Working together to end poverty amongst carers

Cloverleaf Advocacy (including its Barnsley Carers Service) has joined 100 national and local organisations to form the Carer Poverty Coalition.

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 the 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.

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.

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.

Find out more about the Carer Poverty Coalition.