A new report has taken a close look at the support and challenges faced by unpaid carers in Bracknell.
Bracknell Forest Council has a legal duty to support carers as part of its adult social care and children’s services. It drew up a carers strategy in 2024 covering a five-year period to 2029. The report covers year two (2025), setting out progress, ongoing problems and next steps for this year.
The council updated its Carers Services webpage to make it easier to use. It is also working with SIGNAL4Carers, the North Ascot charity that offers free support, information, networking, advice and learning to unpaid carers in Bracknell Forest.
SIGNAL4Carers has taken part in four 'World Café' events, the Interfaith Forum and four community events as part of outreach work.
The strategy highlights outreach to 'global majority populations' such as Black and Asian people, noting White Europeans make up between 13.6 to 16 per cent of the global population. 'Broadened reach into the community' is listed as a key achievement, with proactive engagement with European, Black and global majority population carers not currently known to the council.
Examples of outreach include work with the Romanian, Polish, Indian and Nepalese communities and a visit to the Bracknell Islamic Cultural Society. Despite these efforts, the report says an increase in carers from these communities using services has not yet been achieved.
As a result, council staff and partners will work to understand the barriers preventing ethnically diverse carers from accessing support while continuing to promote services within these communities.
The report also spells out the rights and benefits for unpaid carers: Carer’s Allowance of £81.90 per week for those providing 35+ hours of care, Carer’s Credit to help with National Insurance contributions for people under state pension age, and a legal right to one week of unpaid, job-protected leave per year.
The carers strategy report will be presented to the council’s health and wellbeing board on Thursday 12 February.
James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter
Bracknell Communities Unite for a Better Future
