Registration period for £500 payment to eligible unpaid carers to re-open

The Welsh Government has today announced (11/08/2022) that the registration period for the £500 payment to unpaid carers will reopen on 15^th August and remain open until September 2^nd 2022.

70% of eligible unpaid carers had successfully registered for the payment and 65% had already been paid. This figure is likely to be higher given the number of claims yet to be processed by local authorities. The decision to extend the registration period in hope of the remaining eligible carers applying.

If you have applied and are waiting on the payment, please remember Local Authorities are still processing claims and they have until the 30th of September to make the payments.

Unpaid carers who were receiving Carer’s Allowance on 31 March 2022 have this final chance to make a claim if they have not done so already. There is no change to the eligibility criteria, which you can find detailed below, under ‘Who Can Apply?’. Unpaid carers must contact their local authority to register before the new closing date.

It hasn’t been detailed yet, but this is likely to be rolled out through the links previously provided by Local Authorities, which you can find below. Local Authorities won’t have updated them yet, so please check closer to the date. We will keep this page updated with any changes.

Read the full announcement in English

Read the full announcement in Welsh

Who can apply?

You will be eligible for the payment if:

you were receiving Carers Allowance on 31 March 2022
your application for Carers Allowance is in progress and your claim is backdated to 31 March 2022
you live in Wales

Will the payment affect other benefits?

The payment will not impact any benefits you may be receiving.

The payment will not:

be taxable
be subject to National Insurance contributions
be included as part of income when calculating entitlement for tax credits

Beware of scammers

Be aware of fraudsters asking for your bank details. We have been made aware of a scam involving cold calling, targeting families and asking for bank details using the £500 payment as the excuse. Please remember, that only your local council is responsible for making these payments.

Please find the list of links to the application form to the relative local authority.