To mark Carers Week 2021, Carers UK has launched new research entitled Breaks or breakdown which shows the ongoing impact of the pandemic on carers. The research found that because of the pandemic:   72% of carers have not had any breaks from their caring role On average carers have lost 25 hours of support every month resulting in high levels of fatigue and stressMore than a third (35%) of carers felt unable to manage their caring roleOnly 14% of carers feel confident of the stability and longevity of previous relied on support.  You can read the full findings in the report here.

Write to your MP to Increase funding for Carers Breaks

The report shows the importance of carers’ access to breaks so Carers UK is campaigning for the government to invest £1.2 billion of additional funding for carers’ breaks to help with recovery as well as longer term sustainable funding for breaks for carers.   You can help raise awareness of breaks funding by writing to your MP. Using this simple form, please ask your MP to show their support for unpaid carers and tell them about the urgent need for carers to be able to take more breaks from their caring role. By doing so, you will help to raise awareness of the challenges carers face and encourage your MP to support our campaign for more funding for carers’ breaks. If you are a carer, please tell your MP about your own experience of caring and how long it has been since you had a meaningful break using the form below.

Click here to write to your MP.