Help for you as a carer
Most of this site is about the person you look after. This page is about you.
The one thing worth doing first
Ask your council for an Adult Carer Support Plan. It is free, it is not means-tested, and it does not depend on the person you care for agreeing to anything or being assessed themselves.
Under the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016, if you ask for one, your council must prepare it. The plan sets out what matters to you, what you need, and what support the council will provide to meet those needs — which can mean practical help at home, help with costs, or a break.
If you are under 18, or you are 18 and still at school, you get a Young Carer Statement instead. It works the same way. What decides it is your own age, not the age of the person you look after. A parent caring for a disabled child gets an Adult Carer Support Plan. Adult Carer Support Plans and Young Carer Statements (mygov.scot) →
Money you may be entitled to
Carer Support Payment
This is Scotland's main benefit for carers, paid by Social Security Scotland. It is for people who care for someone for a substantial number of hours each week, where the person they care for gets a qualifying disability benefit.
Carer Support Payment, including the current amount and who qualifies →
Scottish Carer Supplement
Extra money on top of Carer Support Payment, paid at the same time as it. You do not apply for it separately — Social Security Scotland adds it automatically. It replaced Carer's Allowance Supplement in March 2026.
Young Carer Grant
A yearly payment for young people in Scotland aged 16, 17, 18 or 19 who care for someone for an average of 16 hours a week or more. You cannot get it at the same time as Carer Support Payment.
Amounts change each April, so we do not print them here — the links above always show the current figure.
Getting a break
Every council in Scotland has to publish a short breaks services statement — a list of what is available locally for a carer and the person they care for to have time apart, or a holiday together with support.
A break is one of the things an Adult Carer Support Plan can arrange, so the two go together. Search for your council's name and "short breaks services statement", or ask when you request your plan.
If you cannot carry on
Carers get ill, go into hospital, and have emergencies of their own. Planning for that is not giving up — it is the sensible thing, and it is one of the things your plan is supposed to cover.
- Ask your council about an emergency or anticipatory care plan for the person you look after, so someone else knows what they need.
- If you are at crisis point today, call your council's social work team. Out of hours, every council has an emergency number.
- If you are struggling to cope, Samaritans are there day and night on 116 123.
If you're in North Ayrshire
We built a second, more detailed tool for one council area, because the local services and grants differ everywhere and a Scotland-wide page can only take you so far. What am I entitled to? North Ayrshire asks a few questions about the person you look after and gives you a checklist of what you may be able to claim in North Ayrshire — including the local ones this page does not cover, like the community alarm, Blue Badge and Time to Live short-break grants. It is free, needs no account, and does not store your answers.
Where to get help with a claim
You do not have to do the forms alone, and help is free.
- Care Information Scotland — free helpline and plain guidance on support for carers.
- Citizens Advice Scotland — free, independent help with benefit claims and appeals.
- Your local carers centre. Most council areas have one, and they do this every day. Search for your area and "carers centre".
Also on this site
For the person you look after, rather than for you.
Plain-language guidance, not legal or financial advice. Benefit rules change — always check the official pages linked above, or take advice.