Student support and Carer Support

Carers receiving Carer Support may also be eligible for or getting money for living costs through student support. 

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) provide colleges with funds in which to award student bursaries. Carer Support Payment can be paid alongside bursaries. 

If Client Advisers have any questions on the treatment of Carer Additional Person Payment and student bursaries, please contact the Decision Support Team decisionsupportteam@socialsecurity.gov.scot if your query relates to a specific case. For more general policy questions, please contact CarerBenefitPolicy@gov.scot. 

Independent colleges make decisions on bursary funding awards and carers should contact their college for funding advice. Further information can be found on the Scottish Funding Council here.       

Student support for those in higher education is provided by the Scottish Students Awards Agency (SAAS). Carer Support Payment can be paid alongside SAAS funding. Further information on SAAS can be found here.  

Income from Carer Support Payment for student carers will not be taken into account for both SFC and SAAS funding assessments. However, Carer Support Payment will count as income for SFC and SAAS household assessments for the wider household such as partners, parents or guardians.

Student support does not count as earnings for the purposes of Carer Support Payment eligibility. For more information about earnings for Carer Support Payment and PhD funding, see Assessment of earnings.

Note: Training Allowances are separate from the student support outlined above and treated differently in Carer Support. Any information on a Training Allowance should be recorded as an overlapping benefit for Carer Support Payment.