UK gas networks partner with Carers Trust to provide vital and urgent financial support

The UK is home to an estimated 6 million unpaid carers and Carers Trust is reporting that many are being plunged into financial misery. This is having a devastating impact on both their own health and wellbeing, as well as those they look after.

In a recent survey, Carers Trust found that 25% of unpaid carers have had to cut back on food, whilst 63% were worried about being able to afford energy bills. And with many carers being at home caring for their loved ones for most of the time, they are using more energy for warmth and specialist equipment. This, coupled with the additional costs of caring and a lack of financial support, is affecting unpaid carers and their families up and down the country.

In response, the GDNs have come together to provide £4 million in funding to support Carers Trust. The partnership will work with carers to provide them with direct support, immediate aid and the longer-term skills, knowledge and confidence to ensure they have increased financial resilience. The Carer Money Matters programme will help carers across targeted areas regionally, including those in rural areas, by giving access to information, advice and guidance through online, one-to-one telephone, and locally delivered support.

The funding has been provided as part of the Vulnerability and Carbon Monoxide Allowance (VCMA). Gas pipeline and emergency service Wales & West Utilities will lead the partnership and work alongside Cadent, Northern Gas Networks and SGN to help support customers with fuel poverty and energy affordability and to help them maintain a safe and warm home.

Carers Trust is holding a Parliamentary drop-in event on 4 December, bringing together Parliamentarians, carers and the services that support them. It will provide a chance for MPs and members of the House of Lords to hear firsthand about the financial challenges carers face, Carer Money Matters and the other support provided by local carer organisations.

Kirsty McHugh, CEO at Carers Trust, explains the need:

Unpaid carers are in crisis. Not only are they navigating their way through the cost-of-living crisis, but they are often left isolated and facing a huge impact on their own health and wellbeing. This partnership will allow us to take action to focus on providing help to those living in the most deprived areas across the UK, and to those who are the most vulnerable.

The programme builds on similar successful initiatives that Wales & West Utilities has delivered through Bridgend Carers Centre and Swansea Carers Centre. It will work with local independent carers’ charities who are members of the Carers Trust Network in 23 local project sites; (17 in England, 3 in Scotland and 3 in Wales) to ensure the direct delivery of income maximisation, advice around fuel poverty, energy efficiencies and supportive tools and systems.

The Carer Money Matters project at each local site will involve:

• A full time Income Maximisation and Welfare Advisor, focused on supporting caring families to access bill reductions, hardship grants, statutory and other sources of support available
• A programme of financial management and resilience workshops aimed at increasing carers’ financial literacy
• Access to micro grants to provide immediate relief of energy associated debt
• Funding to target support for carers from under-represented groups

Kirsty continued:

As well as direct support delivered through each of the local project sites, we’ll be developing online resources which will be made available through a Carers Trust Network Virtual Carers Centre. This will allow carers to access vital online and offline support through their local carer organisation.

We are delighted that the UK GDNs have provided this vital funding to support the growing numbers of unpaid carers across England, Scotland and Wales. We know through our network just how much this information and support is needed. By offering it, we can make a real difference to the lives of so many of the UK’s dedicated carers and those they care for.

Carers Trust operates the largest UK-wide network of local carer organisations. Its network of local carer organisations specialises in helping unpaid carers and providing them with information, advice and support specific to their city or region. 

Sophie Shorney, VCMA Manager at Wales & West Utilities, said:

We have previously supported projects of this nature and have seen first-hand the impact they have had, so to have a collaborative approach across all GDNs is fantastic.

We are proud to be supporting the Carers Trust in delivering energy related welfare advice. We know that even the smallest amount of support can make a difference to improve the quality of life for those caring, as well as all those being cared for.

The VCMA fund allows us to work in partnership with organisations to reach more people and provide them with the help they need to ensure they receive the right support and help with their bills, to help keep them safe and warm in their own homes.

Between April 2021 to March 2026, Wales & West Utilities has £25m to spend on projects which support consumers in vulnerable situations and raise awareness of the dangers of carbon monoxide and keep people safe from the ‘silent killer’.

Funding is distributed through the Vulnerability and Carbon Monoxide Allowance (VCMA), and 75% of the money will be spent on projects relevant to Wales and south west England only, while 25% will be spent on collaborative projects with the other gas networks across the whole of the UK.

Wales & West Utilities, the gas emergency and pipeline service, brings energy to 7.5m people across the south west of England and Wales. If you smell gas, or suspect the presence of carbon monoxide, call us on 0800 111 999 straight away, and our engineers will be there to help any time of day or night.