Increase Carer's Allowance to 35 hours a week at the minimum wage
13,914 people signed this petition to the UK Parliament after it opened on 28 June 2023; it closed on 28 December 2023. The Government responded on 23 October 2023. MPs debated it in Westminster Hall on 22 April 2024.
The petition
The petition's creator is not named in the Petitions site's published record. Quoted in full from the UK Parliament petitions site.
Increase Carer's Allowance to 35 hours a week at the minimum wage
We want the Government to increase the amount of Carer's Allowance to match pay for a full-time job.
Being an unpaid carer is a full-time job, and this should be reflected in the rate of Carer's Allowance.
Unpaid carers eligible for Carer's Allowance receive £76.75 a week to provide at least 35 hours of care to people in receipt of certain benefits. This is almost £300 less than someone earning the National Living Wage (age 23 or over) would be entitled to.
Many unpaid carers have to give up work to provide care, and being a carer can also have a significant impact on carers wellbeing and lifestyle. Providing appropriate financial support is the least the Government can do.
The Government's response
The Government published its response on 23 October 2023; the petitions site lists the Department for Work and Pensions as responsible. Its summary:
Carer’s Allowance is a benefit that provides some financial recognition that a 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.
The opening 388 words of the 564-word response:
The Government fully recognises the invaluable contribution that unpaid and family carers make in providing significant care and continuity of support to their loved ones. Unpaid carers play a vital role in the lives of their family and friends - and since 2010 we have increased Carer’s Allowance by almost £1200 a year.
This issue has been raised in previous e-petitions:
• 617874 ‘Increase Carer’s Allowance to equal to 35hrs at National Minimum Wage’, responded to on 20 September 2022,
• 579692 ‘Increase Carer’s Allowance to 35hrs at National Minimum wage’, responded to on 22 April 2021,
• 300032 ‘Pay Carers an allowance equivalent to a fulltime job at National Living Wage’ responded to on 30 July 2020,
• 234864 ‘Pay Carers an allowance equivalent to a fulltime job at the National Living Wage’, responded to on 16 May 2019.
It is important to emphasise that Carer’s Allowance is not intended to be a replacement for a wage nor payment for the services of caring. It is therefore not comparable with either the National Minimum Wage or the National Living Wage. The principal purpose of Carer's Allowance is to provide a measure of financial support and recognition for people who are not able to work full-time because of their caring responsibilities. Successive governments have supported carers through allowances and benefits, as well as wider cross-government actions, rather than paying people for tasks they undertake in the way an employer would.
Unpaid carers are overwhelmingly caring for a family member or friend, rather than someone unknown to them. The amount of unpaid caring they undertake, and its intensity, will differ from carer to carer, as will their reasons and motivation for accepting caring responsibilities. Many can successfully combine caring with some employment, so will continue to have income from paid employment. Those unpaid carers who do need financial support may be able to get help from the benefits system – and not only from Carer’s Allowance, but from a range of means-tested benefits as well.
A National Insurance Class 1 credit is generally awarded for each week that Carer’s Allowance is paid to a working-age carer. Class 1 credits can help towards the conditions of entitlement to all contributory benefits, as well as the new State Pension. Receipt of Carer’s Allowance also exempts the carer from the benefit cap.
Read the full response on the petitions site.
Where the signatures came from
Signatures came from 650 constituencies on the boundaries used until the 2024 general election. The largest number, 73, came from East Ham.
13,888 of the signatures were from the UK and 26 from elsewhere, by the location signers gave.
| Constituency | Signatures |
|---|---|
| East Ham | 73 |
| Carshalton and Wallington | 66 |
| Bradford West | 62 |
| West Ham | 59 |
| Glenrothes | 54 |
| Poplar and Limehouse | 54 |
| Sutton and Cheam | 53 |
| Blackburn | 52 |
| Birmingham, Hodge Hill | 51 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 50 |
| Region | Signatures |
|---|---|
| North West | 1,680 |
| London | 1,664 |
| Scotland | 1,604 |
| West Midlands | 1,375 |
| South East | 1,372 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 1,348 |
| East of England | 1,072 |
| East Midlands | 1,009 |
| Wales | 897 |
| South West | 882 |
| North East | 645 |
| Northern Ireland | 278 |
Debate in Parliament
MPs debated the petition in Westminster Hall on 22 April 2024. Read the debate in Hansard. House of Commons Library debate pack.
Source and receipt
- https://petition.parliament.uk/archived/petitions/640062.jsonUK Parliament Petitions API · read 2026-10-15 · SHA-256
4970aed5edbc727e… - The petition on petition.parliament.uk
The petition's words are its creator's and the response is the Government's; this site quotes both and gives no view on either. Signature counts can still change while a petition is open. To report an error, send a correction request.