6. Other benefits and tax credits

• The disabled person's benefit
• Overlapping benefits
• Getting a carer premium or element
• Working tax credit
• Carer's allowance supplement
• Young carer grant

The benefit cap does not apply if you get carer support payment (CSP).

The disabled person’s benefit

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

Note: although CSP 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 they live alone, they may be getting a severe disability premium included in the assessment of these benefits. They cannot continue to get this premium if you get CSP for them. See CPAG’s Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook (for subscribers) for details and, if in doubt, get advice before claiming.

Overlapping benefits

Although CSP is not means tested, you cannot receive it at the same time as certain other benefits, including maternity 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. If you cannot be paid CSP because of these rules, you still have an ‘underlying entitlement’ to it. For more information, see CPAG’s Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook (for subscribers).

Getting a carer premium or element

If you are a student getting CSP 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, a carer premium is included in these benefits, even if your CSP is not being paid because you are getting another benefit that overlaps with it.

Working tax credit

If you have children and a partner and you get CSP, you are eligible for working tax credit (see here) if your partner works at least 16 hours a week, rather than the usual 24 hours (but only if you already get child tax credit) (see here).

Carer’s allowance supplement

If you get CSP on a ‘qualifying date’, you are entitled to a top-up payment from Social Security Scotland (SSS) called a ‘carer’s allowance supplement’. Each payment of £288.60 covers a six-month period. The qualifying dates for 2024 are 8 April (paid in June 2024) and 7 October (paid in December 2024). You must actually be receiving CSP 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 £383.75 (2024 rate), payable once a year. Eligible young carers are those aged 16–18 (regardless of their circumstances) who are not getting CSP or CA. 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 CSP (see here). You must also have provided care in at least 10 of the last 13 weeks. Apply to SSS by telephone, 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/young-carer-grant.