Emma Sainsbury, writing in a recent letter, describes caring full time for her 101‑year‑old adoptive mother for the past 13 years and says she feels blessed to provide that care, but that “love does not pay the bills.” She notes that Carer’s Allowance for 2026–27 is £86.45 a week, which spread over 168 hours of continuous care amounts to roughly 51p an hour.
A 51p‑an‑hour calculation
Sainsbury points out that as a sole carer she has no downtime and that, while she manages some paid work as a self‑employed therapist when her mother’s health allows, her earning capacity stops when her mother is poorly even though household bills continue. The letter frames the allowance as inadequate to cover the realities of round‑the‑clock caring responsibilities.
Work and housing implications
The writer asks whether government policy sufficiently takes into account people whose caring duties shape their finances and their ability to keep a home. Her account highlights a common policy challenge: balancing the personal and social value of unpaid caregiving with the financial vulnerability it can create for those who provide it.
A call to policymakers
Sainsbury’s letter adds to public debate about how welfare and social care systems recognise and support unpaid carers. By drawing attention to the arithmetic of the current allowance and the practical limits on paid work for full‑time carers, it poses questions for policymakers about the adequacy of financial support and the wider measures needed to protect carers’ livelihoods and housing security.