Nearly 82,000 carers benefit from additional double payment

£57.6 million support for carers in 2021

Over 658,000 Carer’s Allowance Supplement payments have been made to 126,055 carers since this additional payment, unique in the UK, was introduced in September 2018.

In total, £188 million has been paid to carers since launch and just under 82,000 eligible carers received a payment in December 2021.

Recognising the impacts of the pandemic on unpaid carers, these payments included an additional Coronavirus Carer’s Allowance Supplement payment, making the total December payment value  £462.80.

Carer’s Allowance Supplement is an extra payment for people in Scotland who get Carer’s Allowance on a particular date.

There are two Carer’s Allowance Supplement eligibility dates each year – one in April and one in October. The eligibility dates for 2022 will be Monday 11 April 2022 and Monday 10 October 2022.

The Minister for Social Security, Ben Macpherson said: “In recognising the vital contribution of unpaid carers in our society, Carer’s Allowance Supplement was the first payment we introduced when we established our new social security system in 2018.

“Providing this supplementary payment rights the wrong that Carer’s Allowance on its own is the lowest of all working age benefits in the UK.

“The impacts of the pandemic put additional pressure on tens of thousands of carers across the country. That is why we also paid an additional Coronavirus Carer’s Allowance Supplement Payment in 2020 and 2021.

“The Scottish Government’s additional payments meant that eligible carers in Scotland received up to £694.20 more in support last year than carers in the rest of the UK.”

• Full details on the statistics are available to view at https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/reporting/publications/summary-statistics-for-carers-allowance-supplement-to-october-eligibility-date-2021 
• Carer’s Allowance Supplement is paid automatically twice a year to carers who are living in Scotland and receive Carer’s Allowance, paid by the Department for Work and Pensions, on specified qualifying dates. The qualifying date for the December 2021 double payment was 11 October 2021
• There are two Carer’s Allowance Supplement eligibility dates each year – one in April and one in October. The eligibility dates for 2022 are Monday 11 April 2022 and Monday 10 October 2022. Payment months will be June and December 2022 which follows previous payment cycles, with exact date to be confirmed closer to the time
• Carer’s Allowance Supplement will be uprated from April 2022. The new Carer’s Allowance Supplement rate for 2022 will be £237.90