What is a carer’s assessment?
Short answer
A free council assessment of your own needs as an unpaid carer — the impact of caring on your health, work, relationships and wellbeing. You do not need the consent of the person you care for, and if you are eligible you may receive a carer’s personal budget.
A carer’s assessment is about you, not the person you care for. Any adult who provides, or intends to provide, regular unpaid care can request one from the council, and it is free regardless of anyone’s finances.
The rights that surprise people
- You do not need consent. The assessment concerns your needs, so it can go ahead even if the person you care for refuses an assessment of their own.
- It is your council’s job. If you live in a different area from the person you care for, the council where you live carries out the assessment.
- Working carers qualify. There is no employment bar; indeed the effect of caring on your ability to work is one of the things that must be considered.
What it looks at, and what can follow
The assessment considers the impact of caring on your health, your job, your relationships and your wellbeing — including whether you are able to take breaks, sleep, maintain your own medical appointments, and keep up activities outside caring. Be specific and honest about the worst of it; carers routinely understate what they do.
If you have eligible needs, support can include a carer’s personal budget or direct payment to spend on what actually helps, short breaks and respite, help with transport or technology, training in moving and handling, and access to carers’ groups.
Ask for one even if you doubt you qualify
The assessment has value beyond any service it produces: it puts your role and its impact on the record, often surfaces entitlements you did not know about, and creates a baseline that makes it far easier to evidence a change in your needs later.
A refusal to assess someone who appears to have needs as a carer is unlawful. Write to the council setting out your caring role and requesting the assessment; if it is still refused, use the formal complaints procedure and then the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. Ask for a review whenever your circumstances change — a hospital admission, a change in the cared-for person’s condition, or a change in your own health or work.
Related guides
Carer's Assessment: Your Rights
If you provide unpaid care for a family member or friend, you have a legal right to a carer's assessment from your local council. The assessment looks at your caring role, your own needs and wellbeing, and what support would help you sustain caring without it affecting your health. It is free and does not depend on the financial situation of the person you care for.
5 min
Support for Carers
Around 10 million people in the UK provide unpaid care for a disabled, elderly, or seriously ill family member or friend. If you are a carer, you have legal rights to your own assessment, financial support, and practical help. This guide sets out the main sources of support available.
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Respite Care Options
Respite care is temporary care arranged to give unpaid carers a break from their caring responsibilities. It benefits both the carer — who gets rest and time for themselves — and the person being cared for, who may enjoy new social activities or a change of environment. Respite can be provided in many forms.
5 min
Support for Young Carers
A young carer is anyone under 18 who provides care for a family member with an illness, disability, mental health condition, or substance misuse problem. Around 800,000 young carers are estimated to be in England. They have specific legal rights to assessment and support.
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