Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to support people providing unpaid care in securing and keeping (a) full-time and (b) part-time employment.

Carer’s Allowance is paid to informal carers who meet the qualifying conditions, which include being over the age of 16 and providing care for at least 35 hours a week for a person with a disability who is in receipt of a qualifying benefit. Over 785,000 carers in Great Britain, including around 70,000 in Scotland, currently receive Carer’s Allowance. Carer’s Allowance can be claimed online, and around three quarters of carers submit their claims this way. Since the online service was launched, nearly 700,000 claims have been made this way, with feedback from claimants showing that more than nine out of ten are satisfied with the service. Financial support for carers is also available through Universal Credit, Income Support, Housing Benefit and Pension Credit.

As more employers understand the value of retaining their employees, and as flexible working becomes more widely available, it is increasingly important to allow carers to balance their caring responsibilities with paid employment. To help with this we will be publishing proposals on carers’ employment in our Fuller Working Lives Strategy in the new year; rolling out Universal Credit to ensure work pays for all people, including carers; and increasing the earnings limit in Carer’s Allowance from £110 to £116 a week from April 2017.