What a carer's assessment is
A carer's assessment is carried out by your local council to look at your own needs as an unpaid carer. It is separate from any assessment of the person you care for.
You are entitled to one even if the person you care for refuses their own assessment. It does not depend on your income, savings or how many hours of care you provide.
How to ask for one
- Search online for your council's adult social care team and ask for a 'carer's assessment' by name.
- Say clearly that you are an unpaid carer and describe a typical week.
- Ask for the assessment in writing if a phone call does not lead anywhere.
- A local carers' centre, your GP or Carers UK can make the request alongside you if that feels easier.
What the assessment will cover
- Your caring role: what you do, how often, and whether it is becoming too much.
- Your health and wellbeing, including sleep, stress and any health conditions.
- Your work, education or training and whether caring is affecting them.
- Your relationships, social life and whether you feel isolated.
- Your housing, finances and whether the home is suitable for caring.
- Whether you are willing and able to continue caring.
What to say in the assessment
Describe your worst weeks, not your best ones. Carers habitually understate, and the assessment records what you say rather than what an assessor guesses.
Mention sleep, your own health, your job, and anything you have given up. All of those count.
What support can come from it
- Respite care so you can have a proper break.
- A direct payment to buy something that makes caring possible.
- Training, equipment or help with transport.
- A referral to a local carers' service, which is often the most useful outcome of all.
- Information about benefits such as Carer's Allowance and Carer's Credit.
After the assessment
The council should give you a written care and support plan, or a support plan, setting out what help you will get and who will provide it. If you do not receive this within a few weeks, chase it in writing.
Keep a copy of the assessment. It can be useful if your situation changes or if you need to challenge a decision later.
If you are refused
Ask for the decision and the reason in writing. Councils must follow their own complaints procedure. You can also contact Carers UK or your local carers' centre for advice on challenging the decision.
The wider picture
a legal right
every unpaid carer in England can ask their council for a carer's assessment, whatever their income or savings.
Source: NHS
5.0 million
people in England and Wales provide unpaid care, according to the 2021 Census.