A new policy briefing published by Carers UK underlines the importance of Carefree’s central message: unpaid carers in the UK need a break. We know how to give them one. (Read the briefing here)

What the report says

The report shows how big a difference breaks make to unpaid carers. Nearly half of unpaid carers (49%) need more breaks and even more (54%) said they expect accessing breaks to be challenging, based on the State of Caring survey from 2024.

The Care Act 2014 already entitles carers to an assessment of their needs by their local council and appropriates funding to make council support possible. Often those needs include one or more breaks. 

But we know from carers and Carefree’s local community partners that many unpaid carers struggle to take advantage of their rights to the fullest extent. Carers and councils alike are overstretched, meaning the Care Act doesn’t go far enough in making breaks possible. Only 23% of carers had an assessment in the last 12 months Carers UK surveyed. This is for several reasons. Appointments for an assessment are hard to come by, and carers often don’t think to or can’t take time away from their responsibilities to make them. Follow-up from local authorities can also be spotty.

Funding for breaks is also limited. Money to provide breaks is supposed to come out of the Better Care Fund, which distributes it to charities, councils, the private sector, and NHS providers. Local authorities’ gross expenditure on support to carers was £183 million in 2023-24, down from £195 million in 2022-23, according to Carers UK’s analysis of official data. 

Here’s what Carers UK recommends:

• The government should provide £1.5 billion in breaks and respite services in England and more funding for other nations in the UK. 

• The government should create the statutory right to a break.

How Carefree fits in

Carefree’s model addresses the problem the policy briefing outlines – carers struggle under current conditions to access the breaks they so desperately need.

Our innovation is to work with the private sector to make breaks possible at a low cost. There are thousands of empty hotel rooms in the UK each night; we want to make each one available to the nation’s millions of unpaid carers. We also work with overstretched community partners to lighten their burden and make it easier for them to help carers access one of our breaks.

Carefree has already provided 16,000 breaks and registered 40,000 carers and is growing every day. Our model works to provide what carers need most – an affordable break where and when they need it. We’re working every day to scale in multiple ways. We’re leveraging AI to provide breaks and support as efficiently as possible. We’re partnering with the hospitality industry to find more rooms carers can use. And, most importantly, we’re signing up new carers so they can access a break for just £33. 

The right to a break is an important one, but we don’t need to wait for the government to act to address carers’ needs. We can push the government while recognising the hidden opportunities to make breaks for carers available today. That’s the core of Carefree’s model. 

To sign up for a break just click below!