+ The Future of Carers Allowance
Carer Watch call upon the Coalition Government,to recognise the ESSENTIAL role that Carers play in the running of our society and to make a statement regarding the future of Carers Allowance
So what lies ahead for family carers? Families providing care are a necessity and as the number of elderly increases and medicine breakthroughs continue, many people with illnesses will live longer…and the country will rely even more on the foundation that family carers provide. Carers are a group of people who provide a vital service, yet governments past and present have taken them for granted, have taken their Love for granted.
We cannot, and must not, allow this to continue
2010 witnessed failure after failure by the Coalition government to address the needs of carers. Before the election carer issues were high on the agenda and even included in TV Party Leader debates, but as soon as the election was over carers once again became invisible. For far too long the issue of Carers Benefits has been swept under the carpet, put on the back burner by past and present governments. Now we are facing a climate of severe cuts with all the implications for the Local Authorities.
But the greatest threat to carers comes from the reform of the benefit system. Will carers be protected or lost in the drive to cut back welfare. Now we have the proposal of a Universal Credit . The Coalition as yet has given no concrete details as to their intentions regarding carers’ benefits. Carer Watch have great concerns that Carers Allowance could be targeted as a benefit to be subsumed in the UC.
Research in to the history of the carers’ movement shows us the battles undertaken by many women and their supporters to gain full recognition and identity for carers. Carer Watch believe that the Coalition must keep carers benefits separate from the main system. We feel that any move by government to transfer carers to a Universal credit will take the carers movement back decades.
We need to raise our voices now and make them aware of our feelings and our anger that they are not addressing these issues with great urgency.
Therefore, Carer Watch call upon the Coalition Government, to recognise the ESSENTIAL role that Carers play in the running of our society and to make a statement regarding the future of Carers Allowance.
click on comments below and add your support.
Tags: benefits, carers, carers allowance, carersuk, carerwatch, disability, disabled, princess royal trust carers, welfare reform
You have my full support in this call upon the government. With cutback to council funding, affect on carers will be immense.
As the government continue their drive to get people back to work, the reality is that many people will need reduce their working hours to provide care that local authorities cannot cover.
I hope a statement will be forthcoming. Families have a right to know how their finances are going to be affected.
Although there have been many promises that carers will be recognised and supported, there has been little action. You have my support for this important campaign to secure proper recognition and financial backing for carers. We need as a matter of urgency a statement from the Government about the future of carers allowance.
My worry is tied to the changes being proposed for DLA. If my husbands’ assessment alters his entitlement, which results in my carers allowance being removed, we wont be able to manage.
Carers have been taken for granted, and with the current Tory governments campaign to destroy the welfare state it is going to take a huge campaign to stop them. Good luck and full support.
How quickly the “angels” of pre-election spin became the “benefit scrounging scum” of Government rhetoric-I am concerned that “conditionality” was even considered for people receiving CA-they work.It must remain outside the UC.I fully support this campaign
Why does this government in particular hate the poor? I am a carer for my 92 year old Father and my husband , I do all that I can and have a part time job, which I cannot increase due to the care load and benefit restrictions.
I pay tax,rent , council tax, prescriptions etc … and yet I cannot begin to describe how this new governments attitudes are so awful.
As the mother of a young adult aged 17 with disabilities I am totally in support of the Carer Watch statement. I care for my son full time. In addition to the emotional strain of doing this I am constantly worried about our financial future. Now with a new Universal Credit looming and reductions to the welfare bill I am left wondering if I will be able to manage at all. Carers seem to have all but vanished from any govt policy statements I have read BUT WE ARE STILL HERE!
Thank you Carer Watch for supporting Carers. I care for my Son and recently have been caring for my Husband. I also support the family to care for my elderly Father. Carers are a back-bone of this Society and it is time they were respected and assisted financially to cope with their many responsibilites! It is a shame that Carers have to ask for what is rightfully theirs. Divide Carers Allowance to how many hours Carers put in on a weekly basis, it is a pittance!
I fully support your cause. I care for my son who has schizophrenia. Without my help and support he would be forever in and out of hospital as his illness is acute. The cost of this hospital care would far out weigh the meagre money I get as a carer.
Total support is all I can say.
I support you. It is clear that the coalition government wishes to remove many disability benefits, no matter the human cost. I have no doubt that the assault on DLA is also a assault on Carer’s Allowance, as is the possible absorption of the Allowance. Such an act would make it very easy to reduce or remove the Allowance under a barrage of red tape.
I am a carer for my eldest son who has a mental health problem while being cared for by my youngest son as a i am disabled, have long term illnesses and mental health problems. Because my youngest is a student he does not qualify for the carers allowance and yet i get no other help.
I fully support your campaign.
I have sent information on this and other camapigns you are runningto my MP Bob Russell LibDem and recieved promises of his support. He has kept those promises as i monitor his part in written and oral debates in the House vis TheyWorkForYou.
We must keep a seperate allowance for carers and keep the work “Carer” in the title. If it merges into a Universal Benefit, we will loose our identity and they will treat everybody just like cannon fodder. WE must insist that we continue to have a benefit with our name and role on it “CARER”. God- I am scared of what is coming. Everything we have won is being taken from us.
lets be honest, the government don’t give a damn about carers, they know that we will continue to do it whatever happens because we LOVE those we care for. i would love nothing more than for ALL carers to go on strike for just 1 week, imagine the chaos that would create, this country would fall to its knees, but yet again, the government know this would never happen.. why??? because we love those we care for and that is just used as a weapon against us..DISGRACEFUL !!
I fully support this campaign.
However, I wonder had David Cameron’s son Ivan, still been alive – would such radical cuts be looming? Mr Cameron’s protestations in a TV interview (before he became Prime Minister) stating, due to their personal experience of jumping through many hoops and endless bureaucracy to obtain basic support for Ivan. He would ensure simplification of the benefits and social care system for obtaining support.
Interesting how his vision has slipped! I’m all for weeding out fakers but DLA/Carers Allowance has the lowest false claims within the benefits system and apparently Government budgets for this!
My son has complex Learning Disability and Mental health difficulties though looks perfectly normal (a hidden disability until you talk or spend time with him). I’m simply exhausted having to repeatedly justify his disabilities. If a person has had a disability since birth at what point do politicians or society think it is reasonable to stop testing…5, 10, 20, 40 or 60 years into their life? To repeatedly target people like this and cause additional stress for them and their carers is morally groundless and not in keeping with a BIG society.
The Coalition Government has let so many vulnerable people down. On top of the worries about Universal Benefit, I now also have to wait another 16 months for my state pension. I wrote to Steve Webb and pointed out what this extra delay meant to middle aged women who were Carers and got a standard reply from “The Correspondence Team”. They didn’t even have the courtesy to address the issue. It just goes to show how little regard the government has for Carers. I feel like I’m in some sort of living nightmare. I am in total support of your campaign.