Fairer for Carers

[Lizzie Carers UK]

Alongside 91 other organisations, we have written today to both the Work and Pensions Secretary and the Chancellor, calling on the Government to raise Carer’s Allowance as part of Carers UK’s #FairerForCarers campaign.

Despite the huge contribution unpaid carers are making, too many carers and their families face financial hardship. At least 1.2 million carers are living in poverty and – on average – each day, 600 people have to give up paid work to care.
Read the open letter and find out more about the #FairerForCarers campaign:

https://www.carersuk.org/fairerforcarers

[sunnydisposition]

02 July 2020
Carers UK and ninety two other charities, including DR UK, have today written a joint letter to Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey calling for the urgent extra financial support to unpaid carers to ensure “they are supported during the coronavirus crisis and beyond”.

A copy of the letter has been sent to the Chancellor.

https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news ... aid-unpaid

[Maine]

Hi Lizzie, In addition to this no carer should be made to care on carers allowance for decades. This situation reduces and stomps on every opportunity in life, due to any carer caring and having to complete 10's of thousands of unpaid care hours( often without support). Although social care and health aren't allowed to force unpaid care, they actually do, by ignoring and using unpaid care and the low income of it, as a tool to cause a rut.

[bowlingbun]

Whilst I am happy that the earnings limit has been increased a bit, so that earnings plus CA equal the minimum wage, this still doesn't recognise that many carers who want to work cannot because of the high care needs of their caree, and the lack of available services.
I was very well qualified but unable to work because of my own son's disability, even appealing all the way to the Ombudsman, who recognised that respite should have been provided, didn't mean the LA must provide it!
I am also concerned about pensioner carers who get NOTHING extra, simply because they get their pension. However, most pensioners can do as they please, most carer pensioners are tied to their carees.
Surely pensioner carers should get MORE ALLOWANCES, not less? I know someone in her 80's still caring, and there have been many examples on the forum.

[Cloudygal]

A letter to Teresa Coffrey?

I can't see her increasing Carers Alliwance, unfortunately

I hope I am wrong.

I had imagined retirement to be a time if doing what I want.

The thought of having to carry on overseeing everything is not a great thought.

Would I be expecting too much for the support
Workers/social worker/manager at supported housing place to sort things?,

After all, if parents are not around they would have to.

[bowlingbun]

I am trying and trying just to get Social Services to draw up a proper needs assessment for my son, and details of his hobbies, his extended family etc.
At the moment, he has no time to see friends as "he sees them at day services", i.e. assuming he has no friends in the "outside world at all".
He has a girlfriend, they are closer to each other than anyone else, they went to school together for 10 years. Unfortunately, they live 200 miles away, so rarely see each other, but they exchange notes etc. and when they meet, they walk along arm in arm, which they never EVER do with anyone else.
As far as Social Services are concerned, she doesn't even get a mention, although I've said repeatedly about her!
There is no mention of his own steam engine, his own garden tractor, that are his pride and joy. How can they work out how much time he needs to follow his hobbies if they don't know what they are?
He knows every long term steam engine owner in the area, he went to his first weekend rally when he was 6 weeks old. When I drove the roller, he was in a baby sling on my chest! He can even drive our 10 ton steam roller quite happily, but my other son has to be on the footplate for insurance purposes, as M doesn't have a licence.
Despite all this, SSD have commissioned 52 week care with an agency, he's never EVER been away from me for 52 weeks, he knows he has 2 holidays a year with me, plus time before Christmas doing the Christmas cake himself, then making hot cross buns at Easter. There is a show he always goes to in May, another in June, one at the end of July that we take our engine to, he's always home for a week for that, etc. etc.
I am just a nuisance to them, saying these things!!!

[susieq]

As we had three topics all posted within 1 hour of each other we have merged them into one to avoid confusion

[Cloudygal]

BB

Snap. I am in the middle of trying to get an accurate needs assessment on my son too.

Its so frustrating trying to get them to get anything close to accurate

I have bern trying to find an example of what a good one should have in it.

Not found one yet.

I think I am a nuisance to them too.

They must think i am picky!

[Londonbound]

If i am allowed to post this, its a flow chart what should happen through the Care Act.

But is it still valid because of Corona?, gives a guide anyway.

https://www.scie.org.uk/care-act-2014/a ... ocess-map/

Lots of other information on the site.

[Ian_1811]

Did the letter do any good ?????
Answer.... No