Welfare Benefits

Carer Support Payment is a Scottish Social Security benefit providing financial support to people providing at least 35 hours a week of care to someone with a disability or long-term health condition. It has replaced Carer’s Allowance in Scotland.

Who Can Get Carers Support Payment?

You can usually get Carer Support Payment if all of the following apply:

• you’re aged 16 or over, and you’re over the minimum school leaving age – find out about school leaving age in Scotland on GOV.UK
• you provide regular and substantial care to a disabled person for at least 35 hours a week – check what counts as caring
• you do not earn more than £204 a week from employment or self-employment after deductions such as income tax, National Insurance and half of your pension contributions – check what counts as earnings on mygov.scot
• you live in Scotland.

Students must meet some other conditions. Find out more about the conditions that students must meet on mygov.scot.

If you get State Pension or certain other benefits, you’ll get less Carer Support Payment or none at all. Read more about what happens if you get other benefits.

The person you’re caring for must get one of the following benefits, called ‘qualifying benefits’:

• the daily living component of Adult Disability Payment
• the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
• the middle or highest rate of the care component of Child Disability Payment
• the middle or highest rate of the care component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
• the middle or highest rate of the care component of Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
• Pension Age Disability Payment
• Attendance Allowance
• Armed Forces Independence Payment
• Constant Attendance Allowance – at or above the normal maximum rate with Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
• Constant Attendance Allowance – at or above the basic (full-day) rate with a War Disablement Pension.

Carers Supplement

An extra payment of £11.70 per week will automatically be paid on top of your Carer Support Payment. It has replaced Carer’s Allowance Supplement. This will not impact any other benefits.

Carers Additional Person Payment

As from March 2026 you are now entitled to an extra £10.40 a week for each additional person you care for who gets a qualifying benefit.

How you’re paid

You’ll be paid every 4 weeks, at the end of the 4 weeks. There are some circumstances where you can be paid weekly.

You’ll receive one payment, which will include:

• Carer Support Payment
• Scottish Carer Supplement
• any Carer Additional Person Payment

You can be paid into a UK bank account.

How to Apply 

• Online: The quickest way is to use the online application service via mygov.scot (Scotland) or GOV.UK (UK).
• By Phone: Call Social Security Scotland at 0800 182 2222 (Scotland) or the Carer’s Allowance Unit at 0800 731 0297 (UK).
  

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