MorganAsh has backed a new Carers UK blueprint aimed at building more carer-friendly communities, but said financial services firms must do more to identify and support carers as vulnerable customers.
The support services provider said Carers UK’s Building Carer Friendly Communities blueprint, launched for Carers Week 2026, was an important step towards improving support for unpaid carers.
The blueprint sets out guiding principles for businesses, services and community groups on how to better recognise and support people with caring responsibilities.
However, MorganAsh said the recommendations did not go far enough in addressing the role financial services firms should play, particularly in light of the FCA’s Consumer Duty.
The firm said Consumer Duty had increased expectations on firms to understand customer circumstances, identify and monitor potential vulnerabilities, and ensure customers receive fair value and good outcomes.
It said the duty also required firms to work collaboratively and share relevant data and information where appropriate to deliver good outcomes, a point recently reinforced in a joint statement by the FCA and the ICO.
MorganAsh said caring responsibilities should be more clearly linked with vulnerability in financial services and wider Consumer Duty requirements.
Data from the MorganAsh Resilience System shows caring responsibilities are consistently among the top five customer vulnerability characteristics recorded by firms.
Johnny Timpson OBE (pictured), advocate for UK carers, financial inclusion commissioner and chairman of MorganAsh, said: “We strongly support the tremendous work of Carers UK and Carers Week in building more carer friendly communities.
“We welcome this blueprint and encourage all sectors, services and communities to embrace and adopt these guiding principles.
“Given the clear financial pressures faced by so many carers – particularly those unpaid – as well as broader vulnerability challenges, there’s a clear opportunity here to bring financial services into the conversation and remind them of their obligations.
“For many, becoming a carer has profound impact on their financial resilience. This is often just the tip of the iceberg, with caring responsibilities often causing significant emotional strain or resulting in poor mental and physical health – among other serious issues.
“Financial services firms need to be proactive and work together to understand their vulnerable customers’ circumstances and mitigate the difficulties this growing group of people face. Under Consumer Duty, firms are expected to do just that, yet carers can often remain invisible and unsupported.”
MorganAsh called on firms to recognise caring responsibilities as a significant vulnerability within financial services and Consumer Duty frameworks.
It said firms should provide more flexible and accessible support that reflects the realities carers face, underpinned by stronger approaches to capturing, sharing and communicating vulnerability data across organisations.
The firm said this would help ensure carers receive more consistent support, without having to repeatedly explain their circumstances.
Andrew Gething, managing director of MorganAsh, said: “While firms are often quick to look for more visible or obvious vulnerabilities, we also need to consider life events and the likes of caring responsibilities – particularly as they continue to rank so highly in our assessments.
“Through Consumer Duty, there is a real opportunity to respond to the needs of the UK’s carers and ensure the right recommendations and support are provided across the distribution chain. This is only possible with the right systems and processes, and having robust data.
“Building carer-friendly communities absolutely requires that financial services firms play an active role. Consumer Duty has created the framework and the expectation for firms to act.”
