Supporting information for SRTI

To be considered to be terminally ill for the purposes of Carer Support, the carer or the person they care for (including any additional cared for person they have requested Carer Additional Person Payment for) must have been awarded another benefit under special rules for terminal illness. This can be the Special Rules for Terminal Illness (SRTI) which apply for Scottish benefits, or the Special Rules for End of Life (SREL) which apply for benefits administered by the DWP and NIDfC in Northern Ireland.  

The person(s) being cared for by a Carer Support client must have already been awarded a disability benefit. This is because eligibility for Carer Support is dependent on the cared for person’s receipt of a qualifying disability benefit. For the Carer Support client to come under SRTI for Carer Support, the cared for person (including any additional cared for person they have requested Carer Additional Person Payment for) will need to awarded this benefit under special rules.

If it is the Carer Support client themselves who is terminally ill, they would also need to be awarded another benefit under special rules. If they wish to be treated as terminally ill for the purposes of Carer Support and they are not already awarded a disability benefit under special rules, they would need to apply for and be awarded one. 

The supporting information required to exempt a carer from the Past Presence Test on the basis of terminal illness is:

• If the applicant or cared for person (including any additional cared for person they have requested Carer Additional Person Payment for) indicate that they are terminally ill and receive a benefit from Social Security Scotland under the Special Rules for Terminal Illness, this information will be available on our existing records for the disability benefit – either Child, Adult, or Pension Age Disability Payment, or Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance.
• If the applicant indicates that they or the person they care for (including any additional cared for person they have requested Carer Additional Person Payment for) are terminally ill and receive a benefit from the Department for Work and Pensions or Northern Ireland Department for Communities under the Special Rules for End of Life, the client adviser should ask for information for this in the form of:
  • A DS1500 (now replaced by the SR1) or SR1 form completed by a registered medical practitioner/registered nurse, confirming that that they or the person(s) they care for is considered terminally ill for the purposes of the disability benefit and a benefit Award Letter.
  • A benefit Award Letter stating that they or the person(s) they care for has been awarded their disability benefit under Special Rules for End of Life. If this is stated on the benefit Award letter you do not need to provide a DS1500 or SR1 form as well.  

Further information on verifying supporting information to exempt a client from the past presence test on the basis of terminal illness is available in Operational Guidance on Verify if an application is exempt from the past presence test due to terminal illness.

Supporting evidence is not required to change a carer’s payment cycle on the basis of terminal illness, however, carers or the person they care for (including any additional cared for person they have requested Carer Additional Person Payment for) will need to have been awarded a Scottish disability benefit under SRTI which is verified on SPM, or indicate that they or the cared for person have been awarded a disability benefit under SREL from the DWP or NIDfC in the online Change of Circumstances form or when contacting Social Security Scotland to request a change in payment cycle. Further information on the process for verifying changes in payment cycle can be found in the relevant Operational Guidance.