Financial support and benefits for carers

Carer's Allowance, Lighten the Load, free flu vaccinations.

Please visit the carers assessment needs page for more information on how carers can get an assessment of their needs and extra support with their caring responsibilities.

Carer's allowance

You may be entitled to a Carer’s Allowance of £81.90 a week to help you look after someone with substantial caring needs. You don’t have to be related to, or live with, the person you care for.

To check your eligibility and apply visit GOV.UK's Carer's Allowance page.

For help with your finances and benefits, see Haringey, Here to Help.

To check your eligibility for all benefits, use Carers First's online Benefits Calculator.

You can look for other sources of Financial Advice on Haricare.

Lighten The Load

Lighten the Load is a campaign from Carers First. It aims to raise awareness of the financial support available to carers and increase the number accessing that support.

The campaign is a response to a survey conducted by Carers First which found that:

  • more than 9 out of 10 carers are worried about the cost of living
  • 9 out of 10 carers are losing sleep because they are concerned about how to afford the basic essentials
  • more than half are already in debt, or will be soon, owing to their caring responsibilities
  • a third are going without food on a regular basis

The campaign will be running across a range of channels throughout October and your support could help us reach more carers.

Download the Lighten the Load campaign toolkit to find out how you can get involved.

Free flu vaccination for carers

If you look after an older or disabled person whose welfare would be at risk if you caught the flu, you can get a free NHS flu vaccination. You can get this from your GP or pharmacist.

See more information on flu vaccines