Having a carers’ assessment

Anyone who provides, or intends to provide, regular unpaid support to someone who could not manage without it has the right to have their own needs assessed, even if the person they care for has refused support services or their own assessment.

A carers’ assessment is an opportunity for people to tell the council what they need as a carer, and to find out what support might be available. The assessment is an essential first step for carers to get the support they may need. It looks at:

• the care the carer provides and how this affects their life;

• any support they are getting now and what else would help; and

• what they would like their support to achieve.

The assessment can also give lots of information about other services that might help and other ideas

Respite at home

Home-based respite services give carers a break from their caring responsibilities.

A care worker can come in to look after the person being cared for, so the carer can have some time to themselves. The breaks could be regular or just when needed.

Benefits

Carers may want to explore whether they are entitled to Carer’s Allowance – currently £69.70 per week but this may change over the lifetime of this Directory.

Carers may also qualify for Carer’s Premium or Carer’s Credit depending on their eligibility. If the person you’re caring for receives the severe disability premium (or severe disability addition in Pension Credit), this may be lost if you claim Carer’s Allowance and/or Carer’s Premium. Seek specialist independent advice before claiming Carer’s Allowance.

Carer’s Premium is an extra payment of up to £38.85 per week that can sometimes be added to the calculation of other benefits you might get on top of Carer’s Allowance. Carers who do not qualify for for support. The carer’s assessment will show if they qualify for support from Adults Social Care and Health Services.

Carers’ Personal Budgets

The carers’ Personal Budget is a single payment that can be used towards the cost of something specific that will support carers in their caring role. For example, it could be used for leisure activities, education or training, or just to take a short break from caring.

When Adults Social Care and Health Services considers a carer’s Personal Budget, it gives priority to situations where there is a significant risk of the carer not being able to continue to provide care if they do not get some support. The amount a carer could get depends on their needs identified by their carers’ assessment. The money is not taxed and it will not affect any benefits.

Respite at home is considered to be a service for the person who is being cared for. If the person being cared for has a Personal Budget for their own needs (see page 12), they could use that money to pay for it.

A financial assessment of the cared-for person will confirm if they need to pay towards the cost.

Carer’s Allowance may qualify for Carer’s Credit.

The Government’s website (www.gov.uk ) has more information on benefits, including carers’ benefits. Alternatively, you could contact a local carers’ organisation which may be able to help you undertake a benefit check.

You can find out more about the organisations supporting carers in Birmingham by exploring the following websites.

Connect to Support Birmingham

Web: https://birmingham.connecttosupport.org

Route2wellbeing

Web: www.r2wbirmingham.info