Overview of Carer Support – Rules after 15 March 2026

This chapter provides an overview of how and when to make determinations of entitlement to Carer Support. More detailed information on the specific aspects of making determinations are provided in linked chapters.

Carer Support is one benefit consisting of 3 components (Carer Support Regulations, regulations 3). Carer Support replaced Carer Support Payment from Sunday 15 March 2026 so that new components could be introduced. Carer Support components are:

• Carer Support Payment: this provides some income replacement for carers who are less able to take on paid work because they are providing 35 hours or more of care a week.
• Scottish Carer Supplement (Carer Support Regulations, regulation 14A): this is an additional amount awarded automatically when an individual is paid the Carer Support Payment component. It replaced Carer’s Allowance Supplement for those in receipt of the Carer Support Payment component of Carer Support from Sunday 15 March 2026.
• Carer Additional Person Payment (Carer Support Regulations, regulation 14B): this is additional support for carers who are paid the Carer Support Payment component and who are caring for 20 hours (Carer Support Regulations, regulation 14(4)) or more a week for an additional cared for person. It did not exist before 15 March 2026.

While ‘Carer Support’ is used in legislation to describe the overall benefit, in client facing communications we refer to the names of the individual components to prevent confusion. The diagram below shows how Carer Support is made up of the three components (Carer Support Payment, Scottish Carer Supplement and Carer Additional Person Payment). Clients will continue to make applications for ‘Carer Support Payment’.

Carer Support is one benefit made up of three components. The three components of Carer Support are Carer Support Payment component, Scottish Carer Supplement Component and Carer Additional Person Payment Component. Carer Additional Person Payment Component is only awarded to eligible carers.

Applications for Carer Support

For new applications for Carer Support (from 15 March 2026), there is one single application route for all three components. Carers will apply for Carer Support Payment and can request Carer Additional Person Payment on the same form. Scottish Carer Supplement will be automatically awarded when Carer Support Payment is paid so there are no specific questions for this component within the application. A determination of entitlement to Carer Support will cover all three components.  

Carers already receiving Carer Support Payment and who transfer to Carer Support on 15 March 2026, or who have already applied, who wish to request Carer Additional Person Payment can do this through a change of circumstances form. 

Applications for Carer Support which involve backdating to a date before 15 March 2026, or applications for Carer Support Payment received before 15 March 2026 which are being determined after 15 March 2026 will need to be considered differently. See the chapter on Applying for Carer Support for more information. As Carer Support did not exist before 15 March 2026, a determination of entitlement to Carer Support Payment would need to be made for any period before this - meaning that the Carer Support Payment rules before 15 March 2026, will be applied for any period before this date and are set out in the regulations in the savings and transitional provisions (The Carer’s Assistance (Miscellaneous and Consequential Amendments, Revocation, Transitional and Saving Provisions) (Scotland) Regulations 2025, Part 5). Eligibility criteria for Carer Support Payment are the same as those for Carer Support and the new Carer Support Payment component unless specifically stated. However, there can be no entitlement to either Scottish Carer Supplement or Carer Additional Person Payment before 15 March 2026 as they did not exist.

‘Transfer’ of carers from Carer Support Payment to Carer Support

Benefits of carers with ongoing entitlement to Carer Support Payment on 14 March 2026 will be transferred to Carer Support Payment from 15 March 2026 so they could access the Carer Support components. Refer to ‘Transfer to CS below.