Carer Support Payment: child rights and wellbeing impact assessment

Key findings

The introduction of Carer Support Payment will affect children and young people aged 16 to 18 who live in Scotland and are receiving Carer’s Allowance or providing unpaid care for a disabled person. It may also affect children and young people under 18 who are cared for by someone who is receiving Carer’s Allowance or may be eligible for Carer Support Payment.

On launch the eligibility criteria and rules for the benefit will largely mirror the existing Carer’s Allowance benefit to protect the safe and secure transfer of benefits for carers already receiving support and to ensure carers are treated fairly, however, we have considered below the impact on children and young people of the changes being made through Carer Support Payment.

Delivery and join-up

When Carer Support Payment launches, we will deliver a service which has been designed to work for the carers and others who will use it, having carried out user research and testing in a number of areas. In line with other benefits, we will provide a range of methods of engaging with Social Security Scotland and applying for support so young carers can choose the channel which will work best for them. Applications will be available online, by phone, using paper forms, and with support from Social Security Scotland’s Local Delivery Teams. Online applications will also use the same systems as our disability benefits, allowing busy carers to save and return to applications. Carers will also be able to opt-in to receive updates on their application via text message. The application process will be trust-based, in line with our principles of dignity, fairness and respect, so carers will be able to self-report that they meet the caring hours requirements. Award decisions will be automated where the outcome is favourable to the carer overall, meaning applications should be processed faster to ensure carers can receive the support they are entitled to sooner. Online information, application forms, and notifications have been tested with those who will use them to ensure they are clear and as simple as possible to use, to remove barriers to accessing support.

From launch, online information, application materials and notifications will signpost carers to wider support that they may be entitled to. For young carers this will include highlighting their right to a Young Carer Statement from their local authority to assess their needs as a carer. Where carers are not entitled to Carer Support Payment because of their age – where they are too young to be eligible – the ‘soft stop’ pages on the online application will include information on alternative support they may be entitled to, including carer support services. Young carers will also be signposted to Young Carer Grant where they don’t meet the eligibility criteria for Carer Support Payment for other reasons but may benefit from this support.

As part of the Carer Support Payment Communications Strategy, targeted social media content will be used to promote Carer Support Payment to young carers, such as social media posts for platforms such as Tiktok as well as young carer specific flyers and posters.

Where the person being cared for is a child or young person

Carer Support Payment will be paid to people who are caring for someone in receipt of specified disability benefits. This may be a child or young person. Information on the benefits of the person being cared for will be accessed in order to award Carer Support Payment and where the cared for person is receiving additional amounts in their means-tested benefits, these can be affected by a carer’s receipt of Carer Support Payment.

The application process for Carer Support Payment will make clear to carers the importance of discussing their application with the person they care for, where possible, and the potential impacts of Carer Support Payment award on the benefits of the person they care for. When an application is received, a notification will be sent to the person they care for to inform them that their data has been accessed for the application, and about the potential impacts of a Carer Support Payment award on their benefits, and their right to contact Social Security Scotland if they disagree with the application or that the applicant is providing care for them. A Carer Support Payment application may be denied, or an ongoing award stopped where a person named on the application disputes that care is being provided. Regulations and processes for ‘rival carer’ situations, where more than one person has applied for Carer Support Payment in respect of care provided to the same person will also require that the best interests of the cared for person are taken into account in decisions on who should be awarded support, where there is no agreement between the carers.

Whilst children may not be able to advocate for themselves in such situations, Social Security Scotland has a duty, insofar as practicable, to have regard to certain people’s views in deciding on persons to act on behalf of a child, for example as an appointee. These people are the child’s parents, any legal guardians for the child who are not the child’s parents, the child and anyone else with an interest in the welfare or financial affairs of the child. Social Security Scotland has prepared guidelines on how it must meets this duty. However just because they can make an appointment, does not mean they always will. For example, a person with parental rights and responsibilities for a child might not live with the child but could still be the best person to manage the child’s entitlement to Social Security Scotland benefits. The child’s best interests will always be taken into consideration when making a decision on persons to act on behalf of a child.

Communications and take-up

We know that young people’s take-up of carer benefits may be affected by concerns about social services, not recognising their caring role, or that their communication preferences may be different from other age groups. Learning from work on Young Carer Grant, and evidence from user research is being used to design and deliver communications which take into account these issues, and this will include promoting the multiple channels available for application.

There may also be communities where carers are less likely to identify as carers. This may be particular to young carers who may not realise their home life is different to that of their peers until they access secondary school. It can also relate to Gypsy Traveller or Southeast Asian communities who may see caring as a normal expectation due to familial beliefs. It has been identified that carers in these communities continue to experience significantly lower levels of awareness of, and subsequent access to, carer support services. This was also highlighted in the Young Carer Grant interim evaluation^[33].

A communications strategy will be undertaken to promote the new carer benefit to increase awareness amongst different groups of carers and in particular where eligibility is being widened such as changes to the rules on full-time education which will bring into entitlement a new cohort of carers. This will be carried out across a full range of media channels, including social media platforms to ensure it is accessible to a wide range of carers. Advice on the new benefit and help in the application process for those who need it will also be available through local government, carer centres and advice services. Social Security Scotland Local Delivery teams will also communicate and assist carers with benefit.

Communications and engagement plans for the launch of the benefit will be designed to ensure that all cohorts of carers (including young people) have access to information on the new benefit. This may include schools or local resource centres where children and young people’s activity groups are attended. We will also consider how we can promote Carer Support Payment through events such as the Young Carer Festival and the Carers Parliament which could provide an opportunity to speak directly with young carers, raise awareness of the benefit, encourage benefit take-up and monitor the success or any arising issues for children.

From launch, Carer Support Payment will provide an improved service to carers, joining up with wider services to help carers access information on the wide range of support available to them, including other social security benefits they may be entitled to. As part of the Carer Support Payment Communications Strategy targeted social media content will be used to promote Carer Support Payment to young carers, such as social media posts for platforms such as Tiktok as well as young carer specific flyers and posters.

During the consultation process, a few Experience Panel interview participants noted that the proposals and plans around the new carer benefit will improve children’s rights and wellbeing for young carers and also for carers who have children, however they mentioned that young carers may need further wellbeing support due to the impacts of caring.

During scrutiny of the draft Carer Support Payment Regulations,^[34] the Scottish Commission on Social Security (SCoSS)^[35] highlighted the gap in entitlement for 19-year-olds studying non-advanced education who will not have access to Carer Support Payment or Young Carer Grant and recommended that Young Carer Grant is extended to 19 year olds. SCoSS also emphasised the need for clear communications on eligibility interactions between the two benefits i.e. a carer cannot receive support through Young Carer Grant if they are already receiving Carer Support Payment, however they can apply for and receive Carer Support Payment in a year in which they have received Young Carer Grant. Advice is provided on the Young Carer Grant^[36] webpage and we will ensure that clear information on the two benefits is also provided through Carer Support Payment content to ensure clear, consistent advice and for income maximisation.

Residence and presence conditions

We considered the residence and presence conditions which should apply to Carer Support Payment and have decided that these should mirror the devolved disability benefits, and not Carer’s Allowance, from launch. This is to support consistency with our disability benefits, particularly taking into account that carers receiving Carer Support Payment will increasingly be caring for people receiving these benefits.

The divergence from Carer’s Allowance, which includes a reduced ‘past-presence test’ was considered by and agreed with the Department for Work and Pensions in recognition of the importance of ensuring that carers can continue to receive support which is the responsibility of the UK Government but linked to Carer’s Allowance (and in future Carer Support Payment). Respondents to the consultation were in favour of the residence requirements aligning with devolved disability benefits. The regulations also dis-apply the past presence test in line with the disability benefits, so that carers are not required to meet the test where they are terminally ill or have refugee status. In addition to this the past presence test will be dis-applied for carers where it has been disapplied for the person they are caring for, to ensure carers are supported to provide care on the same timescales.

This will assist particularly vulnerable young carers who may be accessing carer benefits for the first time and if they are caring for a terminally ill person. Aligning the residence requirements will also help people coming to Scotland to care for family members to receive support sooner.

The past presence test will impact UK nationals returning to Scotland, and third country nationals whose immigration status allows them access to public funds. There are significant challenges in relation to the data available on these groups and interactions with social security benefits. The change is expected to particularly benefit women as the majority of unpaid carers and recipients of the existing benefits though limited additional information is available. Reducing the past presence test may also assist refugees, people coming from Ukraine as a result of the 2022 Russian invasion, and people who have left Sudan as a result of violence, who may be carers for disabled children and subsequently be able to receive support quicker. As set out in the consultation analysis, this would also help to widen access to Carer Support Payment and ensure equality of support for carers.

We recognise there were some calls for the past presence test to be removed altogether, to allow more people to receive support sooner. However, it is considered that this would need to be considered across all devolved benefits and taking into account the potential impacts for safe and secure transfer, and implications for wider support.

Improving access to higher education

Young carers are expected to benefit in particular from the change to enable carers in full-time higher education to access Carer Support Payment, when they would currently be unable to receive Carer’s Allowance. This will enable more younger carers with intensive caring roles to continue their studies.

Changing the education rules will allow many carers to access or remain in education and receive financial support through Carer Support Payment. This proposal in particular, is expected to have a positive impact on those aged 16 to 18 by bringing into entitlement a new group of carers who have been unable to access this support previously.

This group of young carers may be beginning a very difficult transition into young adult life, which can be made more challenging with the added pressures of caring. This policy has the potential to allow for better support and stability in the short-term whilst providing better career and financial prospects in the longer-term through access to education.

Children who make up part of a household where someone is in receipt of Carer Support Payment and wishes to enter into education, may also be positively impacted, for the same reasons, in terms of providing more financial stability, reducing stress and improving educational and employment prospects. We know that the majority of carers are women^[37] so the change is expected to support women in particular.

We are working closely with the Student Awards Agency Scotland and the Scottish Funding Council to ensure that the extension of entitlement to Carer Support Payment is fully reflected within relevant guidance and that overall levels of support for full-time student carers across social security and further and higher education are maintained to avoid any unintended consequences of extending eligibility for support.

Carers aged 16 to 19 in non-advanced education

The different approach to rules on full-time education which will be taken for Carer Support Payment compared with the current Carer’s Allowance benefits will affect different groups of young people differently. The policy is intended to support people in full-time education by providing access to Carer Support Payment.

However, in line with the approach taken in introducing Young Carer Grant, it is considered to be important to get the balance right between providing support but not incentivising or normalising young people taking on a substantive caring role alongside full-time non-advanced education, including school education. For this reason, eligibility from initial launch has been extended to people aged 20 and over in full-time education at all levels but people aged 16-19 only where they are in full-time advanced education.

Recent feedback from National Carer Organisations and SCoSS highlighted concerns regarding the exclusion of 16-19 year olds studying non-advanced education from Carer Support Payment, and the fact that carers in this situation who are aged 19 cannot access either Carer Support Payment or Young Carer Grant. We want to ensure support is targeted at those who need it most and, in line with our policy on Young Carer Grant, and not incentivise young people to undertake a substantive caring role at a critical time in their education.

It is also considered that young carers aged 16 to 19 in non-advanced education will be able to receive support through Education Maintenance Allowance, and that their parents or guardians should also continue to have access to support through reserved benefits such as Child Benefit, Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit where they are on low incomes. These young carers are therefore considered less likely to require an ‘income replacement’ benefit such as Carer Support Payment.

As part of the national roll out of the benefit, we will expand eligibility to some carers aged 16-19 in non- advanced education. This will allow carers who would have entitlement to social security benefits in their own right, such as those without parental support or have childcare responsibilities, limited capability for work or couples where one or both are student, to access the benefit. This is in recognition of the fact that these carers are unlikely to have any other form of parental or financial support.

If no changes were made to the eligibility criteria for Carer Support Payment and the benefit was like-for-like with Carer’s Allowance in terms of the education rules, this would continue to restrict eligibility for carers, particularly those aged 16 to 18 and who are most likely to be in education.

We are continuing to review the position of students aged 16-19 in non-advanced education, including gaps in entitlement for Young Carer Grant and Carer Support Payment for 19-year-olds as part of our monitoring and evaluation strategy.

Carers below minimum school leaving age

As part of their formal scrutiny of the draft Carer Support Payment regulations, SCoSS recommended that it was made clearer whether the intention was for the minimum age for receiving Carer Support Payment to be 16, or to be minimum school leaving age. This was as a result of a recent decision which found that the relevant regulations for Carer’s Allowance should be read to mean that it should not be available to anyone below minimum school leaving age, even if they were 16.

It is considered that the current Carer Support Payment regulations – which provide that carers must be 16 or over and not in full-time non-advanced education – will also mean that carers who are legally required to be in school would not be eligible. This is in line with the policy rationale of Carer Support Payment being an income replacement benefit and not incentivising young carers to take on substantive caring roles or leave school to take up a substantive caring role. We do, however, recognise that there may be the potential for confusion where carers who are aged 16 but in less formal schooling (for example home-schooling) may consider themselves not to be in full-time education and therefore eligible, and we are working to make clearer in materials to support application that these carers would be considered to be in full-time education.

It is also considered that changing Carer Support Payment regulations to include specific references to minimum school leaving age would conflict with the future expansion of eligibility for the benefit to include some carers aged 16 to 19 in full-time non-advanced education in exceptional circumstances as set out above.

Suspensions and temporary stops in entitlement

The approach to suspensions and temporary stops for Carer Support Payment is based on feedback that DWP suspension powers are too broad, may be used punitively, and can cause hardship. Having to manage for a period without benefit payments would be a particular issue for those on lower incomes. Our proposed policy to suspend payments less frequently, and to consider whether it will lead to hardship for a client before implementing a suspension should therefore be particularly beneficial to those on lower incomes.

Proposals to ’temporarily stop’ Carer Support Payment in some situations rather than suspending or ending awards are intended to reduce overpayments and avoid the need for re-applications where a carer is ineligible for support only temporarily. Carer Support Payment can also continue to be paid in some circumstances where the cared for person’s qualifying benefit is suspended which should provide greater stability in support for carers. It is anticipated these changes will benefit carers in work in particular, who are more likely to be younger, and those caring for people whose benefits may be more likely to change, who are also more likely to be younger carers. Older carers are more likely to be caring for older people whose benefits are more stable.

Case transfer

The case transfer process will affect children and young people aged 16 to 18 and already in receipt of Carer’s Allowance. Statistics show that young carers already face significantly more pressures than that of their non-caring peers, which can cause detrimental effects to health and wellbeing.

Case transfer will be an automatic procedure where clients do not need to re-apply which should have a positive impact by removing any administrative burden for young people, who may find the benefit process already complex and may additionally be dealing with an intensive caring role. The process will also ensure that there are no gaps in payments, which is particularly important for young carers who, if caring for a parent and therefore part of a caring household, are likely to be in the bottom half of income deciles. Additionally, case transfer will ensure their right to social security is protected.

There is a need to ensure all processes and communications are clear and in a variety of formats to protect young carers, who may already be vulnerable to enable them to be kept informed of the transfer process and have access to information and support throughout. Careful consideration will be given to how information will be communicated to this cohort. The Experience Panels, Young Carer Grant Survey^[38], which was published February 2019 provides relevant insights from young carers on their preferred methods of communication and which will be taken into account for the purposes of communications around Carer Support Payment.

The case transfer process has been designed to remove administrative burdens on carers by not requiring clients to re-apply for their benefit and to provide continuity of payment as part of case transfer. However for carers who are already receiving Carer’s Allowance and wish to go into education in Scotland, they will need to end their Carer’s Allowance award (as the education restriction in Carer’s Allowance will still apply) and make a new application for Carer Support Payment. It has not been possible to put in place systems to allow for carers’ benefits to be automatically transferred following a decision to enter full-time education. However, Carer Support Payment should be awarded from the benefit week following the last date of entitlement for Carer’s Allowance so that there is no gap in payments or entitlement.

Whilst this will add complexity for some carers, it is considered that the benefits of widening eligibility to students in Scotland, and allowing carers to access Carer Support Payment, removing this as a barrier to study, are greater than the issues caused, particularly given these will exist only in the short-term until case transfer from Carer’s Allowance to Carer Support Payment is complete.

We will develop an overarching communications and engagement plan for case transfer that includes clear information and messaging specifically targeted towards individuals who are currently receiving Carer’s Allowance, including wider messaging about the case transfer journey. This will include particular information for those receiving Carer’s Allowance and wishing to enter full-time education. Social Security Scotland also have processes in place to signpost people affected by the case transfer process to independent support organisations in the third sector as well as referral to the advocacy service where this is deemed appropriate. Local Delivery services will also have individual support advisors located nationally to support individuals face to face where this is their preference. Notifications issued to clients about case transfer are created by content designers in line with accessibility standards, and tested with users, to ensure these are easy to understand for clients.

Lastly, Carer Support Payment officials have engaged with stakeholders throughout the development and consultation process to try to mitigate any unintended consequences. Postlaunch a monitoring and continuous improvement strategy will commence and continuous engagement with stakeholders, to determine how well the new benefit is working and address any unintended consequences for anyone accessing Carer Support Payment.

The application process will collate equalities data which will assist in informing Scottish Ministers in reporting to Parliament. This policy will also contribute to achieving the children and young people outcomes of the national framework objectives that children and young people grow up feeling loved, safe and respected.

As part of the ongoing work of the Children and Young People's Mental Health and Wellbeing Joint Delivery Board^[39], the Scottish Government and COSLA are working together to improve mental health and wellbeing support for children and young people across Scotland. The voices and experiences of children, young people and their families/carers are a key part of our work to improve access to mental health support. This includes decision making, service design, delivery and evaluation. Carer Benefit policy officials work alongside the wider carer policy team who are close to this work, with regular meetings and updates on the wider carer policy landscape, which includes children and young carers.