Telephone payment system maintenance

Due to an upgrade the automated telephone payment line (020 8770 7887) will be unavailable between 6pm and 8pm on Monday 6 October. We apologise for any inconvenience.

Request a carer’s assessment if you look after someone

If you take care of someone who couldn’t manage without your help, you can ask for a carer’s assessment.

Make a professional referral

If you're a health or care worker, you must use our online form to refer an adult to us for a carer's assessment. Professionals must use the online referral forms with effect from 1st October 2025.

Refer an adult for a carer's assessment

Check if you're a carer

If you provide regular, unpaid care and support to an adult who wouldn’t be able to manage without your help, you are classed as a carer. This includes:

getting them washed and dressed
taking them to appointments
doing their shopping
keeping them company
managing their money and paying bills
collecting prescriptions and helping them take medicines
helping them to stand up and get outside

Anyone over the age of 18 can ask for a carer’s assessment. This is separate from the care needs assessment that the person you care for may have had.

Other types of carers

If your child is under 18 years old and has complex needs, you can get support as a parent carer.

Learn more about support for parents who care for a disabled child

If you're under 18 and you look after someone, you can get support as a young carer.

Request a young carer's assessment

Types of support

As a carer, you can get help to:

take a break (we call this respite)
do gardening and housework
learn how to safely lift someone
find local support groups so you can meet people in a similar situation
find advice about benefits for carers

Learn more about respite and emotional support for carers

How the assessment works

During the assessment

The assessment might take place over the phone, online or in person.

We'll ask you about how you’re coping with and how caring for someone affects your life and wellbeing. We'll cover things like:

your role as a carer
how you feel about caring
whether you’re able or willing to carry on as a carer
your health
your work
other caring responsibilities
what you enjoy doing in your free time
planning for emergencies

We’ll use this information to work out what help you need.

After the assessment

We'll work out what support meets your needs. If you qualify for support from the Council, we’ll put together a support plan for you.

You may receive a carer's personal budget as a direct payment. This can be spent on things that meet the needs identified in your support plan.

We'll ask you to show how you've spent your personal budget.

You cannot use your personal budget to pay for the care and support of the person you care for.

If you don’t qualify for support from the Council, we'll still provide you with information, advice and tailored recommendations to help you.

If your needs change or you need more support, contact us for a review or a re-assessment.

Appealing a decision

If you’re not happy with our decision, we'll provide you with information about our appeals process.

Contact us

To request a carer's assessment, contact the Adult Social Care team.

Phone

020 8770 5000

Email

ContactAdultSocialCare@sutton.gov.uk

Write to us

Sutton Council
Civic Offices
St Nicholas Way
Sutton
SM1 1EA

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Our offices and phone lines are open from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.