Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support his Department is providing to unpaid carers in (a) Coventry North East constituency and (b) Coventry to help mitigate the effects of the rising cost of living.

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

Unpaid carers have access to the full range of social security benefits depending upon their circumstances. As well as Carer’s Allowance, carers in low-income households can apply for Universal Credit, Pension Credit and/or Housing Benefit. As of May 2022, around 433,000 carer households in Great Britain were in receipt of Universal Credit, which includes a Carer Element worth around £2,000 a year.

During 2020/21, expenditure on Carer’s Allowance in Coventry North-East was £8.4 million. As of February 2022, 2,332 carers in Coventry North East were receiving Carer’s Allowance. These figures do not include carers in receipt of benefits other than Carer’s Allowance, such as Universal Credit or Pension Credit.

The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living and has taken further decisive action to support people with their energy bills. The Government’s Energy Price Guarantee will save a typical British household around £700 this winter, based on what the energy price would have been under the current price cap, reducing bills by roughly a third. This support will be in place from 1 October 2022 until 31 March 2023. A review will be launched to consider more targeted measures to support households with their energy bills after this period. This is in addition to the over £37 billion of cost of living support announced earlier this year, which includes the £400 non-repayable discount to eligible households provided through the Energy Bills Support Scheme.

The £37 billion also includes Cost of Living Payments (paid in 2 lump sums of £326 and £324) to more than 8 million low-income households (including eligible carers) in receipt of an eligible, means-tested benefit. There are separate one-off payments of £300 to pensioner households alongside the Winter Fuel Payment, and £150 to individuals receiving disability benefits.

It also includes an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of household essentials. This is on top of what the Government has already provided since October 2021, bringing total funding for this support to £1.5 billion. In England, this includes an extension to the Household Support Fund backed by £421 million, running from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023. Devolved administrations will receive £79 million through the Barnett Formula.