Rebuilding trust with carers and implementing a systemic approach to vulnerability in the welfare benefits system
Development of this Roadmap
This roadmap builds on research evidence, engagement with stakeholders and the lived experiences of carers. Centre for Care research included in-depth qualitative research with:
- A diverse sample of 45 unpaid carers from England and Wales who provide regular support to a family member or friend who is disabled, living with a long-term health condition, or age-related care needs, exploring the risks to their financial wellbeing as a result of their caring role.
- A sample of 20 welfare rights advisers from organisations providing benefits advice and support to unpaid carers across England and Wales.
This research was shared and discussed with a group of stakeholders at a policy breakfast event held in June 2026. This Roadmap incorporates their ideas and expertise. This included carers’ organisations, disability rights organisations, Parliamentarians, civil servants and others committed to a better social security system for carers and the people they support.
Click here to read the full document.
Express your support for this Roadmap and add your name to the list of those calling for change
(See all endorsements below the form)
If you or your organisation would like to join them in endorsing this Roadmap and our call for DWP to adopt a social model of vulnerability, please email centreforcare@sheffield.ac.uk or complete the sign-up form below:
Edorsements
This Roadmap is endorsed by the following individuals and organisations:
Unpaid family carers provide amazing support to their loved ones and deserve to be treated fairly by the state. The scandal of Carers Allowance overpayments left many carers in debt, some were criminalised, and many more were fearful of claiming. The independent review by Liz Sayce highlighted a culture within DWP which allowed these systemic failures to persist. This new report by the Centre for Care highlights how structures and circumstances can make unpaid carers vulnerable and proposes new ways of thinking about vulnerability. I hope this report and its recommendations are heeded by DWP as it strives to put right the wrongs of the past and change from a culture of distrust to one which is more empathic.
Anna Dixon MP
Johnny Timpson OBE
Baroness Lister of Burtersett
Ann Davies AS/MP
