Scottish working-age CTR carer premium ignores the UC carer element limb (SSI 2021/249 Sch 1 para 6(1)(c)) #2124

Problem

Scottish working-age council tax reduction includes the carer premium where the applicant or partner "has regular and substantial caring responsibilities for a severely disabled person" (Council Tax Reduction (Scotland) Regulations 2021, SSI 2021/249, Sch 1 para 5(2)). Para 6(1) defines those responsibilities as:

• (a) being in receipt of Carer's Allowance or Carer Support Payment;
• (b) being entitled to one but for the overlapping benefits rules;
• (c) having "an award of universal credit which includes the carer element described in regulation 29 of the 2013 Regulations".

carer_premium counts claimants and partners with is_entitled_to_carer_benefit (#1994; per person after #2001), which covers (a) and (b) but not (c). A Universal Credit award with the carer element needs no Carer's Allowance claim (UC Regs 2013 reg 30), so a carer who does not claim the allowance gets the UC carer element but no carer premium in Scottish working-age CTR.

Reproduction (policyengine-uk at 3f0a5a5 / fa9a8b6, the #2001 branch after merging main fcc257c)

Scotland, 2026, a single adult aged 40 with care_hours: 35 and would_claim_carers_allowance: false:

Under paras 5(2) and 6(1)(c) the applicable amount would include £48.15 × 52 = £2,503.80.

Notes

• Before Reduce Carer's Allowance and Carer Support Payment by overlapping benefits #1994 the premium followed is_carer_for_benefits (receipt or the qualifying hours), so this case got the premium in every scheme; Reduce Carer's Allowance and Carer Support Payment by overlapping benefits #1994 narrowed it to entitlement, which is right for IS, JSA, ESA, HB and the English and Welsh schemes, whose condition is entitlement to Carer's Allowance or Carer Support Payment.
• The fix is specific to Scottish working-age CTR: add limb (c) for that scheme's premium only, for example through a CTR-specific carer premium that also counts claimants and partners whose benefit unit's UC award includes the carer element. Para 5(4) then picks which of two carers of the same person gets it, with the UC carer element first.
• Found by the independent review of Pay the legacy carer premium per qualifying claimant or partner; IS carer route through them only #2001 after its merge with main (finding 2); Pay the legacy carer premium per qualifying claimant or partner; IS carer route through them only #2001's formula comment now names limb (c) as not applied.