When caring for family members long-term, first clarify what support carers can get
People who care for sick or disabled family members for a long time often have their own burden overlooked. This article uses UK carer benefit information as a reference to introduce concepts such as assessment, allowances, and rights of appeal, and reminds residents in China to follow local policies and consult local departments first.
Machine translation of our Chinese article, without human translation review. Suggestions concerning China remain specific to China.
Automatically reviewed, without human verification. Programmatic checks are not professional review. Seek professional advice where appropriate. Automatically reviewed on 10/4/2026, 7:14:25 AM
Chinese fact summaries and suggestions for China (not a full translation)
Original: Benefits for carers - Social care and support guide - NHS · Original language: en
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Facts from the sources
In the UK, Carer's Allowance is the main state benefit for carers, at £86.45 per week. View source
In the UK, to apply for Carer's Allowance you need to care for someone for at least 35 hours a week, and the person being cared for must be receiving certain benefits. View source
In the UK, Carer's Credit is a National Insurance contribution intended to prevent people from losing some social security benefits, such as the State Pension, because of gaps in their National Insurance record. View source
In the UK, people already receiving benefits such as Income Support or Housing Benefit may be eligible for the Carer Premium. View source
In the UK, carers need to have a carer's assessment before they can receive any help from the local council. View source
In the UK, if a carer's benefits are stopped or their application is refused, they can challenge the benefit decision. View source
For older people and families
When you have been caring for family members for a longer time, you can first record how many hours a week you spend caring, so that later when consulting about policies you can explain the situation.
Do not tough it out alone. You can proactively ask the subdistrict, community, or civil affairs department whether there are any help or services for long-term carers.
The UK has Carer's Allowance and a carer's assessment system; whether China has similar practices must be verified with local civil affairs, medical insurance, or disabled persons' federation departments.
If an application for a certain allowance is refused, you can ask the reason clearly, and find out whether there are appeal or review channels.
Carers should also rest, and when necessary ask relatives and friends to help in turns; only by taking care of yourself can you continue to care for family members.
Keep care records, medical records, and expense receipts; they may be useful later when applying for support.
See what care and community teams can do
Before developing carer support services, you should first find out the number of long-term carers in your jurisdiction and their actual needs, and avoid blindly copying foreign models.
You may refer to the idea of the UK carer's assessment and explore having social workers or grid workers conduct initial needs interviews with high-risk care-giving families, but qualifications and boundaries must be clarified.
For anything involving allowances or benefits, you must confirm the legal basis and funding channels with civil affairs, medical insurance, and disabled persons' federation departments, and must not make promises on your own.
When providing psychological support, respite services, or care training, you must implement staff qualifications, venue safety, and emergency plans.
If you plan to introduce a system similar to Carer's Allowance, it should be designed according to local regulations and fiscal capacity, and the UK amounts or conditions should not be applied directly.
Information notices and policy explanations should use plain language, provide dialect versions when necessary, and check the latest original policy text in a timely manner.
What needs local assessment
The facts above come from UK public sources and are provided for understanding overseas experience; they do not constitute current policy or operating guidance for mainland China. UK benefit amounts, eligibility conditions, and assessment processes may change, and local agencies make the final decision. In mainland China, relevant subsidies, long-term care insurance, and carer help are subject to the latest rules of local government departments. For specific matters involving medical, legal, or welfare applications, please consult professional agencies or local service counters. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Information from the NHS website is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. This article is this website's independent Chinese compilation and advice, not an official NHS translation or content approved by NHS. Licence: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
Sources
UK National Health Service (NHS)Was this article helpful?
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