AQW 9465/17-22

Ms Kellie Armstrong
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 02/11/2020
Answered On Date: 11/11/2020
Priority Written: Yes

Question:
To ask the Minister for Communities what discussions her officials have had with Westminster officials to examine whether the Carer's Allowance is delivering necessary support for carers; and whether there will be a COVID-19 payment made to carers.

Answer:

In April 2020, my Department introduced two important temporary measures to help unpaid carers through the current COVID-19 emergency to ensure people most in need get the help and support they require:

Unpaid carers are able to continue to claim Carer’s Allowance if they have a temporary break in caring, because either they or the person they care for becomes infected with coronavirus or has to self-isolate because of it.

Providing “emotional support” to a severely disabled person will also count towards the Carer’s Allowance threshold of 35 hours of care a week.

My officials are in regular contact with all stakeholders as the coronavirus emergency progresses and we are continuing to look at how best to support people during this unprecedented time. We have extended the temporary easements in Carer’s Allowance until 12 May 2021.

Carers in receipt of Universal Credit will also be able to benefit from the increase in the standard allowance put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic (around £1000 a year).

In addition, those in receipt of Carer’s Allowance here may, depending on their circumstances, be eligible to access the range of other emergency financial support that my Department is providing during the COVID-19 crisis, including Discretionary Support.

In terms of providing longer term additional financial support for carers here, it is anticipated that this will be considered as part of the upcoming welfare mitigations review.