Young carers from Kingston are playing a leading role in a national push to better support the UK’s youngest carers. Their contributions to the Young Carers Illustrations Project will be showcased at the upcoming Young Carers Alliance webinar on Wednesday 7 May, from 11am to 2pm. The free online event will focus on the critical theme of Supporting Younger Young Carers.

Kingston’s young carers were instrumental in shaping Young Carers in Bunnyland, the heartwarming picture book at the centre of the Illustrations Project. They provided creative input on illustrations, story elements, and even chose the title and named the main character, Honey—a six-year-old young carer who represents many of their own experiences.

The book was proudly launched by Kingston Carers’ Network at our Dream Big event at Chessington World of Adventures on 2 November last year. Since then, Young Carers in Bunnyland has become a runaway success, selling out so quickly it required a reprint just 19 days after its initial release.

Accompanying the storybook is About Me, a specially designed pre-assessment workbook that supports age-appropriate conversations with young carers under eight. This resource is now being used by both Kingston Carers’ Network and Kingston’s Early Help Team to help ensure even the youngest carers are seen, heard, and supported.

Despite the fact that there are no lower age limits for young carers’ rights across the UK, many services only begin offering support from age 8 upwards. This needs to change—and the upcoming webinar is an important opportunity to help shape the future of support for younger carers.

We warmly encourage anyone working with young people—or simply passionate about their wellbeing—to join the conversation and be part of the change.

Attendance is free. For more information or to register, visit this link

From Carers UK

We are very concerned by the proposed cuts to disability benefits and the impact this will have on carers, disabled people and their families.

We are particularly concerned about the following:

1. Proposed changes to Personal Independence Payments (PIP) which are likely to affect carers’ entitlement to Carer’s Allowance (CA) – currently, over half of Carer’s Allowance awards are tied to PIP as it is a gateway benefit for claiming CA.
2. Many carers have health conditions or disabilities themselves and could lose both PIP and CA as a result of the proposed changes.
3. The financial impact of tightening eligibility to essential disability benefits, including PIP, could mean even more carers will struggle to afford essentials like food and heating.
4. New claimants for the Universal Credit (UC) health element will receive less financial support relative to existing claimants. This would affect the household income of carers and their families who apply for the benefit for the first time after April 2026, where the carer is living with the person they care for.
5. The reduction of the UC health element by £47 a week will also have a very severe impact on claimants.

We understand that many carers will rightly be very concerned about the Government's proposals and the impact they will have on them and those they care for.

It is important to note that the Government has confirmed there will be no immediate changes to Personal Independence Payment (PIP). If someone is getting PIP now and could be affected by the changes the Government is planning to make to eligibility, the changes will apply at award reviews which take place after November 2026.

We will be responding in full to the Government's consultation on the proposals and encourage you to do so too. We will be engaging with carers and will also be organising a webinar for affiliate organisations shortly to talk through the changes in detail. Please find details about the Consultation, which will close on 30 June 2025, here.

If you have any questions regarding the Green Paper, please get in touch with us at policy@carersuk.org

Carer’s Allowance overpayment debts have surged by 71% in recent years, unfairly burdening unpaid carers due to a flawed and confusing benefits system.
These overpayments have had a devastating impact on thousands of unpaid carers, saddling many with crippling debts, with many experiencing financial hardship, anxiety and ill-health as a result.

While the Government launched an independent review last October, we are deeply concerned new overpayment debts continue to be issued. DWP official figures show that the total number of outstanding overpayments increased by over 9,000 between May 2024 and February 2025, to a staggering 143,922.

This scandal needs to stop. That’s why we’re calling for Carer’s Allowance overpayments to be halted until the Government fixes the flaws in an unfair benefits system.

We need your help to raise awareness of this crucial campaign:
🖊️ Write to your MP.
📢Share the campaign on social media and encourage family and friends to get involved.
🗨️Tell Carers UK about your experience of overpayments here.
🔍Find out more on Carers UK’s website and read their report detailing carers’ experiences of overpayments.
Thank you for your support!