Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of carer’s allowance for unpaid carers.

Carer’s Allowance is uprated each April in line with inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index for the previous September.

The weekly rate of Carer’s Allowance will increase to £69.70 in April 2022. This means that since 2010 it will have increased from £53.90 to £69.70 a week, providing an additional £800 a year for carers.

By 2026/27, the Government is forecast to spend just under £4.4bn a year on Carer’s Allowance.

As well as Carer’s Allowance, carers have access to the full range of social security benefits. For example, around 360,000 carer households on Universal Credit can receive an additional £1,965 a year through the Carer Element, ensuring support is targeted where it is needed most.