Carers are still unappreciated
The health secretary for the UK Government (link goes to the BBC website), said that:
"an ageing population and a "dementia time bomb" meant helping carers stay in work was an "economic necessity" for the country."
By carers, he meant 'unpaid carers' (aka relatives and friends). If they leave work they'd have to receive benefits as even carers can't live on fresh air and no food. The benefits, btw, are meagre. Yes, their rent/council tax are paid, but the rest of their bills are supposed to be covered by the Carer's Allowance (Invalid Care Allowance as it was called) they receive. Minus the bedroom tax* if they're receiving housing benefit and have an extra bedroom, of course.
*The bedroom tax is this Government's way of sticking it to poor people who are on housing benefit. If you receive housing benefit, are in social housing (property owned by the local council or a housing association) and have more bedrooms than you need for people who live there full time (so people sharing custody of their kids can be affected too), then not all of your rent is cover. You have to pay 14% of your rent if you have 1 spare bedroom, and 25% of your rent if you have 2+ spare bedrooms. There aren't many 1 bedroom places around, so people who live alone are particularly affected.
When I stopped being a carer the Invalid Care Allowance was the princely sum of £92 (US $143.35) a week. It was only that high because I had no other income and was looking after my mother. Any other income or if you're caring for your partner or spouse and that Invalid Care Allowance drops to less than £60 (US $93.49) a week...and that's the current rate. You can only claim one lot of Invalid Care Allowance, btw, so if you care for both of your parents, it's still less than £60 a week.
The same article said:
"Meanwhile, a report has warned England is facing a shortfall in the number of people able to give vital unpaid care."
I've been a carer. I looked after my mum for 12 years - 10 of those years were without any kind of day off. It's health-degrading, nerve-straining work, as you're on call 24/7 endlessly. Well, until your health degrades to the state where you're unable to provide care any longer.
So, the Government wants people to do that at the same time as holding down a full time job. Apparently this country is filled with people who don't need downtime or even sleep.
~~~
Edit: Thanks to silvers_shadows for letting me know it's Carer's Allowance now, instead of Invalid Care Allowance.
"an ageing population and a "dementia time bomb" meant helping carers stay in work was an "economic necessity" for the country."
By carers, he meant 'unpaid carers' (aka relatives and friends). If they leave work they'd have to receive benefits as even carers can't live on fresh air and no food. The benefits, btw, are meagre. Yes, their rent/council tax are paid, but the rest of their bills are supposed to be covered by the Carer's Allowance (Invalid Care Allowance as it was called) they receive. Minus the bedroom tax* if they're receiving housing benefit and have an extra bedroom, of course.
*The bedroom tax is this Government's way of sticking it to poor people who are on housing benefit. If you receive housing benefit, are in social housing (property owned by the local council or a housing association) and have more bedrooms than you need for people who live there full time (so people sharing custody of their kids can be affected too), then not all of your rent is cover. You have to pay 14% of your rent if you have 1 spare bedroom, and 25% of your rent if you have 2+ spare bedrooms. There aren't many 1 bedroom places around, so people who live alone are particularly affected.
When I stopped being a carer the Invalid Care Allowance was the princely sum of £92 (US $143.35) a week. It was only that high because I had no other income and was looking after my mother. Any other income or if you're caring for your partner or spouse and that Invalid Care Allowance drops to less than £60 (US $93.49) a week...and that's the current rate. You can only claim one lot of Invalid Care Allowance, btw, so if you care for both of your parents, it's still less than £60 a week.
The same article said:
"Meanwhile, a report has warned England is facing a shortfall in the number of people able to give vital unpaid care."
I've been a carer. I looked after my mum for 12 years - 10 of those years were without any kind of day off. It's health-degrading, nerve-straining work, as you're on call 24/7 endlessly. Well, until your health degrades to the state where you're unable to provide care any longer.
So, the Government wants people to do that at the same time as holding down a full time job. Apparently this country is filled with people who don't need downtime or even sleep.
~~~
Edit: Thanks to silvers_shadows for letting me know it's Carer's Allowance now, instead of Invalid Care Allowance.