A new briefing from Learning and Work Institute (L&W) and Carers Trust makes a costed case for extending eligibility for Carer’s Allowance to young adult carers aged 16-24 who are in full-time further education. The briefing follows a letter to the Prime Minister marking Young Carers Action Day in March 2023, coordinated by Carers Trust and signed by L&W alongside over 80 other organisations and 250 individuals.
Young adult carers provide unpaid care to someone, usually a family member, because of a physical or mental health condition, or addiction. The 2021 Census identified 272,731 young adult carers aged 16-24 in England and Wales. Of these, around 37,000 young people provide over 50 hours of care each week. However, the real number of young adult carers is likely to be much higher as many do not always consider themselves to be carers or are worried about disclosing their caring role.
Carer’s Allowance is a benefit of £76.75 per week that can be claimed by people over the age of 16 who are caring for someone at least 35 hours per week. The ‘21 hour’ or ‘full-time education’ rule means that applicants who are studying for more than 21 hours are week are deemed ineligible. Previous vocational qualifications involved fewer teaching hours and so did not fall foul of this rule. But T levels involve more hours studying each week, a positive step that is more in line with other countries. Young adult carers are therefore forced to choose between claiming Carer’s Allowance or studying so-called ‘gold standard’ T levels and A levels.
