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Main Content: Carers deserve a better deal
Carers UK is delighted that USDAW is calling for radical reform of Carer’s Allowance. Caring can have a devastating impact on carers’ finances and one in five carers is forced to give up work, losing on average £11,000 in income.
When carers rely on benefits they are being short changed by an outdated system that doesn’t recognise their contribution to society. The main benefit for carers - Carer's Allowance - is just £50 a week – the lowest of its kind. Unfair earnings rules act as a disincentive for carers who are able to work, while some, including those over 65 or sick, miss out on carers’ benefits altogether.
Carers UK’s Real
Change not Short Change campaign was launched in 2007 and is calling on the
Government to radically reform the tax and benefit system so that it is based on the contribution carers make, rather than on the
work/income they have to give up. A new system should be transparent and fair
to all carers, irrespective of age, easy to access and unbureaucratic.
Specifically we are calling for Carer’s Allowance to be raised to the level of
the State Pension (currently £87.30) and paid to carers irrespective of age. It
should have
Flexibility to recognise the different circumstances of carers and the impact that caring can have on people’s lives. This includes the hours spent caring and the number of people being cared for.
Financial incentives that help carers combine work and care.
Removal of restrictions on the hours carers can study.
In June the
Government launched their National Strategy for Carers setting out a vision
that no carer should be forced into financial hardship by their caring role. It
accepts
that carer benefits are in need of reform and has promised a review.
Imelda Redmond, Chief Executive of Carers UK says,
’Carers UK shares carers’ bitter disappointment that hopes for the Strategy delivering some immediate improvements to carers' incomes have not been met. As part of the income task force informing the recommendations for the Strategy to Ministers, Carers UK's representatives argued forcefully that carers needed help now. The Government now needs to set a clear timetable for their promised review of carers’ benefits.’
ends