To help unpaid carers during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the government has introduced a new aspect to the eligibility criteria for claiming Carer’s Allowance, the main benefit for people caring 35 hours or more per week.
The new regulations, which came into force on Monday 30th March 2020, allows unpaid carers in England and Wales to continue to claim Carer’s Allowance if they have a temporary break in caring, because they or the person they care for gets coronavirus or if they have to isolate because of it.
The government has also confirmed that providing emotional support counts towards the Carer’s Allowance threshold of 35 hours of care a week – an issue which has been concerning many carers. The measures will be reviewed in six months’ time.
Caring Together welcomes these changes as we know some carers are helping to reassure the people they care for that things are okay. The emotional support provided by carers is important in supporting the wellbeing of many vulnerable people and will continue to be, particularly over the coming weeks and months.
Please see official guidance here www.gov.uk/carers-allowance
For more information on carer support you can call our specialist information and advice team on 0345 241 0954 or find out more on our website www.caringtogether.org
