing and development of their children, as it will provide additional financial support for households to adjust to the difficult change of circumstances following the death of a cared for person.

Article 23: As above, the extension to the run-on will provide parents or guardians additional financial assistance in carrying out their caring roles for disabled children by providing them with longer term stability.

Article 24: By providing an extension to the financial support offered through the run-on period, this will assist parents or guardians in carrying out their caring roles for disabled children with regards to making nutritional choices.

Article 26: The extension to the run-on period ensures that carers have more financial support to provide for the wellbeing of their child and allowing carers more time to adjust following their caring role ending.

Article 27: By providing additional income, this will assist carers stability in terms of both finances and transitioning circumstances to provide a standard of living adequate for the development of any children within their household – including with regards to nutrition, clothing and housing. This will also directly benefit any young carers in receipt of Carer Support, as they too will receive benefit from an increased run-on.

Extending Young Carer Grant: By extending eligibility to 19-year-olds, Young Carer Grant will provide continuity for young people at what may be a difficult transitional period for them. Scottish Government analysts expect an additional 1000-1,500 applications/awards for Young Carer Grant from 19-year-olds as a result of this change^[19]. This will have a positive impact on young carers who are currently aged 18, as it will provide extra stability and confidence for young people to know that there is provision throughout their adult life if their caring role continues beyond this point. Extending eligibility to 19-year-olds would also help to close an unintended gap in support for this group, which stakeholders had raised when Carer Support Payment extended entitlement to more students in education^[20].

This extension of the Young Carer Grant will positively impact Articles 3 (Best interests of the child), Article 26 (Social Security) and Article 27 (Adequate standard of living).

Article 3: By extending the eligibility of Young Carer Grant, this will benefit a larger group of young carers financially, allowing them to access additional opportunities.

Article 26: Every child has the right to benefit from social security, including young carers. As stated above, this change will assist more young carers by extending eligibility to 19-year-olds. This would also help to close an unintended gap in support for this group, which stakeholders had raised when Carer Support Payment extended entitlement to more students in education^[21].

Article 27: By providing additional income, this will assist young carers stability in terms of both finances and transitioning circumstances; providing a standard of living adequate for their own development.

Further changes to the principal Carer Support Payment regulations: Changes to breaks in care, the new uplift payment, and not requiring a new application for those already receiving Carer Support Payment will have an overall neutral to positive impact for carers. Along with changes to the transitional and saving provisions that aim to avoid interruptions to payments, preserve the operation of the legislation and manage transitional circumstances to ensure there are no issues as a result of the transition to the new benefit. These ensure payments of Carer Support can continues and carers don’t miss out on support they are entitled to increasing the income they receive.

The further amendments also remove the 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. As the last relevant date for this was February 2025 We do not expect this change to have any significant positive or negative impact on the rights or wellbeing or children and young people.

6. What changes (if any) have been made to the proposal as a result of this assessment?

None. However, we are aware of the importance of having targeted communications in place for carers and we are continuing to develop ways to gather data to evaluate the impacts of these changes.