Just to be clear, you are a carer for my purposes if you are caring for someone who is ill or disabled, and you don’t get paid for it. This covers a lot of possibilities:

• You might be looking after a partner, or a parent, or a disabled child, or a friend or relative.
• You might live with them or you might not.
• You might be disabled or ill yourself.
• You might be trying to holding down a job as well.

However, just because you are a carer for my purposes doesn’t mean that the government agrees with me when it comes to giving you any money, and a lot of people fall through the cracks.

The key benefit for carers is, not surprisingly, Carer’s Allowance. If you qualify for this it means that the government accept that you are ‘really’ a carer and opens the door to a range of benefits, as well as Carer’s Allowance itself. If you don’t qualify for this you normally don’t ‘count’ as a carer, even if you are, except in a few special circumstances.

Choose which of the following subjects you want to ask about:

• ‘I want to know about Carer’s Allowance’
• ‘What else might I be entitled to if I’m entitled to Carer’s Allowance?’
• ‘What are my options if I am not entitled to Carer’s Allowance?’

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