Increase Carer's Allowance to equal minimum wage
Carer's Allowance is currently £327.60 every 4 weeks for people who care for someone for at least 35 hours per week. Around £2.34 p/hour.
Signatures
11,299
signatures
Government response threshold (10,000) · 10,000/10,000 · reached
Debate threshold (100,000) · 11,299/100,000
- 05 MAY 2025Petition closedFinal total: 11,299 signatures
- 11 MAR 2025Government respondedDepartment for Work and PensionsGovernment reply
Carer’s Allowance provides some financial recognition that an unpaid carer may not be able to work full-time. It is part of a range of support based on individual needs, rather than a wage.
Read full response - 28 FEB 202510,000 signatures reachedEligible for a government response
- 05 NOV 2024Petition opened for signatures
Background
The national minimum wage for people over 21 is £11.44 p/hour which would be around £400 per week. Carers Allowance is a taxable benefit and is counted as income for other benefits like Universal Credit.
A recent study has shown that unpaid carers in England and Wales contribute £445 million to the economy every day – that’s £162 billion per year. The study says that the value of unpaid care is equivalent to a second NHS in England and Wales. Despite this, carers receive Carers Allowance which amounts to £4,258.80 per year. Because it is taxable, it is effectively treated as a wage when claiming other benefits, which many carers have to do to survive.