Temporary stops in entitlement to Carer Support

A client’s entitlement to Carer Support can be temporarily stopped. Temporary stops in entitlement rules mean that in some situations where an award ends due to a determination without application, it can be restarted again without an application if the client becomes entitled again. (Carer Support Payment Regulations, Regulation 23)

Carer Support can be ‘temporarily stopped’ in the situations below. We would make a determination that the carer is no longer entitled to Carer Support if:

• the client has earnings from employment which are over the threshold (see Disability, winter heating and carers benefit payment amounts | Social Security Scotland for the current and previous thresholds)
• the client has stopped providing care to a cared for person for whom they receive Carer Support Payment, taking into account rules on temporary stops in care which means Carer Support Payment can continue to be paid for up to 4 weeks’ break from caring for any reason, or up to 12 weeks’ break where they or the person they care for is in hospital
• the client is temporarily absent from the Common Travel Area and no longer treated as present in the Common Travel Area
• the qualifying disability benefit of the cared for person for whom they receive Carer Support Payment is one administered by Social Security Scotland and has been set to £0 as a result of a stay in hospital or residential care 
• the qualifying disability benefits of the cared for person for whom they receive Carer Support Payment is administered by the DWP and has been ended, or the payment has stopped, as a result of a stay in hospital or residential care 
• the qualifying disability benefits of the cared for person for whom they receive Carer Support Payment have been suspended – whether this is a Social Security Scotland administered benefit or a DWP administered benefit – and this is because the cared for person has not responded on time to a request for information or where their entitlement to the benefit is in question. In these situations, the Carer Support award will be ended after the benefit has been suspended for 28 days
• the person being cared for has voluntarily relinquished their qualifying disability benefits
• the person being cared for having moved to Scotland from another part of the UK and no longer getting their qualifying disability benefit

Where the qualifying disability benefits of the cared for person for whom a carer is receiving Carer Support Payment have been suspended but there is no question about their entitlement – if the suspension is due to issues with paying the disability benefit to a third party or suspected financial abuse – there should be no impact on the Carer Support award. 

Where the Carer Support award has been stopped due to one of the reasons above and the client becomes entitled again within 26 weeks, the award can be reinstated without the client needing to make a new application. If the client contacts us to report this change of circumstances, or we receive information on this, a determination without application can be made to reinstate the Carer Support award.

If the client does not become entitled to Carer Support again within 26 weeks, but becomes entitled again in future, they will need to make a new application for Carer Support.

Carers of irregular boarders – cared for people who sometimes live away from the carer 

The term ‘irregular boarders’ is used to describe a cared for person who sometimes lives in residential care and sometimes does not. The cared for person may be a permanent resident at a care facility or patient in hospital and may only come home at irregular intervals. This means the client will sometimes meet the caring hours requirement and sometimes will not.

Carers of ‘irregular boarders’ can apply for Carer Support when they meet the caring hours criteria for Carer Support Payment for the person they are caring for and can be paid during periods where they are providing 35 hours of care a week for the cared for person, and during breaks in care up to the standard limit for any 26 week period.

Where the cared for person moves into residential care and the client is no longer providing 35 hours of care a week, outside of allowed breaks in care, the Carer Support award should be ended. It could then be reinstated using a determination without application if the cared for person returns home and the client begins providing 35 hours of care a week again, or if the cared for person remains in residential care but the client begins providing 35 hours of care a week again, as long as this is within 26 weeks of the initial determination to end the award. If this occurs more than 26 weeks after the initial determination to end the award, the client will need to make a new application for Carer Support.

Decision to end Carer Support due to a temporary stop in entitlement 

Where a decision is made to end a Carer Support award in the situations above, this is a determination of entitlement. The client will receive a change of award notification of this decision and they will be able to request a re-determination if they disagree with this. 

Where a client becomes eligible for Carer Support again within 26 weeks their award can be reinstated again through a determination without application. This would also be a determination with re-determination and appeal rights.

If there is no change to the client’s entitlement during the 26 weeks after this initial determination, they would need to make a new application for Carer Support Payment if they become entitled again in future. (Carer Support Payment Regulations, Regulation 23)

Decision to reinstate Carer Support following a temporary stop 

Where a client’s circumstances change after their Carer Support award has ended and it is determined that their award should be reinstated, the date from which the award should be reinstated will depend on the circumstances.

If the award was ended due to the carer having earnings over the earnings limit, no longer providing care to a cared for person (subject to breaks in care rules), absence from the Common Travel Area, the cared for person voluntarily relinquishing their qualifying disability benefit, or the cared for person having moved to Scotland from the rest of the UK and no longer receiving a qualifying disability benefit – the carer’s entitlement can restart from:

• the first day of the award week in which earnings fall below the limit, caring restarts, the carer returns to the Common Travel Area, or the qualifying benefit restarts, if the carer notifies the Agency within 13 weeks of that change,
• the first day of the award week in which earnings fall below the limit, caring restarts, the carer returns to the Common Travel Area or the qualifying benefit restarts, if the carer notifies the Agency more than 13 weeks after the change, but have a good reason for notifying late 
• the first day of the award week in which the carer notifies the Agency if they report the change more than 13 weeks after the change, but without a good reason for doing so
• in any other case, the first day of the award week in which the carer satisfies the eligibility requirements (Carer Support Regulations, Regulation 23(9))

If the award is ended due to the qualifying disability benefit of the person being cared for being set to £0 or no longer paid due to a stay in hospital, a care home, or legal detention, and the qualifying disability benefit is reinstated at rate more than £0, the carer’s entitlement can restart from:

• the first day of the award week in which the cared for person’s qualifying disability benefit is paid at an amount more than £0, if the carer notifies the Agency within 13 weeks of that change occurring
• the first day of the award week in which the cared for person’s qualifying disability benefit is paid at an amount more than £0, if the carer notifies the Agency more than 13 weeks after that change, but have a good reason for notifying late 
• the first day of the award week in which the carer notifies the Agency that the cared for person’s qualifying disability benefit is paid at an amount more than £0, if they report the change more than 13 weeks after the change, but without a good reason for doing so
• in any other case, the first day of the award week in which the cared for person’s qualifying disability benefit is paid at an amount more than £0. (Carer Support Regulations, Regulation 23(10))

If the award is ended due to the qualifying disability benefit of the person being cared for being suspended for more than 28 days, and the qualifying disability benefit is restarted, the carer’s entitlement can restart:

• on the first day of the award week in which the cared for person’s entitlement to the qualifying disability benefit begins, where it is determined that during the period of suspension, the cared for person would have been entitled to a qualifying disability benefit in respect of that period
• in any other event, on the first day of the award week in which the suspension is ended.(Carer Support Regulations, Regulation 23(11))

Temporary stops in entitlement and effect on other support 

A temporary stop in entitlement is a period in which a client is not entitled to Carer Support. This means they are also not entitled to any support in other benefits which are linked to Carer Support. This includes any client premiums paid by DWP.

Temporary stops in entitlement and multiple carers claiming the Carer Support Payment component or Carer’s Allowance for the same cared for person (sometimes called ‘rival carers’) 

A temporary stop in entitlement is a period in which a client is not entitled to Carer Support. This means that if, during a temporary stop in a client’s award – ‘Carer 1’ – we receive an application for the Carer Support Payment component from another client – Carer 2 - in respect of the cared for person that Carer 1 was providing care for, the Carer Support Payment component can be awarded to Carer 2.

If this happens and Carer 2 is awarded the Carer Support Payment component, we would need to close Carer 1’s award, even though this is temporarily stopped. This is to prevent the risk of paying both clients. This will mean that Carer 1 will need to apply again if they become entitled again, even if this is within 26 weeks of their award being stopped. This is because the duty to make a determination without application when the carer becomes entitled again doesn’t apply where another carer has been awarded Carer Support Payment, Carer’s Allowance or Universal Credit Carer Element for the same cared for person. (Carer Support Regulations, Regulation 23(3))

The end of award notice which is sent to the client at the point their award stops will inform them that if another client is awarded the Carer Support Payment component during the 26 week period, they will need to apply for the benefit again if they become entitled in future.

If Carer 1 does apply again for Carer Support after it has been awarded to Carer 2 and is being paid to Carer 2, we would need to carry out a process to determine whether the award should remain with Carer 2 or be awarded again to Carer 1.