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More than 90,000 people providing unpaid care in Scotland will receive an extra payment of £293.50 next month. Carer’s Allowance Supplement - a payment only available north of the border - was the first benefit delivered by Social Security Scotland in 2018 to provide extra financial support for carers, recognising their important contribution. The lump sum is made twice each year with the first payment of £293.50 issued to Scots on Carer Support Payment in June. The payment is made separately from the other benefits and issued automatically - nobody needs to claim it. The next payment of Carer's Allowance Supplement will be issued by Social Security Scotland in mid-December to people who were in claim - or waiting on an application outcome, which must have been submitted before the qualifying date last month. Carers in Scotland are eligible for the December payment if they were in clam for Carer Support Payment or Carer’s Allowance on October 13, 2025. It’s important to be aware that the £293.50 Carer’s Allowance Supplement is paid separately from any benefit payment from Social Security Scotland or the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Carers eligible for the payment will receive a letter from Social Security Scotland before the payment is made, although this may arrive after the money has landed in accounts. The exact date payments will land in bank accounts will be announced by Social Security Scotland nearer the time. If you are provisioning 35 hours of weekly unpaid care for a family member, friend or neighbour and make a new claim for Carer Support Payment before the deadline on October 13, which later turns out to be successful, you will also qualify for the £293.50 payment. Below is everything you need to know about the benefit and how to make a claim. Carer Support Payment is the devolved equivalent to Carer's Allowance and is worth £83.30 per week to people providing 35 hours of unpaid care to family, friends or neighbours in receipt of a qualifying disability benefit. The payment is typically issued every four weeks which amounts to £333.20. The weekly earnings threshold is £196 - equivalent to 16 hours at the National Minimum Wage. Carer Support Payment is money you can get if you provide care for someone and meet certain eligibility criteria. You must: The person you care for must already get one of these benefits: You can find out more about how it might affect other payments here. To get Carer Support Payment, you must provide care for someone as an unpaid carer for 35 hours or more a week. It cannot be care you provide: Even if you do not think of yourself as an unpaid carer, you might be eligible for Carer Support Payment. Examples of caring for someone include supporting them: If you provide care for someone with a mental health condition, you might: If you provide care for someone with an illness or disability, you might support them with: You might provide care for: You do not have to live with them or be related to them. You can only apply for Carer Support Payment for one person. If you provide care for more people, you are not entitled to extra payments. You can check if you are eligible for Carer Support Payment and find full details on the devolved benefit on the mygov.scot website here.
