The UK government has today unveiled its Autumn Budget 2025, and millions of unpaid carers across the country are taking stock of what it means for them. These are the people who, day in and day out, provide essential care to loved ones — often without pay, often at great personal cost. At Carefree, our mission is simple yet powerful: to give these carers time to rest, through donated 1-2 night respite breaks in hotels in rooms that would otherwise go empty. Today, we assess what the Budget delivers for them - and where it falls short.

Why Carer respite should be at the heart of UK budget decisions

Carers are the invisible backbone of our healthcare system, providing 80% of home care in the UK and saving the public purse £184bn a year (equivalent to the entire NHS budget). Yet they are rarely recognised or supported for their frontline role. Without them, the burden on health services, local authorities, and paid care providers would be overwhelming. Yet carers themselves frequently report exhaustion, isolation, and financial hardship. Respite - time off from their caring duties - is not a luxury: it is a lifeline, a necessity for their wellbeing and, by extension, for the sustainability of care for the people they love.

Our thoughts on the Autumn Budget 2025

Some measures announced today could ease financial pressures for carers: 

• The removal of the two-child limit on Universal Credit will provide additional support for larger caring households. 

• Freezing rail fares, prescription charges, increases in minimum wage, reducing energy levies and other cost-of-living measures announced may also help carers manage day-to-day costs

• Increases to Universal Credit standard allowances support low-income carer families.

However, the Budget fails to introduce any dedicated measures for unpaid carers themselves. Despite carers providing 80% of home care in the UK and saving the public purse £184 billion a year (more than the NHS yearly budget), Carers still face limited access to regular respite breaks, an intervention that has been proven to reduce reliance on emergency respite care costs and entry into residential care. At the same time, the freeze on personal income tax thresholds may increase the effective tax burden for working carers over time.

What Carefree Will Do

Regardless of the Budget’s limitations, Carefree remains ready to:

• Campaign for the recognition of carer as protected term, and for the right for carers to access respite breaks

• Collect and share evidence of impact showing how respite improves carers’ mental and physical wellbeing.

• Continue to scale our operations, to deliver even more 1-2 night carer respite breaks..

The Autumn Budget 2025 is a moment of opportunity - and, for many carers, a reminder of how much work still needs to be done. At Carefree, we will continue to fight for the rest and renewal that every unpaid carer deserves, using innovative, practical solutions to ensure that time off is not a luxury, but a right.