Unpaid carers

[cheech0164]

So we have a another budget tomorrow. Do I , as an unpaid carer have anything to look forward to? The answer is a big fat NO! Why, because it makes absolutely no difference which party is in Government, they have all recognised what a huge difference we CARERS make to the economy, but each and every Government continually fail us! Well folks, I have and will continue to carer for my 36 year old daughter, because I love her unconditionally & she has a very fruitful life, because of myself ( not blowing my own trumpet you all understand), not because of any local authority. Will any of this crap change, no, it blooming will not.
I have now tested positive for covid, any help from the Government, no! Because I do not WORK. Yet fellow carers, as you all know, we work bloody hard! Most of us 24 hours a day.
I am a very proactive person, but, we, us carers are constantly being used and abused by a system that is archaic, by these prats in Government!! Over and out, my rant is over. Up the CARERS

[jean_1603]

I thought that myself today - I'm caring for mum at the end of her life, and have had to give up work (currently on a year's unpaid sabbatical). I get carer's allowance but am baffled by how that is supposed to be enough to pay for my own home's maintenance while I look after mum 24 hours a day, let alone anything else.

It's also baffling to think that anyone on universal credit got a £20 top up during the pandemic, but those on carer's allowance, who have to pay for their own (now ridiculously expensive) gloves and other PPE, did not - while many on universal credit don't have more than masks to buy.

I've just about given up complaining about how unfair it all is, but had to give you a reply in agreement.

[bowlingbun]

Is mum receiving CHC - NHS Continuing Healthcare?
If so, there is an option for her to have Direct Payments to pay whoever she wants to care for her, and that can be you!
Social Services have a similar scheme.

[TERESA_160112]

Thankyou for your post, I feel the same as you do about how unpaid carers are always forgotten by Goverments .
I care for my 37 year old son who has Severe learning disabilities and very limited speach , he can be challenging .
I care for him on my own now as my husband passed away ,.
I only recieve the state pension as carers allowance stopped because its classed as an overlapping benefit ?? I also recieve a small amount of pension credit which to my dismay is reduced when the pensions go up in April, so wipes out a lot of the increase ?
People I know recieve the same pension as I do , they have no caring responsibilities and never have ,
I too love my son and I will care for him as long as I can but the lack of recognition from government really makes me angry , we are forgotten and the last 20mths , 14 without any support from his daycentres has been so tough on both of us, social services didn't want to know , I have been on the verge of giving up .

[bowlingbun]

Hi Teresa,
My son has SLD, now 42. He lives in a flat with carer support, I'm 42 and under doctors orders not to care any more.

I'm dismayed to read your day centre is still shut and you are not getting any replacement care.
Sadly, it seems that those that shout loudest are the ones that go to the top of the queue, so start shouting!
Write to the Director of Social Services and explain your situation.

Have you made any long term plans?
Hopefully your son is getting ESA and highest PIP?
Did you know he is exempt from Council Tax?

[Sue_2103123456]

It frustrates me that unpaid carers are treated and considered the same as people on benefits.. I have been turned down for private housing, loans etc because I am a carer on benefits. How can we persuade the Government to give us our own social status. It galls me to have to say I'm on benefit, and that I can barely cope with the little money that I get. We, as carers save the Government millions and still they 'ask'
for a £200 month 'contribution' towards the care package as that is what PIP is for! As soon as the disabled get a bit of money, they take most of it away, yet children with disabilities it's money hand over fist! When I asked my MP to represent me in Parliament, he had the nerve to say that in the past DECADE, CA has gone up £13.70(or thereabouts) undervalued or what! As you may gather, I feel rather passionate about this subject having been a carer for my 2 children, the eldest being 31years old.

[AJ_1907]

We, as carers save the Government millions and still they 'ask' for a £200 month 'contribution' towards the care package as that is what PIP is for!

This riles me to no end. The council asking for top-up to care packages from people who can barely survive on what benefits they get.

Worse still, is the disabled people needing care and claiming ESA. If you're bad enough to need a live-in carer, or live with a relative who manages to work and care, they'll take the "severe disability premium" simply because you live with someone else, regardless whether or not they claim CA. Like living with anyone makes somebody LESS disabled or less in need of additional support.

I have a friend who's son lives with her, cares for her pretty much full time, and manages to work from home, barely makes over the threshold for claiming CA and because they share a home she's not entitled to the SDP, despite the fact she has massive disability related costs. They're barely staying afloat because the council asks for top ups for what little care they provide, which leaves the son picking up the slack 90% of the time anyway.

It's all just such a sorry state of affairs. And this constant promise of the government's social care plan which never materializes is getting beyond a joke now. I'm not sure if I'm more worried about things staying the same or getting worse, based on this care-cap plan which again is making the rich richer and the poor poorer.
.