Parent carers of disabled children are to be included in new rights that will make it easier to be assessed and supported.

The UK government has finally responded to pressure from campaigners and agreed to an amendment to be discussed at the third reading of the Children and Families Bill. Because of these proposed changes, local authorities will now have a duty to promote the wellbeing of parent carers when they look at the needs of families with disabled children.

For some time it appeared in the Bill’s drafting that parent carers would be left behind, given lesser rights to assessment and support. Edward Timpson, Minister for Children and Families, has now said: “We must not underestimate the contribution that parent carers of disabled children make.” He said the government would be making it clear that “councils must take into account the full and complex needs of parent-carers”.

The government’s move coincides with the publication of research from the Caring & Family Finances Inquiry, which was set up a year ago by charity Carers UK. It found carers struggling with debt and unable to cope with loss of income. More than 2.3 million people have given up work to care for someone and half of working-age carers are in a household with no one in paid work. More than four in 10 are in debt as a result of caring, with one in seven carers in debt by more than £10,000. Almost half cut back on essentials such as food and heating. One in five rely on overdrafts or a credit card to make ends meet.

Helena Herkiots, chief executive of Carers UK, said: “Those caring unpaid for loved ones save society vast sums, but at huge personal cost – a cost this inquiry shows is pushing families to the brink.”

The charity is calling for urgent reform of financial help for carers, as well as an end to cuts to carers’ benefits and support services. The main Carers Allowance benefit of £59.75 a week for a minimum of 35 hours caring amounts to less than £2 an hour.

Carers giving evidence to the inquiry told of their difficulty in meeting heating bills, the high cost of travel to medical appointments when having to rely on taxis, and the prohibitive price of buying-in care for respite.

Published: 5 February 2014