6. Other benefits and tax credits

The benefit cap does not apply if you get carer’s allowance (CA).

The disabled person’s benefit

Your entitlement to CA depends on the person for whom you care continuing to get her/his disability benefit. If her/his benefit stops, your benefit should also stop. To avoid being overpaid, make sure you tell the Carer’s Allowance Unit if the disabled person’s attendance allowance, disability living allowance, personal independence payment or armed forces independence payment stops being paid.

Note: although CA may mean more money for you, it may result in the person for whom you care losing some income support (IS), income-related employment and support allowance (ESA), pension credit or housing benefit (HB). If s/he lives alone, s/he may be getting a severe disability premium included in the assessment of these benefits. S/he cannot continue to get this premium if you get CA for her/him. See CPAG’s Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook for details and, if in doubt, get advice before claiming.

Overlapping benefits

Although CA is not means tested, you cannot receive it at the same time as incapacity benefit, maternity allowance, severe disablement allowance, widowed parent’s allowance, retirement pension, contribution-based jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) or contributory ESA. If you are eligible for more than one benefit, you get whichever is worth the most.

Getting a carer premium or element

If you are a part-time student getting CA and claiming universal credit (UC), you are eligible for a carer element in your UC and you are not expected to look for work. If you are getting IS, income-based JSA, income-related ESA or HB, an extra carer premium is included in these benefits, even if your CA is not being paid because you are getting another benefit that overlaps with it.

Working tax credit

If you have a child(ren) and a partner and you get CA, you are eligible for working tax credit if your partner works at least 16 hours a week, rather than the usual 24.

Carer’s allowance supplement

If you get CA on a ‘qualifying date’, you are entitled to a top-up payment from Social Security Scotland called a ‘carer’s allowance supplement’. Each payment covers a six-month period. The qualifying dates for 2021 are 12 April (paid in June 2021) and 11 October (paid in December 2021). The amount payable in June 2021 is £231.40 and the amount in December 2021 is £231.40. You must actually be receiving CA on the qualifying date - an ‘underlying entitlement’ is not enough. The CA supplement is disregarded for all means-tested benefits and tax credits. There is no need to make a claim for CA supplement; it should be paid automatically.

Young carer grant

The young carer grant is a one-off grant of £308.15 (April 2021 rate), payable once a year. Eligible young carers are those aged 16–18 (regardless of their circumstances) who are not getting CA. A claim may be made if someone has recently turned 19 and was not able to claim at age 18 due to coronavirus (as long as you met the conditions before turning 19). To qualify, you must be providing care for at least 16 hours a week in total, although this can be a combination of care for up to three people. The cared-for person(s) must be in receipt of one of the benefits that allows entitlement to CA (see here). You must also have provided care in at least 10 of the last 13 weeks. Apply to Social Security Scotland by phone, in writing or online - see mygov.scot/young-carer-grant/how-to-apply.

For up-to-date information on the young carer grant, see cpag.org.uk/scotland/welfare-rights/scottish-benefits/carers/young-carer-grant.