5. Carer support payment

• Who can get carer support payment
• The disabled person's benefit
• Breaks from caring
• Overlapping benefits
• Carer element, carer premium and carer addition
• Amount of benefit

Carer support payment (CSP) is a benefit for people who spend at least 35 hours a week looking after a disabled adult or child. You do not have to have paid any national insurance contributions to get CSP. CSP has replaced carer’s allowance for people who normally live in Scotland. Social Security Scotland (SSS) is responsible for the administration of CSP.

Only one person can get CSP in repect of caring for a particular individual.

You get a carer’s allowance (CA) supplement if you get CSP (see here).

Who can get carer support payment

You qualify for CSP if you:1s28 and Sch 2 SS(S)A 2018; Part 3 CA(CSP)(S) Regs

•are aged at least 16; and
•are caring for a person receiving either the highest or middle rate care component of child disability payment (CDP), disability living allowance (DLA) or Scottish adult disability living allowance, either rate of the daily living component of adult disability payment (or personal independence payment), either rate of attendance allowance or pension age disability payment, armed forces independence payment or constant attendance allowance with an industrial injury benefit or war pension; and
•are providing care that is regular and substantial (at least 35 hours a week); and
•are not gainfully employed. This means your earnings must be no more than £196 a week; and
•are not in full-time (more than 21 hours a week), non-advanced education. This rule only applies if you are aged under 20 and there are some exceptions (see CPAG’s Welfare Benefits Handbook (for subscribers) for more details); and
•normally live in Scotland and satisfy certain other residence and presence conditions and you are not a person subject to immigration control. See CPAG’s Welfare Benefits Handbook (for subscribers) for details.

 

1     s28 and Sch 2 SS(S)A 2018; Part 3 CA(CSP)(S) Regs »

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 CSP should also stop. To avoid being overpaid, make sure you tell SSS if the disabled person’s disability benefit stops being paid, or if you are no longer providing care for 35 hours or more a week.

If you are caring for a disabled adult, it is not always financially prudent to claim CSP. Although it may mean more money for you, it could result in the person for whom you care losing some income-related employment and support allowance (ESA), pension credit (PC) or housing benefit (HB) (or council tax reduction, which your local authority manages). They may be getting a severe disability premium/addition included in these benefits. They cannot continue to get the severe disability premium/addition if you get CSP for them. See CPAG’s Welfare Benefits Handbook (for subscribers) for details.

Breaks from caring

You can have a short, temporary break from caring and still remain entitled to CSP. You can have a short break of up to four weeks in any period of 26 weeks, or a break of 12 weeks if either you or the person for whom you care is receiving treatment in hospital for at least eight of those 12 weeks, providing the person you care for is still getting their disabiity benefit.1Reg 40 CA(CSP)(S) Regs

 

1     Reg 40 CA(CSP)(S) Regs »

Overlapping benefits

You cannot receive CSP at the same time as contributory ESA, maternity allowance, severe disablement allowance, widow’s pension, widowed parent’s allowance or retirement pension or contribution-based jobseeker’s allowance. If you are entitled to more than one of these benefits, you generally get whichever is worth most.

Carer element, carer premium and carer addition

In universal credit, a carer element is included if you satisfy the rules for CSP or would satisfy them except that your earnings are too high.1Regs 29 and 30 UC Regs If you are entitled to CSP (even if you are not paid it because of the overlapping benefit rules), a carer premium or carer addition is included in your income-related ESA, PC or HB.

 

1     Regs 29 and 30 UC Regs »

Amount of benefit

Weekly rate - £83.30

CA supplement is an extra payment for people who get CSP. If you get CSP on the qualifying date, you are entitled to a payment of £293.50, which is for a six-month period. The qualifying dates for 2025 are 14 April 2025 and 13 October 2025. You must actually be receiving CSP on the qualifying date; an underlying entitlement is not enough. CA supplement is disregarded for all means-tested benefits. There is no need to make a claim for CA supplement; it should be paid automatically.

CA supplement is administered by SSS.

Note: Scottish carer supplement will replace CA supplement from late 2025 and will be paid alongside CSP.