Carers in Poverty: Crisis Support, Resilience Building and Maximising Income
Unpaid carers across the UK face significant financial challenges, often exacerbated by complex benefit systems, rising living costs, and the pressures of caring. Carers are more likely to live in poverty than those not in a caring role, with a poverty rate of nearly 1 in 3 (28%), compared to 20% of those not in a caring role. 11% of carers live in deep poverty.
Carers Trust believe that no carer should be pushed into poverty due to their caring role. Carers consistently tell us that financial worries are one of their biggest concerns, and help with their finances is one of their top priorities. Carers Trust’s Network of local carer organisations deliver a range of innovative, tailored, and effective services improving carers’ financial wellbeing.
This report brings together good practice in financial support for carers from across the Carers Trust Network. The cumulative impact of the services highlighted in this report is over £14 million a year, and there are many more out there doing similar work.
Each chapter focuses on different aspects of financial support, including:
- Carers Trust’s Carer Money Matters Programme: Carer Money Matters (CMM) is a two-year programme developed by Carers Trust to enhance the Income Maximisation offer from local carer organisations
- Household Support Fund: Local welfare crisis support in England funded by central government and administered by local authorities.
- Carers Support Fund: Administered by Carers Trust and funded by Welsh Government, the programme provides grants to support carers who are facing such financial crisis alongside longer-term support.
- Income Maximisation services: Services usually focused on benefits advice and ensuring carers and their households are receiving the benefits they are entitled to
The financial support local carer organisations provide is often overlooked. However, as borne out in these examples, it is central to the services they offer and makes a real and often lasting difference to carers.
This report highlights good practice happening across the UK so that other local carer organisations, local and central government can better understand the impact of these services, and how they might be run and funded.