Social security - Scottish Carer's Assistance consultation: Scottish Government response

Section 1. Carer Support Payment

Introduction

When Carer Support Payment is introduced, we want to make sure that carers who are already receiving Carer’s Allowance from the Department for Work and Pensions aren’t treated differently from those applying for the first time. As we set out in the consultation, this means that core eligibility criteria for our new benefit will initially broadly mirror Carer’s Allowance. Carers will need to be aged 16 or over and providing at least 35 hours of care a week for someone who is receiving a qualifying disability benefit. They cannot be earning more than £139 per week (2023/24 rate) from paid work (after some deductions). Carers would also not be able to receive Carer Support Payment in full at the same time as other ‘overlapping benefits’^[15].

While we need to ensure that Carer Support Payment eligibility is similar to Carer’s Allowance, we also need to make sure that key benefit rules fit with how our other benefits work, for example Child and Adult Disability Payments. This means that Carer Support Payment should work in a similar way to these benefits in terms of things like residency requirements and re-determinations and appeals. Taking this into account, the consultation asked questions about a number of areas of how Carer Support Payment should work at launch, in particular:

• Rules about where carers are living
• What happens when a carer isn’t happy with a decision
• When payments need to stop temporarily
• When payments need to be reduced
• Short-term assistance – support when decisions are being looked at again
• How we can better link carers to wider services and support

Rules about where carers are living

We set out in the consultation that eligibility for Carer Support Payment will be based on where the carer lives, and not where the person they care for lives. Carers will need to be ‘ordinarily resident’ in Scotland and both ‘habitually resident’ and ‘present’ in the Common Travel Area^[16]. In some circumstances, carers living elsewhere who have strong links to Scotland may be able to get Carer Support Payment too^[17]. The consultation set out that Carer Support Payment would not generally be available to people who are subject to UK Government’s No Recourse to Public Funds policy (though there will be some exceptions to this). The consultation also asked for views on the ‘past presence test’ which should be used for Carer Support Payment – how long a carer should have been living here to be able to get support – suggesting this could be the same as the test used for disability benefits.

Respondents’ feedback

Overall, a majority (68%) agreed with the proposed residency criteria for Carer Support Payment. Comments in response to this included that the approach seemed fair and sensible, and that the benefit should be for people living in Scotland. People were positive about the rules for Carer Support Payment being the same as for Scottish disability benefits. Some organisations felt that Carer Support Payment should be made available to all carers, including those with no access to public funds.

On the question of the ‘past presence test’, some organisations supported a reduction of the ‘past presence test’, and a test which was in line with other Scottish disability benefits. Some, however, viewed the ‘past presence test’ as a barrier, and felt reduction would not go far enough and that it should be removed entirely so carers can receive support as soon as they move to Scotland. Some responses noted there would be a concern if the ‘past presence test’ was to prevent people moving to Scotland from elsewhere in the UK from getting support straight away.

Scottish Government response

Based on the response to the consultation, which largely agreed with the residency criteria set out, we plan to set the core residence criteria for Carer Support Payment in line with other Scottish Government benefits.

Taking into account the feedback from the consultation, and the need for consistency with wider SG benefits, we are aiming to set the ‘past presence test’ for Carer Support Payment in line with our disability benefits from launch, including to remove the test for some refugees and people who are terminally ill. The ‘past presence test’ would mean carers would normally need to have been present for 26 of the past 52 weeks in the Common Travel Area. As such, it would not disadvantage carers moving to Scotland from elsewhere in the UK.

When a carer isn’t happy with a decision

We set out in the consultation that carers will have the right to ask for decisions on their eligibility for Carer Support Payment to be looked at again, through re-determinations and appeals, if they are not happy with a decision.

A re-determination is when a carer asks Social Security Scotland to look at a decision they have made again. A new team will look at the application, and any other information the carer wants to provide, and make a new decision. The carer can then appeal if they disagree with the decision made in the re-determination. The appeal will be considered by the Social Security Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland who will make a decision. The processes for appealing decisions and the timescales for appeals against decisions about Carer Support Payment are already set by the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018, meaning carers would have 31 days from a re-determination decision to request an appeal. The consultation asked for views on proposed timings for re-determinations only, suggesting that:

• Carers would have 42 days from a decision to ask for a re-determination
• Social Security Scotland will then have 56 days to carry out the re-determination request
• It would remain the case that carers could apply late for a re-determination or appeal where they have a good reason for doing so.

Respondents’ feedback

A majority of respondents (61%) agreed with the proposals, commenting that the proposed timescales seemed fair and were an improvement to current rules. It was welcomed that this would be the same as the timescales used for disability benefits. The increase in the number of days for carers to request a re-determination (compared with the low income benefits) was well received. Respondents fed back that carers are often ‘time poor’ so this would allow more time to provide any information, or time to contact organisations for support if needed.

Some organisations fed back that it seemed unfair that Social Security Scotland would have longer to carry out a re-determination (56 days) than carers would have to apply for one (42 days). They also proposed that carers should be able to request an extension of the timescale if they knew they would not be able to provide information in time. Some respondents felt the current (31 days) timescale already used for some Scottish benefits was sufficient. Some respondents also raised wider concerns about the ‘two-stage’ process of a re-determination followed by an appeal.

Scottish Government response

As the consultation response largely agrees with the proposals (61%), we propose to proceed with the suggested re-determination timescales – allowing carers 42 days to ask for a re-determination and Social Security Scotland 56 days to carry this out.

We recognise that there were a number of respondents who were concerned that the period for a re-determination to be completed was too long, or felt timescales for requesting and carrying out re-determinations should be the same. However, the proposed timescales should provide more time to request a re-determination, in recognition of the time pressures on carers, and consistency with the disability benefits. As with all of our benefits, we are committed to continuous improvement after Carer Support Payment launches and will monitor the operation of re-determinations and appeals to ensure these are working well for carers, support organisations and Social Security Scotland.

When payments need to stop temporarily to check entitlement or protect carers

We set out in the consultation that Carer Support Payment will work differently from Carer’s Allowance in terms of when payments of the benefit may be ‘suspended’, so that carers would not receive them for a period. This is in response to feedback that suspensions are used too much in the current Department of Work and Pensions system. We proposed to suspend payments in only a limited number of circumstances.

Reasons for suspensions would be the same as for other Scottish Government benefits. These would be:

1. When we have asked someone for information to confirm they’re still entitled to support and they have not provided this on time

2. When someone is getting payments on behalf of a carer, and that person is no longer able to do this, or

3. There is a risk of financial abuse.

Respondents’ feedback

A majority of respondents (54%) agreed with the proposals for when awards should be suspended. People felt it was fair to stop payments in limited situations and it would help to avoid carers being overpaid. It was welcomed that payments would not always stop when cared for people’s qualifying disability benefits were suspended.

However, some people felt payments should not be suspended in any circumstances, or that this should be looked at on an individual basis, or there should be a ‘run on’ of support. People felt suspensions could have negative impacts on carers or cause hardship. Some organisations also fed back that they believed that the benefit should continue while the cared for person enters hospital, as the carer could still be providing care.

Scottish Government response

We appreciate views are more mixed to this question than others. However, a majority agreed with the proposed approach, so we plan to proceed with this – to suspend payments where information has not been provided on time, where a third party is unable to receive payments, or where there are issues with a bank account or suspected financial abuse. We do recognise the concerns raised around the impact on carers of stopping payments and this having the potential to lead to hardship. However, we also want to protect carers from overpayments and overpayment recovery, which could also lead to financial hardship. We will also have a duty to check before suspending an award that this will not cause hardship to a carer, and carers will have the right to challenge a suspension and ask for a review of the decision. We expect suspensions are most likely to happen in Carer Support Payment where there are questions about a carer’s earnings and we need to check these. In designing processes for suspensions we will work to ensure that the information provided to carers is clear on what they are being asked to provide and that processes can be sufficiently flexible where it may be difficult for carers to provide the information needed.

We also noted in the consultation that we were looking at what should happen to payments of Carer Support Payment when the qualifying disability benefit of the person being cared for has been suspended. Following the response, we propose that Carer Support Payment would continue to be paid where a qualifying disability benefit is suspended but the cared for person’s entitlement to the disability benefit is not in question. In situations where a disability benefit has been suspended due to issues in receiving payments, there should be no need for Carer Support Payment to stop. For example, when someone is receiving payments on behalf of the carer – for example they are an appointee – and the appointee is no longer able to receive payments or we are unable to pay into their bank account.

We are also working with the Department for Work and Pensions to look at how suspensions of Carer Support Payment should affect any extra support carers are getting in reserved benefits, and to protect against overpayments of these benefits where Carer Support Payment awards are suspended.

Setting the value of Carer’s Support Payment awards to £0 instead of suspending or ending the award

We set out in the consultation that we want to provide more stability for carers getting Carer Support Payment when there are periods where they aren’t eligible for support. We proposed to do this by setting payments to £0 rather than ending awards in certain situations – for example, where a carer has earnings over the limit, or where the cared for person’s qualifying benefit is suspended or set to £0 and removing eligibility for Carer Support Payment. We also proposed that after an award had been set to £0 for six months, it would end.

Carer Support Payment would also be set to £0 where a carer is receiving an ‘overlapping benefit’. Overlapping benefits are benefits which can’t be paid in full at the same time as each other because they are provided for the same purpose. Carers who get ‘overlapping benefits’ instead of Carer Support Payment will have what is called ‘underlying entitlement’ to this support which can mean they may be eligible for extra support in other benefits. Carers whose awards are set to £0 because of overlapping benefits would not have their awards closed after six months.

Respondents’ feedback

A majority of respondents (57%) agreed with the proposals on setting awards to £0 in certain circumstances. For people agreeing, this was viewed as fair and sensible, reducing the risk of overpayments by offering a more flexible approach in terms of fluctuating earnings and breaks in care. Carers not needing to re-apply for Carer Support Payment after awards were set to £0 was also well received, as it was felt this could help reduce hardship and save time in not having to make a new claim.

In line with the response on suspensions, some organisations disagreed with awards being set to £0 where the cared for person enters hospital, on the basis that the caring role may change but may not stop. There were also calls for the earnings limit to be increased as this was viewed as being set at too low a level. Some stated that there should be exemptions to awards being nil-rated where the qualifying benefit stops due to a prolonged hospital admission. There was also some disagreement that carers getting State Pension should have their Carer Support Payment awards set to £0, as they disagreed with State Pension being an ’overlapping benefit’.

Scottish Government response

As the consultation response broadly agrees with our current position on when an award of Carer Support Payment should be set to £0, we plan to proceed with this policy – so Carer Support Payment awards would be set to £0 for any week in which a cared for person’s qualifying benefit award is set to £0 or when it is ended, where a carer has earnings over the earnings limit, or where they have exceeded the permitted breaks in care for a given period. When a carer becomes entitled again, payments would start again. If an award had been set to £0 for six months, it would end. It is not our intention that carers receiving £0 awards in these situations would be able to get extra support in reserved benefits which are linked to Carer Support Payment.

Where an award was set to £0 because of an ‘overlapping benefit’, this would allow them to access any linked support in reserved benefits and the £0 award would not end after 6 months, it would continue for as long as the underlying entitlement remained.

We recognise the views regarding the level of the earnings limit and support for carers when a cared for person is in hospital for more than 28 days. We will consider changes to these areas of Carer Support Payment in the future and more information on our proposals and the response to these is provided later in this document.

Short-term assistance

Short-term assistance is a new form of assistance in the Scottish social security system. It provides financial support for people while they challenge a decision to reduce or stop an ongoing payment of certain Scottish Government benefits. This is to make sure people are not put off challenging decisions by having to manage, for a period of time, with a lower income. Short-term assistance is paid at a level which maintains the support the person was getting before the decision to stop or reduce their benefits. At the moment, there is no short-term assistance available from the Department for Work and Pensions.

In the consultation, we proposed that short-term assistance could be made available in some situations where a carer is challenging a decision on an ongoing Carer Support Payment award. We also proposed that short-term assistance could be treated as a qualifying benefit for Carer Support Payment when paid to a cared for person in place of a Carer Support Payment qualifying benefit.

Respondents’ feedback

Proposals on short-term assistance were welcomed by a majority (69%) of respondents, as it was felt that carers’ will continue to undertake their caring role while the challenge process is ongoing and it was seen as right that they should be supported during this. This proposal was viewed as progressive, fair and sensible, reducing stress for carers while providing them with a ‘safety net’ and helping to protect incomes and possibly access to other forms of support.

Some organisations raised concerns about links to other benefits, noting that work would be needed with the Department for Work and Pensions to protect support in other benefits that are linked to Carer Support Payment, to avoid carers losing out. It was also recommended that communications should be clear to make sure carers know they are entitled to this support and that, crucially, it would not need to be repaid even if challenges are not successful. One organisation suggested an alternative approach through a ‘run on’ of support which would help with the transition to a lower income and could be less complex.

Scottish Government response

As the consultation response strongly agreed with the proposal on short-term assistance, we wish to proceed with the proposed policy to provide short-term assistance in some situations where a Carer Support Payment decision is being challenged, and to provide support to carers when the person they care for is challenging a decision and receiving short-term assistance.

However, as noted in the consultation, because of the complex links the existing Carer’s Allowance benefit has with support which remains reserved, we need to continue to work with the Department for Work and Pensions to consider the impacts on other benefits before finalising our plans. Following this detailed work and subject to agreement with the Department for Work and Pensions, we will deliver short-term assistance and related support for Carer Support Payment after case transfer is complete, rather than when the benefit first launches.

This is in part because it has not been possible to agree with the Department for Work and Pensions how short-term assistance provided to carers (or support based on short-term assistance paid to a cared for person) would be treated in reserved means-tested benefits. It would make carers no better off if support we provided during challenges was to reduce support they were receiving through Universal Credit or other Department of Work and Pensions benefits. Introducing this support after case transfer completes will also ensure that there is no difference in treatment and support for carers in Scotland who are already getting Carer’s Allowance.