Carers Week Updates!

Carers Week research

The six charities supporting this year’s Carers Week have commissioned YouGov to carry out public polling on the proportion of unpaid carers who have actually identified themselves as an unpaid carer. Carers UK has led on the research itself and the compilation of the report.

The research shows large numbers of carers have not identified themselves as an unpaid carer. This means they are likely to be missing out on important practical, financial and emotional support.

Carers Trust will be publishing the full research report and press release on its website.

Thousands of unpaid family carers in Sutton could be missing out on vital payments and support as cost-of-living crisis bites

This week (5 to 11 June) is Carers Week and Sutton Carers Centre is warning that many unpaid family carers in the area could be missing out on vital support and financial payments as the cost-of-living soars.

The theme of Carers Week this year is “recognising and supporting carers in the community”. It aims to make sure unpaid carers – anyone looking after a family member or friend who could not cope without their support because of an illness, disability or addiction - get the information and help they need.

However, many people do not identify themselves as an unpaid carer, meaning they could be locked out of vital payments like Carer’s Allowance and access to much-needed respite from their caring role.

Carers Week comes amid a cost-of-living crisis that is badly hitting unpaid carers. Due to a creaking social care system that has left them with ever greater responsibilities, many unpaid carers were already struggling before the current rise in prices and bills.

A survey of 2,675 unpaid carers by national charity Carers Trust showed one in seven (14%) unpaid carers have needed to use a food bank. Nearly two-thirds (64%) had either been forced to give up work completely or reduce their paid hours because of their caring role, plunging them further into financial hardship.

If you are an unpaid Carer, please contact us for support, advice, peer group meetings and tips on getting respite. We can give you advice or you can contact our local authority for a Carer’s Assessment which looks at the support you need. This could include regular respite and carer breaks.

See if you can apply for Carer’s Allowance, which is the main benefit for unpaid carers at £76.75 a week. You may be eligible if you spend at least 35 hours a week caring, don’t earn more than £139 per week, and the person you care for receives a disability benefit. You don’t have to be related to, or live with, the person you care for.

We launched our first awareness and fundraising 30 miles in June event for #CarersWeek 2023 and have developed a full calendar of events for Carers Week.

Sutton Carers Centre is passionate about identifying and supporting Carers with advice, information and support, through services from benefit and cost of living advice to emotional and wellbeing support.

What is Carers Trust doing to mark Carers Week this year?

Colleagues from across Carers Trust and across the network are putting on a wide range of activities to mark Carers Week.

Carers Trust activities include:

• Kirsty McHugh has already taken part in a roundtable meeting with Minister for Social Care, Helen Whately, and CEOs from the other charities supporting Carers Week. The CEOs called for the UK Government to establish a cross departmental Ministerial working group so UK Government could better co-ordinate support for unpaid carers across departments.

• Carers Trust Scotland has worked with Wendy Chamberlain MP on a visit to Lanarkshire Carers which will take place just before Carers Week on 30 May 30.

• Carers Week alliance charities’ research report to be published on Monday 5 June – visit carers.org or Carers Trust social media channels for more information.

• Carers Trust has established a partnership with Drake and Morgan to provide unpaid carers with free coffee at a string of its restaurants across London during Carers Week. We will be promoting this on social media.

• Each day of Carers Week Carers Trust will publish a carers story on its website and link to the story via social media channels (CT Twitter / Facebook).

• On Tuesday 6 June Carers Trust has organised for unpaid carers to attend two virtual roundtable meetings to discuss the challenges of being a carer: one with Liz Kendall MP and one with Ed Davey MP. Separately, Carers Trust and the Young Carer Alliance, along with the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Young Carers has organised a drop in event in Parliament for MPs and peers to drop in and sign the Young Carer pledge. These activities will be reported on in news articles to be published on carers.org.

• On 6 June Carers Trust Scotland will join Carers Week alliance members to host an Identifying Unpaid Carers workshop at COSLA (Convention of Scottish Local Authorities) in Edinburgh.

• Also on Tuesday 6 June, Carers Trust Scotland has organised a Cross Party Group session on unpaid carers at the Scottish Parliament.

• On Tuesday 6 June Carers Trust Wales launches Carer Aware Hospital Discharge Resources.

• On Wednesday 7 June Carers Trust is bringing three unpaid carers to a drop in event at Parliament for carers to discuss challenges of being a carer with MPs and parliamentarians.

• On Weds 7 the APPG will stage an online launch of its Inquiry on Young Carers and Young Adult Carers.

• On Weds 7 Carers Trust is taking part in a Higher Education Insights Day for Young Adult Carers at UCL.

• On Weds 7 Carers Trust is staging a webinar that will report on the success of our Going Further in Employment (GFiE) partnership for Young Adult Carers with the Civil Service.

• On Weds 7 Carers Trust Scotland and unpaid carers will attend a roundtable at the Scottish Parliament with other Carers Week alliance members and MSPs.

• On Weds 7, Carers Trust Wales has organised a special roundtable session for young carers and Members of the Welsh Assembly (MSs) at the Senedd.

• On Thursday 8/Friday 9 Andy McGowan is facilitating a Carers Trust/Young Carers Alliance International Young Carers Webinar.

• On Thursday 8, Carers Trust Scotland will take part in a Carers Week alliance members photocall with the First Minister of Scotland and MSPs at the Scottish Parliament.

• On Thursday 8 Carers Trust Scotland has organised a visit by Anas Sarwar MSP to Glasgow South East Carers Centre.

• On Thursday 8, Carers Trust Wales will formally and publicly launch Amser for unpaid carers, with unpaid carers in Cardiff being joined by the Deputy Minister for Social Services.