Carer’s assessment
If you are a carer who appears to have a need for
support you should be offered a carer’s assessment by
the local authority of the person you are looking after.
If you are not offered a carer’s
assessment, you should contact
the local authority and ask for one.
You can have an assessment no
matter what your level of need,
the amount of care you provide or
your financial means. Your carer’s
assessment should cover:
• your caring role and how it
affects your life and wellbeing
• your feelings and choices about
caring
• your health
• work, study, training, leisure
• relationships, social activities and
your goals
• housing
• planning for emergencies
(such as carer emergency card
schemes)
Following the assessment the
local authority will decide if you
are eligible for support. This can
be provided either to you, or to
the person you are looking after to
reduce the impact of caring on you.
Support could be provided by the
local authority, or in the form of a
direct payment.
Some examples of the kind of
support you could get include
driving lessons, taxi fares, a laptop,
help with housework or gardening
or a gym membership.
Whether the local authority will
pay for any support will depend on
your financial situation (if the local
authority is one which does charge
for carer support - not all do), or
the financial situation of the person
you are looking after (if services are
provided to them).
Even if you are not considered to
be eligible for support the local
authority must provide you with
information and advice on local
services to prevent your needs from
developing further.
Find out more at
carersuk.org/
carersassessment
Note: Carer’s assessments are for adults (18+) caring for adults (18+).
If you are looking after a child under 18 or are a carer who is under 18 visit
carersuk.org/assessments-under-18 to find out more.
Looking after someone
carersuk.org
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