Hi, I have emailed for almost a year asking if we had a response from the letter to the PM regarding unpaid carers.
Any update?
Hi Suggsy,
I have highlighted your question to the Carers UK team.
Hi Suggsy,
I do not work for carersUK but have just re-read the open letter to the Prime Minister from 2024, and have noted that although there may not (or may have) been a reponse to the open letter, the prime minister has taken action on some of the contents of the letter.
And a number of actions have or are taking place.
1. Reform and significantly increase Carer’s Allowance and other social security payments for carers.
The Prime Minister announced in October 2024 that there would be a review of carers allowance and that carers allowance would increase to £83.40 per week from April 7th 2025.
2. Introduce a right to paid Carer’s Leave for working carers.
The carers Leave Act 2023 (came into force on 6th April 2024) allows carers to be able to take time off to fulfill their carer commitments (see The Carer's Leave Act 2023 | Carers UK)
3. Provide more support to help carers manage their health and wellbeing.
There are now a number of services being offered by local authorities, your best bet is to go to the website of your local council and look for the carers section where you should ind information on how to find access to local groups for support information and further details on how to obtain a carers assessment by your local authority.
I hope this helps.
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Excellent thank you for this information and your time,
I’m just like many others thst have sort of slipped through the net so to speak.
I had to give up full time work to become carer, yet been told I cannot and have not been paid any money since 2001
Can I ask you a couple of questions, hopefully I can point you in the right direction?
- Have you made a claim for carers allowance
- do you qualify: do you care for someone for more than 35 hours per week, are you on any particular benefits that may exclude you from carers allowance, is the person you care for in receipt of attendance allowance, dla, pip or any of the other eliglible benefits.
- have you contacted the carers allowance unit to check your eligibility
- are you in receipt of universal credit or any state pension or pension credit
Sorry there is a lot of questions, but the answers will help direct you to the right information.
My partner is state pension age, I am not.
She has a disabled son which I had to give up work to look after him from 1997 until 4 years ago.
My partner then had a series of strokes and now lung cancer, I care for her 24 hours per day since 2001.
We don’t know anything about any claims and no one has discussed this with us, we had no idea we could even claim.
Thank you for your time.
The Carers Leave Act 2023 only provides for up to one week of UNPAID leave. There is no provision for paid leave in the Act at all.
Thank you, but I’m not sure what paid leave is , I don’t get paid.
Someone the other day mentioned something about there is something called ‘benefits’, we don’t know what that is.
May I suggest that you look at the CarersUK main website. There is a Benefits Checker there where you can - anonymously - enter details and it will tell you what benefits you should be entitled to. If you need further help call the CUK Helpline or email them.
You’ll also be entitled to a Carer’s Assessment - details are on the link above.
Also does your GP have you registered as a Carer as that can open up other avenues of support and help.
Regrettably there is often a lack of information given to Carers and we have to find it ourselves. That’s where this forum is excellent because of the vast knowledge base of the Members who are happy to share.
Thank you, but we didn’t even know what the word benefit is/means, we assume now it’s to do with money.
Hi Suggsy,
So, am I right in saying that you do not claim any money from HM Government in the way of benefits, if that is the case then I suggest you use the turn2us calculator Benefits calculator | CAP UK
This will ask you a few questions about your situation, be as frank and as honest as possible, this way you will be able to gain the information you need to ensure you are claiming the right benefits.
A benefit is money given to you weekly or monthly (depending on your needs) from the government to help you with yours or your partners condition. Carers Allowance is a benefit that is awarded if you care for your partner for more than 35 hours per week.
I have provided a number of links below to help get you started.
PIP - Personal Independence Payment - If the person you care for is over 16 (or of state pension age), they may be eligible for a Personal Independence Payment (PIP). PIP can help with the extra costs of living and there are two components: A daily living part, to help with everyday tasks, and a mobility part for help with getting around.
Attendance Allowance - This is a benefit for the person you care for if they’ve reached state pension age and have a physical or mental health disability. It’s a payment to help with the extra care needs they may have.
Carers Allowance - If you’re providing 35 hours of unpaid care a week, and earning less than £151 a week, you may be eligible for £81.90 a week
to make a claim complete the form DS700 and send to the carers allowance unit
or you can call the carers allowance unit on [0800 731 0297]
Please feel free to drop me a message if you need further help.
Excellent, thank you for this, I’ll definitely look into those, we’ve never heard of this before, maybe we have sort of slipped through the net so to speak, my partner is 75 ,
Thank you again .
About your situation are you of retirement age? if you are there are other benefits that you should look into, the turn2us calculator will show you all of your entitlements. You can also search online for your local council to find out what support they offer in your area. Help For Carers | Comprehensive Support from Carers Trust can also help you find support in your area.
Thanks, no I’m almost 58