Carer Support Payment and Young Carer Grant

Carer Support Payment is Scotland's weekly benefit for unpaid carers, paid at £86.45 a week in 2026/27¹. It has replaced Carer's Allowance for most carers living in Scotland and is administered by Social Security Scotland rather than the Department for Work and Communities at the DWP¹. To qualify, you normally need to be 16 or over, to spend at least 35 hours a week caring for someone who receives a qualifying disability benefit, and to earn no more than £204 net a week².

The payment is one part of a wider set of Scottish support for carers. Carers in Scotland may also receive the Scottish Carer Supplement paid on top, an extra £10.40 a week Carer Additional Person Payment for each additional person cared for, and young carers aged 16 to 18 can claim a yearly Young Carer Grant of £405.10⁴. Since 15 March 2026, Carer Support Payment has been formally renamed the Carer Support Payment component of Carer Support, though the amount paid and the eligibility rules are unchanged⁶.

What Carer Support Payment is and why Scotland has its own carer benefit

Carer Support Payment is money to help you if you are an unpaid carer in Scotland. It was introduced to replace Carer's Allowance, the UK-wide carer benefit, for carers resident in Scotland⁸. The change came about because carer benefits for Scotland were devolved: the carer support payment replaced the carer's allowance for carers residing in Scotland, under the Carer's Assistance (Carer Support Payment) (Scotland) Regulations 2023⁹. Official UK statistics now exclude Scottish carers from Carer's Allowance counts, because recipients in Scotland are administered by Social Security Scotland under Carer Support Payment instead¹⁰.

The benefit is not a small pilot. By 31 March 2026, an estimated 134,380 carers were on the Carer Support Payment caseload in Scotland⁵. Social Security Scotland describes it as a payment of £86.45 per week and confirms it has replaced Carer's Allowance for most carers in Scotland¹.

For carers, the practical significance is which agency you deal with. If you live in Scotland, you must apply for Carer Support Payment instead of Carer's Allowance⁷. If you live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, Carer's Allowance remains the equivalent benefit, paid at the same weekly rate of £86.45 from April 2026/27¹¹. The rules are closely matched, but not identical: Scotland has its own rules on students, breaks in caring and how the benefit is challenged, covered later in this page.

Carer Support Payment: £86.45 a week, plus supplements

The weekly rate of Carer Support Payment is £86.45². This is the 2026/27 rate, which matches the Carer's Allowance rate of £86.45 a week from 7 April 2026¹². The official statistics publication for Carer Support Payment, covering data to 31 March 2026, described the full amount as £83.30 a week, which was the rate before the April 2026 uprating; the documents reflect different points in the benefit year⁵.

On top of the basic rate, three further payments can apply:

• Carer Additional Person Payment: £10.40 a week for each additional cared-for person, paid alongside Carer Support Payment to carers who care for more than one person receiving a qualifying disability benefit⁵.
• Scottish Carer Supplement: Carer's Allowance Supplement, the old extra payment for Scottish carers, was replaced with the Scottish Carer Supplement for carers in receipt of Carer Support Payment⁵.
• Carer premium or carer addition: £46.40 a week (2025/26) added to means-tested benefits such as Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction and Pension Credit, paid at double rate if both a carer and their partner qualify¹⁴.

Carer Support Payment is taxable, following the same treatment as Carer's Allowance: you pay tax on it only if your total income exceeds your Personal Allowance⁷. It also provides class 1 National Insurance credits, which count towards qualifying for the State Pension and for future claims to bereavement support and new style Jobseeker's and Employment and Support Allowance³. These credits count towards your State Pension record for years spent caring¹⁶.

Payment is usually made every four weeks, for the previous four week period. If you are awarded Carer Support Payment under special rules for terminal illness, you can be paid weekly in advance¹⁷. This differs slightly from Carer's Allowance in the rest of the UK, where claimants can choose weekly in advance or four-weekly payment as standard¹⁸.

Who can get it: 35 hours of care, a qualifying disability benefit and study rules

The core eligibility rules mirror Carer's Allowance. You must spend at least 35 hours a week caring for someone⁷. You do not have to be related to or live with the person you care for¹⁹. The person you care for must receive a qualifying disability benefit: carer's allowance, and Carer Support Payment with it, is available to people providing at least 35 hours of care per week for someone in receipt of certain rates of Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment or Attendance Allowance²⁰. In Scotland, the qualifying benefits include their Scottish replacements, such as Child Disability Payment, for which any adult with parental responsibilities and rights or a guardian can apply on behalf of a child²¹.

You must be 16 years of age or older: Carer Support may only be paid in respect of an individual who is 16 or over².

Where two people each provide at least 35 hours a week of care to the same disabled child, only one of them can get Carer Support Payment, Carer's Allowance or the Universal Credit carer element for that child²². The two carers must decide between them who claims. Claiming for a dependent child does not affect the benefits the child receives, but claiming for a disabled adult who receives the severe disability premium as part of a means-tested benefit can leave that person worse off, because the premium is paid on the basis that no one is claiming a carer benefit for them²².

Students. A carer aged 16 to 19 in non-advanced education involving more than 21 hours a week of study will not normally be able to get Carer Support Payment²². This is an area where Scotland has been actively promoting entitlement: Social Security Scotland has urged people to spread the word about financial help for student carers, noting that many student carers miss out²⁴. The position is stricter for Carer's Allowance in the rest of the UK, where full-time students are generally excluded. If you are a student carer in Scotland, it is worth checking the study rules against your actual timetable, because the 21 hour threshold is measured on study hours in non-advanced education.

The £204 earnings limit and what counts as earnings

If you work, you must not earn more than the earnings limit of £204 per week²². The limit applies to net earnings: earnings after deductions including tax, National Insurance and certain expenses, and the limit of £204 per week applies from 6 April 2026 to the end of March 2027¹⁸. The legislation works by looking at your earnings in the immediately preceding week: if they exceed £204, you are treated as gainfully employed and payment stops for that week².

The limit was raised in April 2026. An official DWP memo confirms the Carer's Allowance weekly earnings limit from 6 April 2026 increases to £204²⁵, and the amending legislation increased the limit from £196 net a week to £204 net a week²⁶. The same £204 figure was substituted into the Carer Support Payment regulations, replacing £196, from 5 April 2026⁴. So carers in Scotland and the rest of the UK face the same earnings test in 2026/27.

What counts as earnings is net income from employment or self-employment after certain deductions. The £204 limit is a hard edge, not a taper: earn £205 in a week and you get no Carer Support Payment for the corresponding period, while earning £204 leaves the payment untouched. This is different from means-tested benefits such as Universal Credit, where earnings reduce the award gradually. The interaction between the earnings limit and Universal Credit is covered in the next section, and the general rules on working while claiming are explained in working while claiming.

How Carer Support Payment affects Universal Credit and other benefits

Carer Support Payment counts in full as income when calculating your Universal Credit³. This means that, as with Carer's Allowance, every pound of Carer Support Payment is deducted from your Universal Credit award²⁷. Official guidance lists Carer Support Payment (Scotland) among the benefits that reduce Universal Credit payments, alongside Carer's Allowance, State Pension, Maternity Allowance and others²⁸.

This does not make claiming pointless. The carer element of Universal Credit and Carer's Allowance (or Carer Support Payment) are two separate things, and a carer can claim both at the same time²⁷. The carer element is an extra amount added to your Universal Credit because you care for someone, and it is not reduced by the deduction of the carer benefit itself. You can usually claim Universal Credit and Carer's Allowance at the same time if you meet the eligibility rules for both⁷. How the carer element fits into a Universal Credit award is explained in Universal Credit elements.

Two further effects matter:

• Overlapping benefits. You cannot get Carer Support Payment at the same time as certain other non-means-tested benefits, including contributory Employment and Support Allowance and State Pension²². Independent guidance lists the overlapping benefits as including State Pension, Maternity Allowance, contribution-based Jobseeker's Allowance, widows' and bereavement benefits and Incapacity Benefit³. Where benefits overlap, you are paid whichever is higher, not both.
• Passported additions. As noted above, a carer premium or carer addition of £46.40 a week (2025/26) can be added to Income Support, income-based JSA, income-related ESA, Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction and Pension Credit¹⁴. Separately, Bereavement Support Payment does not affect entitlement to other benefits including Universal Credit and does not count towards the household benefit cap²⁹.

If your circumstances change, for example the person you care for loses their disability benefit or your caring hours fall, you must report the change. The rules on reporting changes, and what happens if you do not, are covered in reporting a change of circumstances.

Young Carer Grant: £405.10 a year for carers aged 16 to 18

Young Carer Grant is a separate Scottish benefit for carers who are too young, or care for too few hours, to get Carer Support Payment. It is a lump sum payment of £405.10³⁰, an annual payment of over £400 for young carers aged 16, 17, 18 or 19²⁴. The amount was raised from £390.25 to £405.10 from 1 April 2026⁴, having previously been increased from £383.75 to £390.25 a year earlier³¹. Earlier official guidance described the grant as £390.25 once a year for 16, 17 and 18 year olds, reflecting the rate before the April 2026 increase³².

The eligibility rules are:

• Age: young carers can apply once a year while they are 16, 17 or 18³⁰. Some official material describes the grant as available to young people aged 16, 17, 18 or 19²⁴, and the documents differ on whether 19 year olds can apply; check with Social Security Scotland if you are 19.
• Caring hours: at least 16 hours or more care a week, averaged out³⁰. This is a lower threshold than the 35 hours for Carer Support Payment.
• Qualifying benefit: the person or people cared for must receive a disability benefit²⁴.
• What counts as care: supervision and emotional support count as well as physical care, promoting the physical, mental or emotional wellbeing of the person cared for³⁰.
• One grant per person cared for: only one person can receive a Young Carer Grant for the same disabled person³⁰.

Young Carer Grant cannot be paid at the same time as Carer Support Payment²⁴. The two benefits also differ in shape: Carer Support Payment is a weekly income, while Young Carer Grant is a single yearly payment of £405.10¹³. Age and caring hours point to one or the other: Young Carer Grant is for 16 to 18 year olds providing at least 16 hours of care a week, averaged out³⁰, while Carer Support Payment can be paid from age 16¹⁶.

Carer Support Payment is now part of Carer Support: what changes for carers

From 15 March 2026, Carer Support Payment was renamed the Carer Support Payment component of Carer Support⁶. The legislation amended the defined terms across social security law so that references to carer's assistance now read "the carer support payment component of carer support"⁹. For carers, this is a change of name and structure, not of money: anyone with an ongoing entitlement to Carer Support Payment on 14 March 2026 was transferred to Carer Support by determination without application, at an amount equivalent to their existing entitlement⁶.

The March 2026 changes also brought real improvements to break and bereavement support. Carers in receipt of carer support now have payments continue for 12 weeks after the death of the person they cared for, instead of eight weeks⁹. And carers taking a temporary break no longer need to have provided care for a set period before they can receive support during that break³³.

Two practical points follow from the change:

• Overpayments. When your benefit moves over to Carer Support Payment, the DWP will arrange with you if you need to repay an overpayment³⁴.
• Reporting changes. Carers should let Social Security Scotland know about changes to their caring hours and responsibilities, including temporary stops in care, online or by phone³³.

If you were moved automatically from Carer's Allowance, you keep getting the same amount, and your Carer Support Payment award starts the day after your Carer's Allowance award ends³⁵.

How to apply, move from Carer's Allowance and backdate a claim

New claimants can apply online via mygov.scot, or by phoning Social Security Scotland on 0800 182 2222, or by downloading a paper form²². You can also call 0800 182 2222 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm) to apply on the phone or ask for a paper form to be posted³. The application is a one-part form: there is no part 2 application for Carer Support Payment³⁶.

Backdating. Your payment can be backdated, that is paid from, up to 13 weeks before your date of claim, provided you met all the qualifying rules during that time²². This matches Carer's Allowance, which can be backdated 13 weeks if you have been eligible for that long⁷. One extra rule worth knowing: a Carer's Allowance claim can be backdated to the start of a DLA or PIP award if you claim within three months of the decision awarding that benefit²³.

Moving to Scotland. If you move to Scotland from England, Wales or Northern Ireland, your Carer's Allowance will stop 13 weeks after you move, and Carer Support Payment can be applied for as soon as possible after moving¹³. Anyone who moves to Scotland and was getting Carer's Allowance at the time of their move can apply³⁶. A new application to Social Security Scotland is needed: a Carer's Allowance claim does not simply transfer¹⁸. The rules for disability and carer payments when crossing the border are covered in more detail in moving between Scotland and the rest of the UK.

Existing Scottish claimants. If you live in Scotland and are currently receiving Carer's Allowance, you will be automatically moved onto Carer Support Payment; you do not need to apply for it¹¹. Your payment will continue until you are moved, and Carer Support Payment offers the same rate of payment¹⁸.

Living outside the UK. Carers with a genuine and sufficient link to Scotland, for example having spent a significant part of your life there, were asked to tell the DWP they wanted to move from Carer's Allowance to Carer Support Payment before 6 November 2025. After that date, a new application to Social Security Scotland is needed³⁵.

Breaks in caring, hospital stays and bereavement

Everyone needs time away from caring, and the rules determine whether payment continues. Since March 2026, a carer can have a temporary break in care for more than 12 weeks in any 26 weeks where the carer or the cared-for person is an in-patient in hospital, or more than 4 weeks in 26 weeks for any other reason⁶. Social Security Scotland describes this as up to 12 weeks if a hospital stay is involved, or a combination of hospital and other reasons, within any six month period, and up to four weeks for other reasons³³. Carers no longer need to have provided care for a set period before they can receive support during a temporary break³³.

The position of the person you care for also matters. Independent guidance warns that a carer's benefit will usually stop after four weeks if you take a break from caring, and may stop sooner if you have already been in hospital or had a break from your caring role in the past six months³⁷. If the person you care for goes into hospital, Carer's Allowance or Carer Support Payment may stop after they have been in hospital for 28 days, and a new claim is needed once they are out³⁷. If the person you care for goes into a care home, the change can be reported online or by calling the Carer's Allowance Unit for those on Carer's Allowance, or Social Security Scotland for those on Carer Support Payment³⁸.

Longer absences from Scotland also have limits: temporary absence from the common travel area is treated as presence in Scotland only up to a total of 26 weeks². The rules on going abroad are explained in going abroad.

After a death, the extended bereavement support described above applies: carers receiving carer support now have payments continue for 12 weeks after the death of the person they cared for, instead of eight weeks⁹.

Challenging a decision: re-determination and appeal

If you think your Carer Support Payment is wrong, you can ask Social Security Scotland to look at your benefit again. This is called a re-determination³⁵. It is the Scottish equivalent of the mandatory reconsideration used by the DWP, and the two routes are compared in mandatory reconsideration vs tribunal appeal.

If you disagree with the re-determination, or if a re-determination cannot be made within the required timescales, you have the right to appeal to a Tribunal³⁹. This appeal route is a general feature of Social Security Scotland benefits: applicants, including those applying on behalf of someone else as with Child Disability Payment, can appeal to a Tribunal if they do not agree with the re-determination³⁹. Social Security Scotland publishes survey findings on how clients experience the re-determinations, appeals and complaints process⁴⁰.

The general process for challenging a benefit decision, including time limits, is covered in challenging a decision, and the tribunal stage in appealing to a tribunal. If you miss the normal deadline, late appeals explains when a late challenge can still be accepted.