The Carer Poverty Coalition, formed in February 2023, is made up of 100 national and local organisations.
Collectively, we will be campaigning to:
- End poverty amongst carers by advocating for policy change that adequately values, recognises and supports unpaid carers
- Reform the benefits system to better support carers financially in the short and long term
- Bring in better systems to support carers to continue with paid work
- Build awareness of carer poverty and the impact of the cost of living crisis on unpaid carers with Government, parliamentarians, decision makers and the general public
Every day across the UK, the work of unpaid carers helps hold society together – an invisible network of support, empathy and care for those who need it most.
However, providing care to family and friends limits their ability to earn a full income adds extra costs that they would not otherwise have. Too often, due to a lack of recognition and support, unpaid carers end up falling into poverty or find themselves in precarious financial positions as a result of their caring role. This is particularly true of carers who care for more than 35 hours a week and those who provide unpaid care over longer periods of time. Financial difficulties also have a significant impact on carers’ physical and mental health and often increase their own need for treatment, support and services in order to cope.
There is a clear moral as well as economic argument for supporting unpaid carers to live on a decent level of income and for supporting those able to continue with paid work whilst caring. Better support for carers to stay in work has clear benefits to the wider economy by improving productivity and reducing unemployment. The value of unpaid care was estimated at £530 million per day and £193 billion per year during the pandemic.[1]
This is a huge contribution to the NHS, social care and to society as a whole. Unpaid carers also provide a vital human connection as well as physical and emotional nourishment needed for our older people to thrive and enable people with disabilities and long-term illnesses to lead dignified, independent lives.
[1] Carers UK, Unseen and Undervalued, 2020
Member organisations
| Carers UK | MS Society |
| Age UK | Oxfam GB |
| Carers Trust | Rethink Mental Illness |
| Joseph Rowntree Foundation | We Care Campaign |
| Motor Neurone Disease Association |
| Action for Carers Surrey | Greater Manchester Poverty Action |
| Action for Family Carers | Greenwich Carers Centre |
| Adult Social Care Warriors | Hartlepool Carers |
| Age Scotland | Help & Care |
| Barnet Carers Centre | Hospice UK |
| Be Free Young Carers | Independent Age |
| Bliss | Independent Food Aid Network |
| Brainwave | Kingston Carers' Network |
| Care4CarersClub | Lanarkshire Carers |
| Carers First | Leeds City Council |
| Care for the Carers | The Leonardo Trust |
| Carers in Hertfordshire | Lewy Body Society |
| Carers' Hub Lambeth | London Unemployed Strategies |
| Carers Leeds | Marie Curie |
| Carers Lewisham | Multiple System Atrophy Trust |
| Carers Network Westminster | n-compass North West Ltd |
| Carers Northern Ireland | Neath Port Talbot Council |
| Carers of Barking and Dagenham | Newcastle Carers |
| Carers of West Lothian | North Lanarkshire Carers Together |
| Carers Oxfordshire | North Tyneside Carers Centre |
| Carers Plus Yorkshire Ltd | Parkinson's UK |
| Carers' Resource | Princess Royal Trust For Carers in Hampshire |
| Carers Scotland | Promas Caring for People CIC |
| Carers Support Centre - Bristol and South Gloucestershire | Reading Welfare Rights |
| Carers' Support East Kent | Rett UK |
| Carers Support Merton | Richmond Carers Centre |
| Carers’ Support Service Northern Lincolnshire | Salford City Council |
| Carers Support West Sussex | Sandwell Young Carers Project |
| Carers Trust Crossroads West Wales | Sense |
| Carers Trust Mid Yorkshire | Sheffield Carers Centre |
| Carers Voice Norfolk and Waveney | Sheffield Young Carers |
| Carers Wakefield & District | Shine Charity |
| Carers Wales | South Ayrshire Health & Social Care Partnership |
| Caring for Carers | Spinal Injuries Association |
| Caring Together | Subco Trust |
| City Health Care Partnership CIC | Suffolk Family Carers |
| Civil Service Pensioners' Alliance | Swindon Carers Centre |
| Cloverleaf Advocacy | The Anthony Seddon Centre |
| CommuniCare | The Care Collective |
| Contact | The Carers Centre |
| Dementia Carers Count | The Positivitree |
| Enfield Carers Centre | The Relatives & Residents Association |
| Essex Carers Support | TuVida |
| Falkirk District Association for Mental Health | Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers |
| FamilyCarersNet | Warwickshire Young Carers |
| Family Rights Group | Women’s Budget Group |
| Forward Carers | Worcestershire Association of Carers |
| Furness Carers | York Carers Centre |
| Gaddum | Young Lives vs Cancer |
| GCMHG - Seacole House | Z2K |
Latest updates
Carers UK encourages contributions for the Carers Challenge: One week left to submit evidence of good practice in supporting carers
Five years on: Celebrating an important milestone for Chief Executive Helen Walker
Unpaid carers saving NI’s health service £5.8 billion per year, research shows
New research uncovers the staggering amount of money unpaid carers are saving Northern Ireland's health service each year.
Stress of juggling work and unpaid care for relatives causes thousands of unpaid carers to leave the workplace / Mae straen jyglo gwaith a gofal di-dâl i berthnasau yn achosi i filoedd o ofalwyr di-dâl adael y gweithle
Got a question about caring?
Every day we hear from people who need help with looking after a friend or family member
Become a member for free
Joining Carers UK is free and takes just a few minutes.