Entitlement to Carer's Allowance in England and Wales can continue for up to eight weeks following the death of the disabled person who was being cared for. If the carer is in receipt of Universal Credit, entitlement continues for the next two full monthly assessment periods following the assessment period in which the Disabled Person dies (a maximum of 13 weeks).

These run-on periods support carers who have recently been bereaved by giving them some time to adapt to their new circumstances.

Within DWP there are a range of employment support programmes available to people who are or have been providing care. Support offered can include access to skills provision, referral to Restart careers advice, job search support, volunteering opportunities and access to the Flexible Support Fund to aid job entry.

The Department does not hold the data requested.

The assessment by the Office for Budget Responsibility of the impact of the proposed changes on carers was only made for England and Wales as a whole.

The impacts can be found in table A4 here: Spring Statement 2025 health and disability benefit reforms – Impacts.

Local authorities have a responsibility to support those caring for family and friends.

Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities must provide a range of high-quality care services, including support for carers. They are required to conduct Carer’s Assessments for individuals who may need support and to meet their eligible needs upon request.

We have already taken some steps to support carers. From April 2025, the Government will raise the Carer's Allowance earnings limit from £151 to £196 a week, the largest increase since the allowance was introduced in 1976.

Additionally, the Accelerating Reform Fund has allocated £42.6 million over 2023/24 and 2024/25 to support innovation and improve services for unpaid carers. Lord Darzi’s independent review of the National Health Service calls for a fresh approach to supporting unpaid carers, to improve outcomes for carers, those receiving care, and the NHS. We will consider these findings in our 10-Year Health Plan and in shaping future adult social care reforms.

The Government is launching an independent commission into adult social care as part of our critical first steps towards delivering a National Care Service.The Commission will start a national conversation about what working age adults, older people, and their families expect from adult social care, including exploring the needs of unpaid carers who provide vital care and support.

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Unpaid carers play a vital role in supporting the elderly, disabled relatives or friends. Sometimes unpaid carers will need to turn to the benefit system for financial support, so it is right that we keep Carer’s Allowance under review, to see if it is meeting its objectives, and giving unpaid carers the help and support they need and deserve.

The Government has announced that from April 2025 the weekly Carer’s Allowance earnings limit will be pegged to the level of 16 hours work at the National Living Wage (NLW) and in future it will increase when the NLW increases. This means that unpaid carers will be able to earn up to £196 per week net earnings and still receive Carer’s Allowance compared to £151 now. This means that an additional 60,000 unpaid carers will gain eligibility for the benefit between 2025/26 and 2029/30.

This important change reduces a work disincentive inherent in the current Carer’s Allowance earnings system, but, as the Chancellor said at the Budget, we also need to look at the current “cliff edge” earnings rules. A taper, for example, could further incentivise unpaid carers to do some work. It could also reduce the risk of significant overpayments. However, introducing a taper in Carer’s Allowance is not without challenges and could significantly complicate the benefit as it currently stands and would mean a significant rebuild of the Carer’s Allowance computer system. DWP has begun some scoping work to see whether an earnings taper in Carer’s Allowance might be a feasible option in the longer term.

Many carers who are receiving Carer’s Allowance and doing some work will also be receiving Universal Credit. For those receiving Universal Credit, the 55% taper rate and any applicable work allowance will help to ensure that people are better off in work.

​​​​The department recognises the important role that kinship carers play in caring for some of the most vulnerable children and the role of local authorities to support them.

​​The government has recently announced a £40 million package to trial a new Kinship Allowance in up to ten local authorities to test whether paying an allowance to cover certain costs, such as supporting children to settle into a new home with relatives, or for activities to support their wellbeing, can help increase the number of children taken in by family members and friends.

The programme will begin in 2025 and decisions about future national rollout will be informed by the findings of the evaluation. The department will share further detail on the timetable and delivery of the programme in due course.

The primary purpose of Carer’s Allowance (CA) is to provide a measure of support and recognition to those whose caring responsibilities mean they are unable to work full time. In order to receive CA, the person being cared for must be in receipt of a disability benefit at the appropriate rate, this is one of the ways we establish that care is required.

Where the adult disability benefit ceases as a result of the cared for person entering a hospital for more than four weeks, CA will also cease. This is to avoid a double provision of public funds to provide care for this individual. A period of 28 days is allowed to determine whether this situation is long term before the relevant benefit payments stop.

However, carers may be entitled to further support. Local Authorities have duties to support people caring for their family and friends. The Care Act 2014 requires local authorities to deliver a wide range of sustainable, high-quality care and support services, including support for carers.

Local authorities are also required to undertake Carer’s Assessments to support people caring for their family and friends who appear to have a need for support and to meet their eligible needs on request from them.

I would encourage carers who are not receiving a means-tested benefit already to check on Gov.UK to see whether they may be entitled to any other benefits, which may include support with the additional costs of caring. Advice can also be sought from organisations such as Carers UK and Citizens Advice.

The department recognises the valuable and important role that kinship carers, including special guardians, play in caring for some of the most vulnerable children. The department is committed to working with local government to support children in care, including through kinship arrangements.

Local authorities have the powers to provide a range of services, including financial support, to support children and families. As local authorities know their carers best, they have the power to decide what financial support should be provided to special guardianship carers and their children and any payments should be made in accordance with their model for assessing support needs. The government does not set a maximum or minimum allowance for local authorities to administer. While the government recognises the financial constraints on local authorities, guidance makes it clear that children and young people should receive the support that they and their carers need to safeguard and promote their welfare.

Financial support is paid at the discretion of the local authority and in accordance with their model for assessing support needs. All local authorities should have in place clear eligibility criteria in relation to the provision of support services.

The department recognises the valuable and important role that kinship carers, including special guardians, play in caring for some of the most vulnerable children. The government is committed to working with local government to support children in care, including through kinship arrangements.

Statutory guidance issued to local authorities makes it clear that children and young people should receive the support that they and their carers need to safeguard and promote their welfare. There is no limit on the level of support, including financial support, that local authorities can provide.

Financial support is paid at the discretion of the local authority and in accordance with their model for assessing support needs. All local authorities should have in place clear eligibility criteria in relation to the provision of support services.

This Government recognises and values the vital contribution made by carers, in supporting some of the most vulnerable in society, including children and adults with disabilities.

Where a child with Fetal Valproate Spectrum Disorder is entitled to Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment (or Child Disability Payment or Adult Disability Payment in Scotland), the parents may be entitled to additional support through the benefit system.

The Secretary of State announced the outcome of his statutory annual up-rating review on 17 November. All relevant benefit rates for working age households and disabled people will increase by 10.1% from next April, subject to parliamentary approval, in line with the Consumer Prices Index in the year to September 2022. This includes the rates of Income Support, Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Universal Credit and Carer’s Allowance, and the additional amounts for carers in Income Support and Universal Credit. For those benefits which are devolved to the Scottish Parliament, but which are currently being delivered by DWP on behalf of Scottish Ministers under agency agreements, equivalent up-rating provision will be brought forward by the Scottish Government. This includes Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment and Carer’s Allowance.

In addition, to ensure stability and certainty for households, the Autumn Statement announced £26 billion in cost of living support for 2023/24. This includes further Cost of Living Payments for disabled people and people in receipt of certain means-tested benefits, as well as pensioners, in addition to those being made in the current financial year. In 2023/24, households on eligible means-tested benefits will get up to a further £900 in Cost of Living Payments. A £300 payment will be made to pensioner households and individuals in receipt of eligible disability benefits will receive a £150 payment. This is in addition to the support provided by the amended Energy Price Guarantee, which will save the average UK household £500 in 2023-24.

For those who require extra support, the Government is providing an additional £1 billion of funding, including Barnett impact, to enable the extension of the Household Support Fund in England in the next financial year. This is on top of what it has already provided since October 2021, bringing total funding to £2.5 billion. In England this will be delivered through an extension to the Household Support Fund backed by £842 million, running from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, which local authorities use to help households with the cost of essentials. It will be for the devolved administrations to decide how to allocate their additional Barnett funding.

The Government does not intend to conduct a specific assessment of the impact of these measures with reference to the parents of children with Fetal Valproate Spectrum Disorder.

The recently published Independent Review of Children’s Social Care set out recommendations on how the government can better support kinship families. The department is currently considering how we can take these recommendations forward, including the recommendations to create an allowance and a new entitlement to kinship leave for all special guardians and kinship carers with a Child Arrangements Order in place.

The department is rapidly working up an ambitious and comprehensive implementation strategy in response to the recommendations in the Review, which will be announced in due course.

The department does not hold data on the number of looked after children who have been placed overseas specifically with family members either on a kinship foster placement or on a special guardianship order, therefore we do not hold data on the allowances these carers receive. Nor does the department collect information on the number of looked after children who have family members overseas with whom they could be safely placed.

However, the department can provide figures using a wider definition of children placed overseas with a relative or friend. These figures can be found in the table attached.

The department does not hold data on the number of looked after children who have been placed overseas specifically with family members either on a kinship foster placement or on a special guardianship order, therefore we do not hold data on the allowances these carers receive. Nor does the department collect information on the number of looked after children who have family members overseas with whom they could be safely placed.

However, the department can provide figures using a wider definition of children placed overseas with a relative or friend. These figures can be found in the table attached.

The department does not hold data on the number of looked after children who have been placed overseas specifically with family members either on a kinship foster placement or on a special guardianship order, therefore we do not hold data on the allowances these carers receive. Nor does the department collect information on the number of looked after children who have family members overseas with whom they could be safely placed.

However, the department can provide figures using a wider definition of children placed overseas with a relative or friend. These figures can be found in the table attached.

The following table shows the latest available statistics in Great Britain at November 2021, of the number of Carer’s Allowance recipients who are also in receipt of the:

• Carer premium via Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income Support and Housing Benefit;
• Carer addition via Pension Credit;
• Carer element via Universal Credit.

These figures are broken down further for England, Wales and Scotland.

Source: DWP Quarterly Statistical Enquiry 5% data, 100% DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS) and DWP Single Housing Benefit Extract (November 2021)

Notes

1. Figures for Universal Credit (UC), Income Support (IS), Pension Credit (PC) and Housing Benefit (HB) are rounded to the nearest 10 and Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) is rounded to the nearest 100. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
2. JSA figures have been uprated using 5% proportions against 100% Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS) totals.
3. The figures shown will be a subset of the total numbers in receipt of each carer premium / addition / element, as it’s possible for carers to receive these without also being in receipt of Carer’s Allowance.
4. We do not hold information on the number of carers not in receipt of a carer’s benefit.

The information requested is not readily available for Employment and Support Allowance claimants, or Carer’s Allowance claimants who are partners of those receiving Income Support or Pension Credit. To provide this additional information would incur disproportionate cost.