Carers UK new report Heading for Crisis: caught between caring and rising costs, which published today.

The report focuses on the impact of the cost of living crisis on unpaid carers, in terms of their finances as well as their health and wellbeing. The research is based on a survey of over 13,000 unpaid carers, who completed our State of Caring survey 2022.

Key findings

The report finds that:

• 1 in 6 carers are in debt as a result of their caring role, increasing to 2 in 5 for carers in receipt of Carer’s Allowance.
• The proportion of carers unable to afford their utility bills has more than doubled since last year to 14%.
• Carers in receipt of Carer’s Allowance are more likely to be cutting back on food and heating.
• Nearly all carers who are struggling to make ends meet (93%) agreed that the increase in the cost of living was having a negative impact on their mental and physical health.

What we're calling for

To ensure carers are supported during this extremely difficult time and beyond, we are calling on the government to immediately provide additional and targeted financial support for unpaid carers, including:

• Providing a top-up payment to carers with an entitlement to Carer’s Allowance to support them through the winter in recognition of the additional costs they are facing.
• Uprating all benefits, including Carer’s Allowance and the Carer Element of Universal Credit, in line with current levels of inflation before next April – ideally as soon as possible – to ensure that vulnerable groups can survive the winter months.
• Raising the earnings limit for Carer’s Allowance to the value of 21 hours work a week at the National Living Wage rate, to allow carers to work more hours a week where they wish to do so, without losing their entitlement.

Many carers have been struggling financially since long before the cost of living crisis, so we are also calling for a number of longer-term measures including a dedicated National Carers Strategy and measures to support carers to continue and return to paid work, as well as reviewing of the level and eligibility rules for carers’ benefits.