Earlier this month, the Scottish Parliament unanimously voted to double the Winter payment of the Carer’s Allowance Supplement, which is paid this December. It is shameful such a supplement is even needed: the UK Government’s rate of £67.60 a week was nowhere near enough to live on even before the pandemic. The removal of the Universal Credit uplift will make cost of living even more difficult for unpaid carers.
Unfortunately, the supplement is a sticking plaster unless it is made permanent, a provision the Scottish Government voted down. The Scottish Government has promised to introduce Carer’s Assistance, a new benefit to replace Carer’s Allowance, by 2025. But that means Scotland’s unpaid carers face at least four years of financial uncertainty. I will continue to call for that certainty and for the level of supplement to be calculated based on Universal Credit, so carers are never left without enough to live on
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Carer’s Allowance Supplement
