Young Carer Grant - Scotland - Can I get a Young Carer Grant - Scotland?

You can get a Young Carer Grant if you:

• Live in Scotland, and
• Are 16, 17,18 or 19 years old, and
• You provide 16 or more hours of care per week for someone who has been getting one of these benefits for at least three months:
  • the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP), or
  • the daily living component of Adult Disability Payment Scotland
  • the middle or high rate care component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA), or
  • the middle or high rate care component of Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance (SADLA)
  • the middle or highest rate of Child Disability Payment Scotland
  • Attendance Allowance or Pension Age Disability Payment (Scotland), or
  • Armed Forces Independence Payment, or
  • Constant Attendance Allowance.

You have to have been providing care for them for at least three months. They can be a family member, a friend or a neighbour.

If you care for more than one person who gets one of the disability benefits, you can add up the hours you spend caring. You can add up hours caring for up to three people, as long as they all get a disability benefit.

For example, Fionn is 16.

His younger sister gets Child Disability Payment and Fionn spends four hours per week providing care for her.

Fionn's grandad gets Pension Age Disability Payment and Fionn spends 12 hours per week looking after him.

Fionn can add up the hours he spends caring for his granddad and his sister so her is providing 16 hours of care in total.

Carer Support Payment and Carer's Allowance 

You can’t usually get a Young Carer Grant if you’re already getting Carer Support Payment or Carer's Allowance. If you are entitled to Carer Support Payment or Carer's Allowance but aren’t getting it, you should wait until after you have been paid your Young Carer Grant before you apply. 

You can get a Young Carer Grant if someone else gets Carer Support Payment or Carer's Allowance for looking after the same person.

How many people can get a Young Carer Grant?

Only one person can get a Young Carer Grant for looking after each disabled person.

For example, Seán, 16, and Peter, 17, both provide more than 16 hours per week care for their mum, who gets Adult Disability Payment. Only one of them can get a Young Carer Grant for looking after her. They agree between themselves that Seán should get the Young Carer Grant, so he makes the application for it.