Getting paid to care for a family member in Wales

Two different things, often confused. Carer's Allowance is a UK-wide benefit paid to you as a carer — income support, not wages. Direct Payments are money from your local authority to the person you care for, which can sometimes be used to pay a relative to provide that care.

Track 1: Carer's Allowance — a benefit paid to you

Wales uses the same UK-wide Carer's Allowance as England: £86.45 a week for 2026/27. There is no Welsh supplement — unlike Scotland, Wales does not top this up.

  • • You must be 16 or over.
  • • You must care for someone at least 35 hours a week.
  • • You must earn no more than £204 a week after allowable deductions.
  • • The person you care for must receive a qualifying disability benefit — PIP daily living component, DLA middle or higher rate care component, or any rate of Attendance Allowance, among others.
  • • You do not need to be related to, or live with, the person you care for.

Apply online at gov.uk/carers-allowance or by post; claims can usually be backdated up to 3 months. Our Carer's Allowance checklist covers what to gather first.

Track 2: Direct Payments — when a relative can actually be paid

Direct Payments in Wales sit under the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014. Following a care and support needs assessment, the local authority can provide money for the person to arrange their own support.

A relative living in the same household can only be paid where the local authority considers it necessary to promote the well-being of the person needing care. Examples the authority may accept include:

  • • Cultural or religious reasons.
  • • Inability to recruit a suitable care worker locally.
  • • Distress caused by a third party providing intimate personal care.
  • • A temporary breakdown of other care arrangements.

A relative living outside the household is generally permitted without this restriction.

How to apply

  1. 1. Contact your local authority social services and request a care and support needs assessment.
  2. 2. Ask for the support to be provided as a Direct Payment.
  3. 3. If a same-household relative would provide the care, explain why it promotes the person's well-being, using the examples above where they genuinely apply.
  4. 4. Apply separately for Carer's Allowance in your own name if you qualify.

Official sources

Keeping this organised

Assessments, reviews, and benefit checks all come back to the same evidence: hours of care, dates, and costs. Recording it as you go is far easier than reconstructing it later. FeatherKeep organises your care documentation and expenses automatically.

See what else you may qualify for
General information only, not legal, benefits, or financial advice. Rates shown are 2026/27 figures and are uprated annually — reconfirm current amounts at GOV.UK or with your local authority before making decisions.