Temporary stops in entitlement to Carer Support Payment

A client’s entitlement to Carer Support Payment can be temporarily stopped (Carer Support Payment Regulations, Regulation 23). A determination without application is made that the carer is no longer entitled to Carer Support Payment which will end the award but can allow the Carer Support Payment award to be started again without an application if the client becomes entitled again.  

Carer Support Payment can be ‘temporarily stopped’ in situations where:

• the client has earnings from employment which are over the threshold (£196/week in 2025/26).
• the client has had temporary stops in care which have gone over the number of weeks allowed in the relevant 26 week period (clients can have 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 qualifying disability benefits of the person the client is caring for which are administered by Social Security Scotland have been set to £0 as a result of a stay in hospital or residential care 
• the qualifying disability benefits of the cared for person which are administered by the DWP have been ended as a result of a stay in hospital or residential care 
• the qualifying disability benefits of the cared for person 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 Payment 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 has moved to Scotland from another part of the UK, and is no longer getting their qualifying disability benefit 

Where the qualifying disability benefits of the cared for person 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 Payment award. 

Where Carer Support Payment 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 Payment award.

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

Carers of irregular boarders – cared for people who sometime 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 Payment when they meet the caring hours criteria 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 Payment 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 Payment.  

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

Where a decision is made to end a Carer Support Payment 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 Payment 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 Payment following a temporary stop 

Where a client’s circumstances change after their Carer Support Payment award has ended and it is determined that their award should be reinstated, the date from which the award should be reinstated would be: 

• the first day of the award week in which the individual satisfies all of the eligibility criteria again, if they notify the Agency within 13 weeks of this, or if they notify 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 they notify the Agency if they report the change more than 13 weeks after the change, but without good reason for doing so, or in any other case (Carer Support Payment Regulations, Regulation 23(9))

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 Payment. This means they are also not entitled to any support in other benefits which is linked to Carer Support Payment. This includes any client premiums paid by DWP and Carer’s Allowance Supplement paid by Social Security Scotland.  

Temporary stops in entitlement and multiple carers (sometimes called ‘rival carers’) 

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

If this happens and Carer 2 is awarded Carer Support Payment, 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.   

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 Carer Support Payment 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 Payment 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.