Social Security Experience Panels - Scottish Carer's Assistance: main report

2. Extra payments for carers in Scotland

2.1. Payment of Carer's Allowance Supplement in the future

Social Security Scotland already provides extra money for Scotland's carers through payments that are unique in the UK. One extra payment is Carer's Allowance Supplement (CAS) which has been paid since 2018.

Carer's Allowance Supplement is paid by Social Security Scotland to carers who are getting Carer's Allowance and living in Scotland. It gives extra support to carers by providing over £460 a year. Currently, it is paid every six months.

Social Security Scotland will continue to provide extra support through Carer's Allowance Supplement in the future when carers are getting Scottish Carer's Assistance.

It could be paid at the same time as Scottish Carer's Assistance payments every week or every 4 weeks. Or Carer's Allowance Supplement could be paid as a lump sum instead, for example, every six months.

When respondents were asked how should Carer's Allowance Supplement be paid in the future, almost half (48 per cent) said Carer's Allowance Supplement should be paid at the same time with Scottish Carer's Assistance payments, over a third (35 per cent) said Carer's Allowance Supplement should be paid as a lump sum, and almost a fifth (17 per cent) were not sure (see Table 4).

Table 4: How should Carer's Allowance Supplement be paid in future? (n=236)

	Number of respondents	% of respondents
Paid at the same time with Scottish Carer's Assistance payments	114	48
Paid as a lump sum	83	35
Not sure	39	17

Views in favour of paying CAS at the same time as SCA payments

Several survey respondents and interview participants commented on why they thought Carer's Allowance Supplement should be paid at the same time with Scottish Carer's Assistance payments.

Many survey respondents and interview participants mentioned that it would provide a better financial support by adding to the household budget for weekly or monthly living costs. Along the same lines, many others highlighted that it would give more financial stability and budgetary control for living expenses.

"Paying it at the same time as Scottish Carer's Assistance offers the carer better financial security and budgetary control than waiting for a fixed lump sum payment every e.g. six months." (survey respondent)

"Personally I would prefer it to be paid the same time as the carers, not as a lump sum. Just for budgeting reasons. If you get it as a lump sum you would just spend it." (interview participant)

Some respondents and participants mentioned that if CAS is paid at the same time as SCA, carers will be provided with better financial support in the face of their low household incomes and the wider context of sharp rising costs of living.

"I feel it's nice to get it as a lump sum but with the sharp rising cost of living carers could really do with that money in their bank every week to help pay for living costs." (survey respondent)

"Carers who have no other income need the money every week to cover outgoings, especially now due to cost of living crisis." (survey respondent)

A few survey respondents and participants stated that paying CAS at the same time with SCA payments would avoid that some carers missing out on this payment due to the specific qualifying period/dates of the current CAS eligibility rules.

"Regarding the current payment schedule of six monthly payments, the problem with this is the qualifying period. If a carer provides care for fifty weeks of the year, but not for the two qualifying dates, then that carer would miss an entire year's CA supplement payments." (survey respondent)

"I think it should be paid with your normal payments. Some people might only claim for part of the year. The qualifying dates might mean you miss out. Having the extra money each month would allow carers to budget each month. Saving money is a luxury." (interview participant)

A small number of survey respondents and interview participants were concerned that paying CAS as a lump sum could affect eligibility of other entitlements and cause further issues as a result of being a taxable benefit.

"If paid as a lump sum, this could affect other benefits and cause tax problems if in work." (survey respondent)

"…if it's taxable, people if they're on the borderline, lump sums can quickly put them over things [….] I think it should be maybe, just run with the other one because hopefully that would be the one less likely to hurt people on the lower incomes, and they are the ones disproportionately affected by anything. Lump sums in my experience cause trouble." (interview participant)

Views in favour of paying CAS as lump sum payments

Survey respondents commented on why they thought Carer's Allowance Supplement should be paid as a lump sum. Some said that this method of payment would allow carers to use that money for themselves, usually in the form of respite, breaks or holidays.

"Carers don't usually work so are always on a low income. To get a lump sum payment is a big boost for them to buy something they would otherwise not be able to afford." (survey respondent)

"It's the only time I ever have a lump sum for just me and it's a much appreciated thanks and recognition of my efforts as a carer. I want to keep being paid this way in a lump sum as I find it easier to access some respite or buy something just for me, if it's paid weekly in small amounts it'll be gobbled up paying bills and every day expenses." (survey respondent)

Some survey respondents and interview participants noted that lump sum payments would also allow large purchases and large household bills which they would not be able to afford with their regular budget. A few mentioned that the lump sums would help for seasonal budgets like Christmas or summer holidays.

"The lump sum twice a year comes in very handy for larger necessary household bills and purchases." (survey respondent)

"I think the Carer's Allowance Supplements' are a massive help and when paid in a lump sum, can really help towards paying a bill, and for Christmas, etc. which is always a stressful time financially. It has saved me from debt at Christmas and helped pay electricity bills. It keeps my bank account in the black!" (survey respondent)

A few respondents stated that by paying CAS in lump sums as opposed to regular payments with SCA it would avoid the CAS payments to be used for ongoing and daily living costs.

"The two lump sum payments are more likely to mean the carer themselves uses it, rather than it being swallowed up by the rise of living costs." (survey respondent)

"Paid twice a year is a bonus amount of money and can offer opportunity to do more with that amount other than every 4 weeks when it's just easier to assimilate into daily living. The lump sum method feels like a bonus and allows you use it on things out with your normal budgetary concerns. If it was regular, then it would be swallowed up through regular everyday living expenses." (survey respondent)

Both options should be available for carers

Some survey respondents and interview participants who were not sure about the best method of payment for Carer's Allowance supplement in the future mentioned that both options should be available for carers so they could choose their preferred method of payment based on their individual circumstances.

"This depends very much on the personal circumstances of the applicant. It would be good if carers had the choice." (survey respondent)

"I believe the recipients should be able to choose the method of payment which best meets their individual circumstances e.g. weekly, monthly 6 monthly or annual lump sum." (survey respondent)

2.2. Carer's Additional Person Payment

The Scottish Government is planning to make a new payment (called 'Carer's Additional Person Payment' for now) to give extra support to carers who are caring for more than one person.

To be able to get the Carer's Additional Person Payment (CAPP), carers:

• must be getting Scottish Carer's Assistance.
• must be caring for at least two people who are getting a disability benefit.
• will need to give 35 or more hours of care a week for the person they are getting Scottish Carer's Assistance for. Carers should be providing at least 20 hours of care a week for each additional person.

It is not planned to limit how many additional people a carer could get this payment for.

Respondents were asked if they agreed or disagreed with the proposed eligibility criteria for Carer's Additional Person Payment (see Table 5). 75 per cent of respondents agreed with the proposed eligibility criteria, 10 per cent disagreed and 15 per cent were not sure.

Table 5: Do you agree or disagree with the proposed eligibility criteria for Carer's Additional Person Payment? (n=237)

	Number of respondents	% of respondents
Agree	177	75
Disagree	24	10
Not sure	36	15

Support for the proposals

Many survey respondents and interview participants who agreed with the proposed eligibility criteria noted that this payment is a recognition and appreciation for carers who care for more than one person. Several mentioned that this payment takes into account the extra amount of care provided and the extra cost of caring for more than one person.

"It's difficult enough caring for one person, but when that increases to caring for multiple people; more financial assistance should be provided and all available help should be given!" (survey respondent)

"People who are caring for more than one person have extra expenses incurred as a result and additional payment would help with this." (survey respondent)

Many supported this proposal based on their previous and current experiences of caring for more than one person and on how demanding their caring role was/is.

"I completely agree with this. I care for 4 disabled children, the only time I have respite is when they are at school and this is when I work 20 hours a week during term time. I am exhausted, yet I receive 1 Carer's Allowance, the same as someone else who looks after 1 person for a minimum of 35 hours per week. It is grossly unfair and puts me at huge disadvantage as I can't earn any more either if I want to keep my Carer's Allowance. I'm actually having to pay any wage increase I get in to my pension just so I can carry on receiving Carer's Allowance." (survey respondent)

A few respondents and participants who agreed with the proposed eligibility criteria for Carer's Additional Payment mentioned that it was a fair payment because carers who cared for more than one person cannot take on paid employment or study due to their caring role.

"I had direct experience of caring for two family members, different households and locations at the same time. I had to give up my career and income, use personal savings, take cash from pension pot to make this possible. I had no income other than one Carer's allowance." (survey respondent)

"I agree because I myself care for 2 children with disabilities and one adult child with disabilities. It is hard going. It's exhausting. It means I cannot ever work because it is 24/7 and I don't ever get a break so that extra money would help massively basically because I know I will never even be able to get a wee part-time job. My 3 children's disabilities are lifelong therefore my caring role is lifelong and constant." (survey respondent)

Questions and concerns about the proposals: hours spent caring

Questions and concerns about different aspects of the Carer's Additional Person Payment proposal were raised by some survey respondents and interview participants.

A few respondents questioned the amount of caring hours to be eligible. They also had questions about what can constitute the caring hours, for instance if travelling to the cared for person's household can be considered in the calculation of caring hours.

"I care for two sons with [name of disability], one with more serious learning support needs, both have different needs and levels of needs. It's a struggle financially and certainly impacts on my own mental and physical wellbeing. I am not so sure about the minimum 20 hours of additional support/care given to qualify for the additional payment, 55 hours of care is massive, it's exhausting no matter how many hours spent, and no doubt 55 hours is the least amount of time spent caring for two people, but I think it could be reduced to a normal working week maximum of 48 hours in total. In terms of hourly rate, and saving the state a lot of money by caring for people at home, the DWP's Carer's Allowance is an insult as it stands now. Scotland can do a lot better for those caring for people who would otherwise need a huge amount of support from care services, to manage on a day to day basis and stay safe, etc." (survey respondent)

"Agree, but the number of additional hours should be looked at. Even if someone is looking after another person for less than 20 hours a week, it's not only the additional hours of physical care that affects mental health and physical wellbeing. It's the additional stress and worry about that person, it's the additional form filling and phone calls required to ensure they are also getting the support they're entitled to as well as the initial person I'm caring for." (survey respondent)

Some respondents and participants mentioned potential issues concerning the amount of hours providing care to become eligible to this new payment. The most common issues noted were: hours providing care can fluctuate between cared for people, caring is a full-time day job, consideration of travelling hours to assist cared for people, carers are unable to separate hours of care between cared for people, and the total amount of caring hours proposed is too high a threshold for eligibility.

"Leniency should be shown to the carer, an example would be, where the carer cooks the same meal for two cared for people, each meal and its preparation, should be considered individually in the assessment of care hours and not amalgamated as if two meals were one meal. Each cared for person may have entirely differing facilitation needs in order to consume said meal." (survey respondent)

"One person may not have to do 35 hours care for 1 person. But you may be doing 25 hours a week for each of the three. In which case you would be doing 75 hours a week but you would fall through the gap because you weren't providing at least 20 hours for a subsequent one and at least 35 for another one. I think it should be based on total hours that you are caring. And if you are caring for more than 35 hours a week and you are caring for different, slightly different if they are all in your home for example. But if like me, I had to travel between three different properties, one of which was like 30 miles from my home and two were 4 miles from my home. That travel time as well should be considered caring time, because the only reason I was travelling was to provide care to the person I was going to care for. So caring, it should be based on the total hours, not just the amount of hours you spend for one person. Can you imagine if you've got like, I've got 3 siblings, I would have to do 35 with [name], 20 hours with [name] and 20 for [name] which would equate to 75 hours per week." (interview participant)

Questions and concerns about the proposals: limiting caring hours

A few survey respondents and interview participants mentioned that carers should have a limit to how many people they cared for because the excessive amount of caring working hours.

"Shouldn't be more than two people as two is more than enough to deal with." (survey respondent)

"…I think realistically can someone be a carer for more than 2 people a week? It's 55 hours a week? That's a lot, a lot as well as having your own life and things like that." (interview participant)

A small number of participants and respondents were concerned about the potential for a rise in fraudulent claims and abuse of the system as a result of the proposal. Specifically, their concerns related to the proposal to not put a limit on how many cared for people an applicant can receive this payment for.

"I agree with them completely, but I think you would need to put some kind of limit on it or it could be up for total abuse." (interview participant)

"I would agree with the rules, but you had said you don't intend to limit the number of people could care for – I think this could be slightly open to abuse, as you need some sort of proof that the money is going to the right people. Someone could say that they are caring for two or three other people, but need some proof." (interview participant)

Questions and concerns about the proposals: the payment amount

Some survey respondents highlighted that the amount of the Carer's Additional Person payment is too low.

"Agree with the eligibility, but certainly not the payment. If I care for my mother I get £3515.20 and only £520 per year for my dad, it should be the same for both." (survey respondent)

"I agree with the eligibility, disagree with the amount. The needs of a second person should not be second place to a first person. Equality in need, equality in payment. £520 is far too low for second person." (survey respondent)

A small number of respondents and participants mentioned that asking carers to work that amount of hours to receive £10 as a CAPP weekly payment goes against the health and wellbeing of the carer and it does not provide a minimum wage.

"I have a problem with the law there. Because what they're doing now is they're saying someone has to work 55 hours a week and I think employer's legislation wouldn't allow that. So that's not gonna work. If they gave me a form saying that, I would immediately go to court. You're saying that I would have to work 55 hours a week to get a payment. That goes against legislation […] As soon as I saw that, I would immediate go to lawyers or go to MSPs if I saw that on the Scottish Government. Essentially demanding carers work 55 hours a week for 70p an hour; that's human slavery." (interview participant)

"It's just a kick in the teeth, that's like 10 quid a week… sorry let's just elaborate on this. £520 per year is £10 per week, and you've got to be doing at least 20 hours for that person. So £10 per week, divided by 20 hours, that's 50p an hour, and if you're doing more than 20 hours, that's really; this is what I'm trying to say, carers get treated like rubbish. We're expected to work for like £8 less than the minimum wage per hour. And we need to feed and clothe ourselves. We also need to have transport to be able to get to the people we care for, and we can't do that on Carer's Allowance. I honestly don't know how anybody anywhere can survive on that, unless they have someone in the background supporting them. But for a single person like myself with no other family. That's why I'm forced to work and be a full-time carer because it is just not enough." (interview participant)

Questions and concerns about the proposals: eligibility criteria

A few respondents and participants highlighted caring situations in which the carer would care for two or more people, but they still not be able to qualify for Carer's Additional Person Payment. Those situations included: caring for elderly adults who are not in receipt of disability benefits, a carer who earns above the earning threshold, and a carer who receives a state pension.

"I care for my husband who has a disability and PIP. I also care for my mother [87 years] who does not have PIP." (survey respondent)

"I am caring for more than 35 hours each week, but I get ZERO benefits, I have to work full-time, I am stressed and have stress-induced memory loss, depression, anxiety, autism and other mental health issues and I have 1 arm and limited mobility. I do the best I can to help these people, but my Dad maybe only needs 3-6 hours a week, my "brother" only about 2-3 hours each week and my sister several hours a day, and a friend a couple of hours each week. So based on that I would not qualify for carers benefit at all, but I am doing the job that this bloody government and local government is failing to do - care for these people. I did not choose to be born, I have had to be a carer since 1985, and it has caused me to have several nervous breakdowns, and has exacerbated my own disabilities." (survey respondent)

Some survey respondents suggested that the eligibility criteria should be widened to give this benefit entitlement to: all carers, elderly carers or carers who cared for a person who is not entitled to disability benefits.

"We save you hundreds of thousands of pounds annually we deserve every penny that we get for what we do. Why not make it simple and pay every carer a decent amount of Carer's Allowance regardless of how many people they care for not the less than £10 per day we currently receive!!!!" (survey respondent)

"Carers deserve to be paid more regardless how many people they care for. It's a full-time job, the deserve a full-time wage." (survey respondent)

"I currently care for 4 people as an unpaid carer. It's so hard. So should be recognised. That said, I currently feel like a second class unpaid carer as I don't get Carer's Allowance so don't get any additional bonuses like others. Left out on a limb just over the cut off and no one cared whilst others doing less caring get all benefits and bonuses - So Unfair!!" (survey respondent)

Carer's Additional Person Payment would not be paid to people who get another overlapping benefit. This includes people who get a State Pension. The Scottish Government will only pay Carer's Additional Person Payment to carers who get Scottish Carer's Assistance. This is because carers getting Scottish Carer's Assistance are likely to be on lower incomes. The Scottish Government wants to target the new payment at carers on the lowest incomes.

Interview participants were asked if they agree or disagree with the idea to target Carer's Additional Person Payment at carers who are getting payments of Scottish Carer's Assistance^[9]. There were mixed views on this across the interviews. Some participants noted that the payment should be targeted to carers on low incomes whereas others disagreed because the proposal would rule out carers who get underlying entitlements, but are also in need.

"Agree with the idea to target this payment. As they're already in receipt of one part of the payment, so if I go back a bit, people who are caring for additional children or adults, they're already in the system. What I think I was alluding to is that checks are in place for new applicants, to make sure that they are claiming the money properly and not abusing it." (interview participant)

"We only want to target people most in need. Pensioners working 70,80-hours a week, some weeks; they're in need as well. The reason they're on pension credit is because they're in need. I understand carers should be get the payment regardless because of the contribution of being a carer." (interview participant)

"I disagree because it would rule me out […] Back to the two-tier system. You're doing all this caring but you can't be recognised as a dual-carer because you have underlying benefits. It seems grossly unfair and makes me feel like a second-class carer." (interview participant)

Timing of CAPP payments

Interview participants were asked if they agreed or disagreed that Carer's Additional Person Payment should be paid at the same time as a carer's Scottish Carer's Assistance Payments^[10]. The majority of interview participants welcomed this idea. They noted that it would help with their household regular budget and monthly income. It would also simplify the process of payments. One interview participant said that the carer should have the choice of when it should be paid.

"Yeah. I think you need to try and keep stuff together as much as possible. Some are paid weekly, some fortnightly, some four weekly. The more you simplify it; the better for budgeting. The impact of it being together will enable carers to budget properly and do stuff with it rather than getting small amounts." (interview participant)

"It should be every 4 weeks or whenever someone chooses to have it." (interview participant)