About Hampshire Carers Partnership
The Hampshire Carers Partnership Board’s (HCPB) primary aim is to improve the lives of all carers in Hampshire, and those carers who live outside the county but care for Hampshire residents: no matter what their caring role.
The HCPB is an action planning and influencing body concerned with enhancing the lives of unpaid carers.
HCPB has a key role in developing and monitoring the implementation of the Hampshire Carers Joint Strategy. The Board includes representatives for local carers, voluntary sector organisations and statutory agencies that have an interest in supporting carers but do not have any conflicting business interest in doing so.
The partnership exists because caring does not happen in isolation. Carers often interact with multiple organisations — including GPs, hospitals, social care teams, schools, community groups, and voluntary services — and the system can feel fragmented, difficult to navigate, and inconsistent. Hampshire Carers Partnership works to improve coordination, strengthen collaboration, and ensure carers receive the recognition, information, and support they need.
The partnership works with carers to establish and coordinate easily accessible support across Hampshire, identify those with caring responsibilities, improve access to information and help, and enable carers to maintain a healthy and fulfilling life alongside caring.
A core principle of Hampshire Carers Partnership is co-production. This means carers are not simply recipients of services — they are active partners in shaping them. The lived experience of carers helps inform priorities, service development, and strategic decision-making across the partnership.
Who We Are
Hampshire Carers Partnership includes carers themselves alongside organisations from across health, social care, education, local government, and the voluntary and community sector.
The partnership works collectively to:
- Improve recognition and identification of carers
- Strengthen information, advice, and support pathways
- Promote carers’ rights and access to assessments
- Improve wellbeing and resilience for carers
- Support better joined-up working between organisations
- Reduce duplication and fragmentation across services
- Ensure carers’ voices influence future planning and delivery
The partnership recognises all types of carers, including:
- adult carers
- young carers
- young adult carers
- working carers
- parent carers
- older carers
- carers supporting people with mental health needs, dementia, disabilities, addiction, or complex health conditions
- carers who may not yet recognise themselves as carers
Working in Partnership
Supporting carers effectively requires organisations to work together.
Hampshire Carers Partnership helps bring together:
- health providers
- adult social care
- children’s services
- voluntary organisations
- carers support organisations
- community groups
- education partners
- wider system stakeholders
By working collaboratively, the partnership helps create clearer pathways, shared understanding, and more joined-up support for carers across Hampshire.
Hampshire Carers Partnership works with a wide range of organisations that support carers and the people they care for across Hampshire.
This includes organisations from health, social care, education, local government, and the voluntary sector. The co-production groups that the partnership works with includes:
Hampshire Personalisation Expert Panel (PEP)
Hampshire Personalisation Expert Panel (PEP) started in 2009. PEP brings together a range of ‘Experts by Experience’ who have a wealth of lived experience using services as Disabled People and Carers to draw from. Members are often connected to wider networks. Members of PEP are committed to the reform of adult social care and health care. PEP was set up to look at important issues and to work with Hampshire’s Adults’ Health and Care Department, by scrutinising its policies and approach. The group currently meet online every month.
To find out more email
Jo Hooper Jo.Hooper@carerstogether.org.uk
and/or
Anne Meader anne.meader@carerstogether.org.uk
Hampshire Autism Partnership Board (HAPB)
The Hampshire Learning Disability Partnership (HLDP) meets four times a year to talk about the important things for people with learning disabilities and their families and carers. Its job is to make sure that things get better for people with learning disabilities by checking the promises in the Learning Disability Plan and considering recommendations made by each of its working groups. The Partnership has ten service user representatives, two parent / carer representatives as well representatives from Adults’ Health and Care and the NHS.
There are 6 county-wide working groups, each with a particular focus, that report into the HLDP:
- Adult Social Care
- Health & Wellbeing
- Personal Safety
- Communications
- Carers (of people with a learning disability)
- Complex Needs
To find out more about the partnership, please contact admin.hldpb@hants.gov.uk.
Learning and Development Reference Group
The Learning and Development Reference Group brings together the Learning and Development team (L&D) with experts with lived experience and carers to identify opportunities to embed co-production throughout the Directorate’s approach to training and development – including L&D commissioning, design from point of concept, delivery, observation, evaluation and engagement with health and care education programmes. The group meets every 3 months to progress projects and identify new areas of work.
To get in touch email AHC.learning.development@hants.gov.uk
The Hampshire Direct Payment Framework Partnership Board (HDPFPB )
The Hampshire Direct Payment Framework Partnership Board (HDPFPB ) was set up to be decision making body which shares information and develops a strategy to improve oversight of the direction of travel for Personal Assistant in Care Development and Direct Payments across Hampshire. The board ensures the Personal Assistant in Care and Direct Payments work links with other programmes of work and has a cross system and cross department focus. The overall aim is to design and develop a sustainable approach to the Direct Payments offer to eligible Hampshire residents. This includes supporting the development of a framework that stimulates the Personal Assistant in Care market and ensure that this becomes a sustainable model that maintains influx of PAs into the market.
We meet on a 6-weekly basis. Facilitating sharing of information and experiences, advocating for best practices in managing Personal Assistants and Direct Payments. Inclusive Membership: Includes representation from Hampshire County Council and individuals with lived experience, ensuring decisions are informed by both professional expertise and personal insights. We recognise the need for growth and investment in the Personal Assistant market to make Direct Payments viable. To achieve this, we are looking for individuals to join our lived-experience group.
Interested in joining? Please Contact the Direct Payment Support Service
Adults' Health and Care - Front Door Service User Steering Group
We aim to share our Directorate strategy and business plans related to transforming the front door, specifically focusing on the Contact Assessment and Resolution Team (CART) and the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH).
We seek valuable feedback, comments, and ideas to ensure that work is developed in co-production with the steering group. We encourage members to share their experiences with Adults’ Health and Care front door services to aid in their development and improvement. Additionally, we invite members to raise any risks, issues, and concerns regarding the proposed work, so we can address them collaboratively.
The group includes members from Carers Together UK, The You Trust and individuals in receipt of direct payments from the county council and takes place bi-monthly.
To get in touch email: Gillian Williams – CART and MASH Service Manager
Hampshire Voices
Voices is a collective of people with lived experience of suicide. They believe shared knowledge is fundamental in steering decision-making on suicide prevention and suicide bereavement support.
They work collaboratively with organisations across Hampshire, Portsmouth, Southampton, and the Isle of Wight to offer strong guidance, advice, and signposting on suicide-related action.
For further information please visit: Voices | Health and social care | Hampshire County Council – public.health@hants.gov.uk.
Contact Us or Get Involved
Carers’ voices are central to the partnership.
There are opportunities for carers to:
- share experiences and feedback
- help shape services and priorities
- join consultation activity
- contribute to partnership discussions
- become involved in the Carers Subgroup or engagement opportunities
You do not need previous experience or specialist knowledge — your lived experience as a carer is valuable. Even a minimal time commitment can help influence how support develops across Hampshire.
If you would like to know more about Hampshire Carers Partnership, get involved, or ask a question, please get in touch with us via Carers Together Hampshire:
Main Office
Open Tuesday – Friday, 10.00am – 2.00pm
Hampshire Carers Centre
9 Love Lane
Romsey
Hampshire SO51 8DE
Tel: 01794 519495
Email: admin@carerstogether.org.uk
Whether you are a carer, professional, organisation, or community group, we welcome opportunities to work together to improve support for carers across Hampshire.