The Social Impact of the National Carers Card

Carers play an essential role in families, workplaces and communities, yet their contribution is still too often unseen. The National Carers Card is working to change that by giving carers a simple, recognisable way to identify their caring role and access greater assistance and understanding in everyday life. Here are the three main ways we're having an impact nationwide.

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Raising awareness of carers' challenges

A key part of our social impact is raising awareness of the challenges carers face. Through our partnership outreach and social media campaigns, we are spreading the word to many organisations, venues and the wider public about what caring responsibilities can involve and how to help carers access more support and resources.

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The National Carers Card itself exists for the purpose of making carers’ lives a little easier. Recognition can help carers explain their role when supporting someone in a venue, event, appointment or public setting. Access arrangements and partner benefits can reduce stress, while discounts on everyday essentials can offer meaningful financial support at a time when many households are under pressure.

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For many carers, daily life can mean balancing work, family, appointments, travel, emotional support and practical care, often with little recognition. By increasing visibility, we encourage more compassionate responses from businesses, public services and local communities.

Funding National Carers Cards in Merton Council area

Our work with Merton Council is another example of social impact in action. We won Merton Council's bid to provide council-funded carers cards in 2023, enabling unpaid carers living in the Merton area to access the National Carers Card at no cost to themselves.

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Since then we have transitioned the partnership with Merton Council to a pilot charitable model, with cards funded by the scheme directly rather than by the council. We have also extended eligibility for funded cards to carers who are council employees. This shift ensures carers of all types in Merton can continue to benefit from recognition and support.

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Our charitable work

While our work has an impact in and of itself, we are also committed to benefitting the wider community of disabled people and carers. We are proud to support a number of charitable causes, including:

• The Friends of Sir Bobby Robson School - a specialist provision school local to our offices in Suffolk
• Our local branch of Riding for the Disabled
• Sponsoring humanitarian work in Ukraine
• Private donations of mobility equipment in our local area.

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Together, these actions reflect our simple belief that carers and disabled people deserve recognition, dignity and practical support. As a scheme, we offer more than a simple card: we're part of a wider movement with an outsize impact on accessibility and inclusivity.

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About the National Carers Card

The National Carers Card, set up by carers in 2019, is a form of visual identification for carers across the UK. Designed to support and acknowledge the invaluable role of professional and unpaid carers, the card also helps with accessing discounts and other benefits that make daily life a little easier, and can help mitigate the impact of the unpaid carer penalty.