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

Conclusion

7. As a result of the evidence gathered and analysed against all UN Convention on the Rights of the Child requirements, what is the potential overall impact of this proposal on children’s rights?

Children’s Rights (Annex 1)

Positive

8. If you have identified a positive impact on children’s rights, please describe below how the proposal will protect, respect, and fulfil children’s rights in Scotland.

To summarise, the policy changes are expected to have overall positive impact to the financial assistance available to 16- to 18-year-old carers and young people who are eligible for any of the components of Carer Support - Carer Support Payment, Scottish Carer Supplement and Carer Additional Person Payment - along with those eligible for Young Carer Grant. The proposals to extend eligibility of Young Carer Grant would also bring a further group of 19-year-old carers into entitlement, closing the unintended gap in support for this group that stakeholders had raised when bringing more students into entitlement for Carer Support Payment^[22].

By paying Scottish Carer Supplement as regular payment alongside Carer Support Payment, carers and their families will have higher regular income which will also provide more financial stability for carers and their households in Scotland.

If the carer is eligible, providing regular and substantial care for more than one disabled child for 20 hours or more, they will be entitled to Carer Additional Person Payment for each individual child or adult, as long as they meet all other eligibility criteria. This will again result in higher regular incomes to those providing care for multiple people.

Similarly, by extending the bereavement run-on of Carer Support and extending entitlement of Young Carer Grant to 19-year-olds, families with children are more likely to have a greater sense of stability as entitlement to support is extended to more groups.

As a result of this assessment of The Carer’s Assistance (Miscellaneous and Consequential Amendments, Revocation, Transitional and Saving Provisions) (Scotland) Regulations 2025, we do not consider that any changes are necessary to Carer Support Payment policy. This assessment indicates that overall, these policies would have positive impacts on children and young carers, as these changes provide additional support to more carers. These policies also further contribute to the framework of the 2018 Act of a new social security system that is underpinned by the principles of fairness, dignity, respect and a human rights-based approach.

9. If a negative impact has been identified please describe below. Is there a risk this could potentially amount to an incompatibility?

Not applicable

Mitigation Record

What options have been considered to modify the proposal in order to mitigate negative impact or potential incompatibility issues?

Not applicable

10. As a result of the evidence gathered and analysed against all wellbeing indicators, will the proposal contribute to the wellbeing of children and young people in Scotland?

Safe: No

Healthy: Yes

Achieving: No

Nurtured: Yes

Active: No

Respected: No

Responsible: No

Included: No

If yes, please provide an explanation below:

Healthy: by ensuring that carers and their families have increased frequency of higher household income at their disposal through both the Scottish Carer Supplement and the Carer Additional Person Payment recognition payment, the policy improvements provided for in these regulations will allow parents and guardians to make the best choices in terms of accessing healthy food and making healthy choices.

Similarly, through the extension of Young Carer Grant, young carers will also have more income to support them in making healthy choices.

The extension of the bereavement run on will also provide additional financial support to families who are eligible to receive it, ensuring that they are able to continue to support their health in a difficult transition period.

Nurtured: Likewise, children of carers with less financial worries will have a greater sense of security about their future. For example, if a parent is a carer and is able to access additional funds regularly through the regular payment of Scottish Carer Supplement alongside Carer Support Payment, to mitigate financial pressures.

Although a recognition payment, we expect that Carer Additional Person Payment will indirectly benefit both children in households with multiple cared for people, as well as directly benefiting young carers who are directly in receipt of Carer Support Payment and caring for multiple people.

By extending Young Carer Grant to 19-year-olds, this will benefit young people with caring responsibilities. Young carers in receipt of the grant are able to use the money for whatever they choose to.

11. How will you communicate to children and young people the impact that the proposal will have on their rights?

Providing information to children and young people on how their rights are being or will be impacted helps to ensure that policy-development is transparent.

Information on support available for carers will be available on the Social Security Scotland website, as well as mygov.scot. Officials will also continue to engage with young carers at events such as the annual Young Carer Festival; raising awareness of the Grant and being available to answer any questions the young carers may have. Officials will also communicate with stakeholders such as the Carer Benefit Advisory Group, to ensure that they are aware of progress of the proposed legislation and able to share any the information with any carers they work with that may be impacted.

This Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment will be published alongside the regulations on the legislaton.gov.uk website so that those wishing to access it can do so. The Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment has been written in an accessible manner so that children and young people wishing to read the Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment will be able to understand its content and the potential impact on their rights.