Young Carer Grant Scotland: Who Qualifies and How to Apply

The Young Carer Grant is an annual payment from Social Security Scotland for young carers aged 16–19 who provide unpaid care for at least 16 hours a week. It's unconditional — no restrictions on how it's spent — and exists specifically because young carers often miss out on the social and leisure activities that other young people take for granted.

Who qualifies?

You can apply for the Young Carer Grant if you:

• Are aged 16, 17, 18 or 19 (you must not have turned 20)
• Live in Scotland
• Provide at least 16 hours of unpaid care per week for someone
• Care for someone who receives a qualifying disability benefit
• Are not receiving Carer Support Payment (the payment for carers who care for 35+ hours/week)

The 16-hour threshold

The 16-hour caring requirement is lower than Carer Support Payment (which requires 35 hours). This means the Young Carer Grant reaches young carers who provide significant care — homework help, medication support, emotional support, helping with daily tasks — without meeting the full 35-hour threshold.

Caring hours don't need to be continuous. Time spent supporting someone with personal care, preparing meals, accompanying them to appointments, providing emotional support or monitoring their safety all count.

Qualifying disability benefits for the person you care for

The person you're caring for must receive one of:

• Child Disability Payment or Disability Living Allowance — at the middle or highest rate of the care component, or either rate of mobility
• Adult Disability Payment or Personal Independence Payment — at the standard or enhanced rate of daily living
• Attendance Allowance — at either rate
• Constant Attendance Allowance — at or above the normal maximum rate

If the person you care for is in the process of applying for one of these benefits, you can still submit your Young Carer Grant application — it will be held until their disability benefit decision is confirmed.

What can the grant be spent on?

Anything you choose. There are no spending conditions, no receipts required, and no reporting. The Scottish Government designed it this way deliberately — young carers' needs vary enormously, and telling them how to spend it undermines the point.

Recipients commonly use it for:

• Social activities, trips or hobbies they otherwise couldn't afford
• Equipment for sport, music or creative pursuits
• Driving lessons or transport costs
• Technology (phone, laptop)
• Clothing, fitness, wellbeing

Can it be combined with other payments?

The Young Carer Grant does not count as income for Universal Credit purposes — it won't reduce your UC.

How to apply

Applications go through Social Security Scotland.

• Online: mygov.scot/young-carer-grant
• Phone: 0800 182 2222 (free, Monday–Friday 8am–6pm)
• Paper form: request from Social Security Scotland

You'll need:

• Your National Insurance number (or, if you don't have one yet, your date of birth and address)
• The National Insurance number of the person you care for
• Details of their disability benefit (name of benefit and reference number)
• Your bank or building society details

You can apply once per year. The grant is renewed annually — you'll need to reapply each year to confirm you still meet the criteria.

What happens after you apply

Social Security Scotland aims to process most Young Carer Grant applications within 5 weeks. You'll receive a letter with the decision. If approved, payment goes directly into your bank account.

If you're refused and you think the decision is wrong, you have the right to request a redetermination (a fresh look at your case by a different decision maker) within 31 days of the decision. If the redetermination still refuses the grant, you can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Social Security Chamber).

Young carers in Scotland: the scale of it

An estimated 29,000 young carers aged 5–17 live in Scotland, according to the 2022 Census — with the actual figure likely higher as many caring roles go unrecognised. Young carers aged 16–19 are the specific group the grant targets: old enough to be managing significant caring responsibility, but too young for many adult support systems.

Young carers commonly support a parent or sibling with:

• Physical health conditions or disabilities
• Mental health conditions (the most common caring role for teenagers)
• Drug or alcohol dependency
• Long-term conditions such as MS, Parkinson's, or dementia

The impact on education is significant. Research by Carers Scotland consistently finds that young carers are more likely to have lower school attendance, reduced attainment, and higher rates of anxiety and depression than peers without caring responsibilities. The grant exists partly to provide respite — money that gives young carers access to the ordinary activities (cinema, sports, time with friends) that support mental health.

Proving your 16 hours of care

Social Security Scotland doesn't require you to submit a timesheet or log every caring hour. Instead, the application asks you to describe, in your own words, what your caring responsibilities involve and how much time they take.

Useful things to mention in your application:

• The tasks you carry out (personal care, cooking, medication management, emotional support, school run, accompanying to appointments)
• How often you do them (daily, weekly, overnight)
• What would happen if you weren't there

If the person you care for has a Young Carer Statement (a support plan produced by the local authority), that document is strong supporting evidence. Ask the school or local authority if one exists — they are available for any young carer of school age.

You do not need a social worker or formal assessment to apply for the Young Carer Grant. Self-reported information is accepted, but it must be consistent and specific.

If your application is refused

Refusals are relatively rare, but they happen — most often when the disability benefit for the person being cared for hasn't been confirmed, or when the caring hours are disputed.

If refused, you have 31 days to request a redetermination — Social Security Scotland reviews the case from scratch with a different decision maker. If the redetermination also refuses, you can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Social Security Chamber). Appeals are free and can be done without a lawyer, though organisations like Citizens Advice Scotland can help you prepare.

Related: Carer Support Payment Scotland — the weekly payment for carers providing 35+ hours of care. Education Maintenance Allowance — weekly payment for S5/S6 pupils from lower-income households.