What Carers Can Do to Oppose the Green Paper

“Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper”

Carers and supporters of Disabled People play a vital role in opposing the proposed welfare reforms in the government’s Green Paper. Here’s how they can get involved and make their voices heard:

• Respond to the Consultation
  • Official Government Consultation Page Submit your views by 30 June. Share your personal experiences and the impact of proposed changes on your family. Carers UK and Disability Rights UK provide guidance on how to do this.
• Key Concerns:
  • Double financial hit: 150,000 carers receiving both PIP and Carer’s Allowance face losing both benefits.
  • Workplace exclusion: 66% of carers forced to reduce work hours or quit entirely£500m cuts: Projects largest-ever reduction in carer support by 2029/30.
  • Deep poverty: 400,000 carers in severe financial hardship at risk of destitution.
  • Funding changes: Social care: £3.7bn additional funding in 2025/26, including £880m Social Care Grant.
  • Carer’s Allowance earnings limit: Increased to £196/week (16 hours at National Living Wage) from April 2025.
  • PIP reform: DHSC researching PIP-social care link, raising uncertainty for carer eligibility.
• How to engage:
  Use Carers UK’s briefing to understand the risks, including potential loss of Carer’s Allowance for 15,000 carers and reduced Universal Credit support.
  Focus on key points:
  • Oppose stricter PIP eligibility criteria, which act as a gateway to Carer’s Allowance.
  • Highlight the £8,000–£12,000 annual income loss for families losing PIP and Carer’s Allowance.
  • Reject proposals that fail to account for carers’ own health needs and caregiving demands.
• Template guidance: Carers UK provides tools to structure responses.
  Write to your MP and Decision-Makers explaining how the reforms will affect you and those you care for.
  • Use template letters from Carers UK, Carers Trust, or Disability Rights UK.
  • Use Carers UK’s analysis to explain how reforms will reduce household incomes and force carers out of work.
  • Personalise letters with your story (e.g., “Losing PIP would cost me £X per year and force me to quit caring”).
• Attend MP surgeries: Demand MPs oppose cuts to Carer’s Allowance and PIP, referencing Scope’s warning of “catastrophic” living standards.
• Petition Parliament: Push for debates on protecting carer benefits using platforms like Parliament Petitions or Scope’s Cost of Cuts campaign.
• Join Campaigns and Coalitions
  Engage with national charities like Carers UK and Carers Trust.
  • Carer Poverty Coalition: Join or support the Carer Poverty Coalition, coordinated by Carers UK to collectively campaign for fair treatment and adequate support for carers. The coalition is actively challenging the Green Paper and highlighting its risks, especially the projected loss of Carer’s Allowance for 150,000 unpaid carers and the deepening of carer poverty.
  • Collaborate with Carers UK’s 130+ member coalition to amplify collective demands. Carers UK are voicing strong opposition to the reforms and providing updates, briefings, and campaign actions for carers and supporters. 
  • Local carer networks: Mobilise through Carers Trust branches or local carer support groups.
  • Collaborate with alliances: Partner with Scope, CPAG, and Disabled Children’s Partnership to strengthen cross-movement advocacy.
  • Work in Partnership: Carers can strengthen the campaign by working alongside Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs) such as Disability Rights UK, which coordinate national campaigns and provide resources for collective action.
• Raise Public Awareness and Share Information
  • Share Briefings and articles: Distribute briefings and articles from Carers UK, Carers Trust, and Disability Rights UK to your networks. his helps inform others and builds wider opposition.
  • Highlight the Impact: Publicly share personal stories about how the proposed changes could lead to loss of Carer’s Allowance, increased poverty, and greater hardship for both carers and Disabled People.
  • Share stories: Contact media outlets using Carers UK’s press releases or Scope’s Cost of Cuts campaign to highlight impacts.
  • Social media: Use hashtags like #StopPIPCuts and tag MPs, sharing CPAG’s analysis on how reforms will deepen child poverty.
• Join Local Movements:
  • Get involved in local branches of national organisations or grassroots groups focused on disability and carer rights.
  • Organise local forums or protests with Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) to demonstrate opposition.
  • Join local and national protests or meetings organised by other DPOs and carer groups to show solidarity and raise public awareness.
• Support Legal and Policy Challenges
  • Equality Act arguments: Highlight how reforms disproportionately harm women (80% of carers) and low-income families.
  • FOI requests: Use methods highlighted by Disability News Service to expose gaps in government impact assessments.
  • Parliamentary briefings: Submit evidence to APPGs on disability and carers, citing Carers UK’s £37bn economic cost4 of carer workforce exclusion.
• Advocate for Alternatives
  • Advocate for Policy Change – carer-friendly policies.
  • Demand Government Engagement: Urge the government to consult directly with carers and Disabled People, as called for by Carers UK, to ensure any reforms reflect real needs and lived experience.
  • Promote early intervention: Back CPAG’s call for investment in social security to prevent poverty.
  • Push for Adequate Support: Campaign for reforms that value unpaid carers, (Adequate financial support, carer’s leave, flexible working rights and enable carers to balance paid work with caring responsibilities).
  • NHS support for carers’ health and affordable social care.

By joining coalitions, taking direct action, sharing stories, and working in partnership with DPOs, carers and supporters can play a powerful role in opposing the welfare reforms proposed in the Green Paper and advocating for a fairer, more supportive system.

By combining targeted lobbying, public storytelling, and cross-movement collaboration, carers and supporters can effectively oppose reforms that threaten financial stability and caregiving capacity. Immediate action via the consultation (deadline 30 June 2025) is critical.

Summary Table: Ways Carers and Supporters Can Take Action