Carers UK welcomes national debate on the future of care and support

“Carers UK has long campaigned for carers to be central to social care policy and we are pleased that this has been heard. Care is not just about the state and the individual, it is about families. We have called for a comprehensive overhaul of the social care system which recognises the following realities:

• The majority of care takes place at home and is provided by unpaid carers – i.e family and friends
• Replacing all unpaid care with formal care services is both impossible and undesirable
• Carers are crucial partners in delivering social care  
• The economy needs carers; in a competitive world, we can’t afford to have men and women who want to work being forced to give up their jobs to care. Yet with unpaid care now valued at £87 billion per year, the social economy can’t afford to lose carers either
• Carers need independence, income and life choices and should not pay a penalty for the contribution that they make.
  

“Carers are the bedrock of social care. Care is something that we can all expect to provide and receive at some point in our lives. That is why Carers UK has been calling for a new social contract   to revolutionise the relationships between families, the state and other parts of society and require new commitments from employer, local agencies and communities.

“We call upon the government also to recognise the realities about caring highlighted above - both in the forthcoming National Carers Strategy and the forthcoming Green Paper. Carers and families must be at the centre of this debate.”

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Notes for editors

1. Over the next six months the government will be consulting the public and stakeholders at a series of regional event for this views about care and support to create a new system that:

-          Promotes independence, choice and control for everyone who uses the care and support system

-          Ensures everyone can receive the high quality care and support they need, and that government support should be targeted at those most in need

-          Ensures everyone can receive the high quality care and support they need, and that government support is targeted at those most in need

-          Is affordable for government, individuals and families in the long term.

Further information is at www.dh.gov.uk/en/index.htm

2 The research, “Carers, Employment and Services: time for a new social contract?, was conducted at the University of Leeds and commissioned by Carers UK. The authors are Professor Sue Yeandle and Dr Lisa Buckner. It is one of a series of publications and draws together the findings of the other reports on the Carers, Employment and Services (CES) Study conducted in 2006-7.

3 Carers UK is part of the ‘Right care Right deal’ campaign launched to build public awareness and support for brave and innovative solutions for the social care system. The campaign combines three of the UK’s leading charities working with and for older people and their families and carers. Further information is available at www.rightcare.org.uk

For further information contact the press office on 020 7922 7988/ 020 7922 7979 or M: 07505 184262