More help for carers but no cash
The Government will provide an extra £150 million over two years to double the number of carers in England who get a break from their duties. The plan was announced on 10 June by Health Minister Ivan Lewis to coincide with Carers Week.
The extra money will be administered by the NHS and will sit alongside the Carers grants currently provided by local councils. The Government will also spend £38 million to help carers combine work with caring or return to work afterwards. One in five carers gives up work and many others cut back on their hours. A scheme to give carers annual health checks will also be piloted. A recent study found that many carers ignored their own health because they did not have the freedom or the time to visit the doctor.
An estimated six million people provide care free to relatives or friends. The charity Carers UK estimates that saves the Government £87 billion a year. The organisation said the announcement was "a significant step forward for carers, but leaves important questions unanswered."
In particular there was disappointment that there was no more money for carers themselves. The £50.55 a week carer’s allowance pays for barely nine hours work at minimum wage. But to get it carers have to spend at least 35 hours a week caring for someone else. Many care full time. The allowance is not paid on top of retirement pension and is taken away if the carer earns more than £95 a week. Only 460,000 carers get the allowance, about one in 13. The Government has promised a full review of carer’s benefits. A spokeswoman for Carers UK said "There is an immediate issue of carers living in poverty now."
Altogether the Government also promised extra money to support voluntary organisations and train NHS and care professionals and said it would spend £6 million specifically to help children who care for adults. Altogether it says it will spend £255 million more on carers over the next three years.
The report envisages that within ten years carers will be respected and treated with dignity with access to the support services they need to enable them to have a life of their own alongside their caring duties as caring and that caring will not force them into financial hardship. No details were given of how that would be achieved.
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