Applications for the Unpaid Carers Financial Support Grant have reopened, with the county council urging anyone eligible in Powys, who has not already applied, to make a claim.

The £500 payments, funded by Welsh Government, are being made in recognition of the increased financial pressures many unpaid carers have experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to help with some of the additional costs they have incurred.

Those applying to the county council must live in Powys. They must also:

• Care for someone for at least 35 hours a week and have a low income
• Be in receipt of Carer's Allowance on 31 March 2022 or have been retrospectively awarded Carer's Allowance for that date.

Unpaid carers can apply online via Powys County Council's website: Unpaid Carers Financial Support Payment

The registration period for the £500 payments reopened on Monday 15 August and will stay open until 5pm on Friday 2 September.

If an unpaid carer needs help to apply, or any further information, they can call the council on 01597 826345 or email: [email protected]

Cllr Sian Cox, Powys County Council's Cabinet Member for a Caring Powys, said:

"We have been advised by Welsh Government that this will be a final chance for unpaid carers who are in receipt of Carer's Allowance to apply for this additional support.

"We have written directly to unpaid carers on Carer's Allowance to invited them to apply, but we may have missed some people; if you are one of them, we very much want to hear from you. Please do get in touch with us. Also, if we have been in touch but you didn't register for the payment before, you now have a second chance to do that.

"We believe as many as 1,400 Powys residents could be eligible to receive the £500. We know that many unpaid carers are struggling to keep their heads above water financially and we want to make sure that all of them know about any extra financial and other support they might be entitled to, and to help them apply for it. Our unpaid carers and the dedicated work they do day-after-day all year round is a huge, crucial and often unrecognised contribution to the wellbeing of some of the county's most vulnerable citizens. We will do everything we can to help support them."

Unpaid carers who need more general advice on grants and benefits can also contact Powys County Council on 01597 826345.