Further information on students with exceptional circumstances

Carer Support Payment is not normally available to people aged 16 to 19 in full-time non-advanced education. However, carers with some exceptional circumstances will be eligible. This will be the case if one or more of the following situations apply:

1. They are without parental support 
2. They are responsible for a child or qualifying young person (including foster parents)
3. They are receiving a disability benefit and have been assessed or treated as having a limited capability for work (before their course started)
4. In a couple and their partner is not a student (or is a student with one of the other exceptional circumstances above)

Carers who are aged 16 to 19 and tell us that they are in full-time non-advanced education will be asked questions on their application to see if any of these circumstances apply.

The exceptional circumstances for Carer Support Payment are the same as exceptional circumstances that would allow these young people to get Universal Credit. Carers will be asked if they are getting Universal Credit and if this is the case, this can be treated as evidence that they meet one of these requirements.

Income-related ESA is a legacy benefit being replaced by Universal Credit, so we would expect most people aged 16 to 19 to be getting Universal Credit and not ESA. However, client advisers will be able to access information on both UC and ESA awards on inSight to confirm whether or not a client has been assessed for either benefit as having limited capability for work.

More information on the exceptional circumstances is provided below.

Carers without parental support  

The term 'parent' can also mean anyone acting in place of a parent. 

Without parental support means the carer is not looked after by the local authority and:

• they have no parent
• there’s no parental support because of estrangement
• cannot live with their parents because there’s a risk of significant harm to physical or mental health
• living away from parents because they’re unable to provide support due to illness, disability, imprisonment or cannot enter Great Britain 
• they are not living with a person who is acting in place of a parent

Students may live within a household where there is an adult present, however this does not necessarily mean they have parental support. Not all adults act in place of parents, for example a student may be e.g. living with a friend and their parents but their friend’s parents are not acting in place of their parent.   

Carers who are responsible for a child or qualifying young person  

'Responsible for a child' means a person responsible for a child or qualifying young person who normally lives with them. This includes foster parents.  

Where a child or qualifying young person normally lives with two or more people who are not a couple, only one of them is to be treated as responsible. That is the person who has the main responsibility.

 A child means someone who has not yet reached age 16.

A qualifying young person is someone either:

• Aged 16 up to but not including the 1st of September following their 16th birthday.
• Aged 16 to 19 up to but not including the 1st of September after their 19th birthday, if they are enrolled on, or accepted for, approved training or a course of education which is non-advanced. They must have started the education or training or been enrolled on or accepted for it before reaching the age of 19.

A person who is receiving Universal Credit, Employment and Support Allowance or Jobseeker’s Allowance themselves is not classed as a qualifying young person.

Carers in a couple and their partner is not a student (or is a student where one of the other exceptional circumstances apply)

A couple is defined as two people who live at the same address, are married to each other, civil partners of each other, or living together as if they were married or civil partners.  

For the carer to meet the exceptional circumstances due to being in a couple, one of the following must apply:

• their partner is not a student
• their partner is a student and is without parental support  
• their partner is a student and is responsible for a child or qualifying young person
• their partner is a student and is receiving a disability benefit and has been assessed or treated as having a limited capability for work

As with the carer themselves above, if their carer is in a couple and their partner is receiving Universal Credit, this would be treated as evidence that they meet the exceptional circumstances criteria.

Assessed or treated as having limited capability for work  

For a student carer aged 16 to 19 to be in this category of exceptional circumstances, they must be receiving a qualifying disability benefit (Adult Disability Payment, Personal Independence Payment, Child Disability Payment, or Disability Living Allowance) and one of the following must apply:

• It has been decided they have ‘limited capability for work’ before education commenced. This means they have undertaken a work capability assessment through the Department for Work and Pensions by Universal Credit or Employment and Support Allowance and have been deemed unable to work because of a health condition by scoring 15 points or more. It must have been decided that they have a limited capability for work before education commenced.     
• They are treated as having a limited capability for work before education commenced because they are: 
  • terminally ill and death is reasonably expected within 12 months
  • receiving or recovering from chemotherapy or radiotherapy, or likely to receive such treatment within 6 months of meeting the threshold for the work capability assessment
  • receiving or recovering from regular weekly treatment for renal failure
  • have been in contact with an infectious disease and given notice not to work
  • a hospital in-patient
  • pregnant with risk to health of a woman or unborn child  
  • there would be a substantial risk to physical or mental health if they were to be found capable of work

You will be able to check whether carers are receiving either ESA or Universal Credit using inSight information on ESA and Universal Credit. For steps how to check inSight, go to operational guidance Client has exceptional circumstances.