Update on unpaid carers payment

Bridgend County Borough Council has now started the process of making one-off £500 payments to all eligible unpaid carers in the county borough.

The payment is available to unpaid carers in Wales who were in receipt of Carer’s Allowance on 31 March 2022.

The scheme opened on Monday 16 May and on the first day Bridgend County Borough Council received 960 registration requests, which equates to 30 per cent of all eligible people.

364 people received their first payment on Friday 20 May and a further 422 people will get their payment on Wednesday 25 May.

At the time of writing, the council has already processed over a thousand registration requests and many more will be done in the coming days.

There has also been plenty of positive feedback from the people who have registered so far, stating that the website is easy to use and the form was straightforward to complete. 

The payment is targeted towards those individuals who care for someone for at least 35 hours a week and in receipt of Carer’s Allowance.

Individuals are not eligible for the payment if:

• they have an underlying entitlement to Carer’s Allowance but do not receive the payment because they are in receipt of another benefit at the same or higher rate; or
• they only receive a carer premium within a means tested benefit.

Eligible people can register for the payment on the Bridgend County Borough Council website.

It is pleasing to see that so many unpaid carers have already applied for the payment.

The payment is being made in recognition of the increased financial pressures many unpaid carers have experienced during the pandemic, and to help with some of the additional costs they have incurred.

Cllr Jane Gebbie, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Social Services