Recent proposals for welfare reform have caused untold stress and worry for thousands of unpaid carers. As the government’s stripped back bill continues to committee stage, it is essential that the implications for carers are considered further.
Around 12,000 people in the UK become an unpaid carer every day, taking on caring responsibilities for someone who needs support due to illness, disability or age. Many feel disadvantaged, with these responsibilities impacting their own health, finances and employment opportunities.
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It has been a relief for many to hear that changes to the eligibility criteria for personal independence payment (PIP) will be paused until a ministerial review involving disabled people is published. Moving forwards, the review must act quickly and listen to unpaid carers to ensure that nobody loses crucial entitlements.
The current system means that benefits for unpaid carers and those they care for are intrinsically linked. To claim carer’s allowance, you must spend at least 35 hours caring for someone and they must receive a relevant disability benefit, such as the daily living component of PIP. Before the government’s U-turn on PIP our analysis showed that families losing eligibility to both PIP and carer’s allowance would lose over £8,000 a year. It’s unimaginable to think of a situation where carers could be providing at least 35 hours of care per week making it extremely difficult to work as a result with no recognition or financial support.
More than 600 people give up work a day to care, many find themselves in this difficult situation due to the stress of juggling work and care. The care unpaid carers provide is worth £184 billion a year to the UK economy. We need to see increased recognition for this, as well as better access to good social care and supportive employers to enable unpaid carers to stay in employment where they wish to do so.