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Carers manifesto published

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Carers UK, Carers Manifesto, The time has come for a new social contract between carers, public services, employers, and wider society.

Carers UK has launched a Carers Manifesto calling on all the political parties to support the UK’s 6.5 million unpaid carers and commit to improving the lives of carers.

These unpaid carers provide the majority of care for families, but pressure on the UK’s health and care system, insufficient financial support and lack of rights in the workplace are putting an unsustainable strain on them, and they cannot go on living like this.

And although some of the decisions are devolved to nations, carers throughout the UK have the same message – carers need: financial security, care services that are there when needed, an NHS that supports them, to be able to combine work and care if they choose to, and to have the information and advice to prepare and make choices about caring.

Carers UK provides information, advice and support to those caring unpaid for older, seriously ill or disabled loved ones across the UK and has drawn on evidence gathered directly from carers.

Carers UK’s Carers Manifesto calls on all political parties to commit to:

Ensuring that carers and their families do not suffer financial hardship as a result of caring;

Ensuring that there is sufficient funding so that older and disabled people get affordable care when they need it;

Ensuring carers are able to juggle work and care, returning to work if they wish;

Creating a more ‘carer friendly’ NHS; and

Providing easily available information and advice to the public so everyone is better prepared for caring and can get support early to look after their own health and wellbeing.

Ensuring that carers and their families do not suffer financial hardship as a result of caring:

Carer’s Allowance is the lowest benefit of its kind, at just £62.70 a week. Carers UK have heard from carers having to cut back on essentials like food or heating just to make ends meet. The huge value of unpaid care needs to be recognised.

Carer’s Allowance needs to be raised significantly over the longer term and in the short term at least raised to the level of Job Seeker’s Allowance (an increase of £10 per week) with equivalent increases to carer premiums to ensure that those on the lowest incomes benefit from an increase;

The earnings threshold for Carer’s Allowance needs to rise year on year in line with the National Living Wage, and pegged at least to the equivalent of 16 hours a week. A taper should also be introduced; and

Carers need to be auto-enrolled in a second pension – a Carer’s Pension that recognises the value of unpaid work and ensures that carers do not suffer financial hardship later in life.

Ensuring that there is sufficient funding so that older and disabled people get the care they need and which is affordable:

Carers UK’s research with carers found that 1 in 5 of those caring round the clock received no practical support with caring, and 61 per cent said they were at ‘breaking point’, struggling to cope without the support they needed;

An urgent new, sustainably funded settlement for social care and the NHS to make legal rights to support a reality and ensure that services are there when carers need them. This must include housing fit for caring and technology that supports caring; and

Good quality, reliable and affordable care services are needed to support the role of carers and ensure they get the breaks they need to care without putting their lives on hold and their health in danger.

Ensuring carers are able to juggle work and care, returning to work if they wish:

Three million people, 1 in 9 of the workforce, combine caring for a loved one with paid work, however, many carers are forced to give up their jobs to care due to a lack of rights, flexibility and high quality care services at home;

Introduce a new right to paid care leave in the workplace of between 5 to 10 days for carers in work;

Support for carers and former carers who wish to stay in or return to work; and

Recognition that good quality, reliable and affordable care services are needed to enable carers to juggle work and care.

Being a carer is essentially an unpaid nurse, secretary, cook, cleaner, psychiatrist and therapist all in one. Carers seem to be used and taken advantage of by the system, as the majority of carers do it through love as they are family.

To create a more ‘carer friendly’ NHS:

Full-time carers are more than twice as likely to be in bad health as non-carers. Despite their contribution, carers can struggle for recognition and support from health professionals.

There needs to be a new duty for the NHS to put in place policies to identify carers and to promote their health and well-being – helping to build a carer friendly NHS.

Carers need to be better prepared for caring and get support early to look after their own health and wellbeing:

For many people, looking after an ill, older or disabled loved one doesn’t have a name, it is ‘just something you do’. However, not recognising you are carrying out a caring role can be a real barrier to accessing vital support.

There needs to be easily available advice and information for carers to help carers plan, prepare and provide for care.

The time has come for a new social contract between carers, public services, employers, and wider society, Heléna Herklots, chief executive of Carers UK, said, adding: “We urge all political parties to support our Manifesto and look forward to working with all newly-elected Members of Parliament to bring improvements for carers in the next Parliament.”

And you can help by raising these issues with your parliamentary candidates.

Thanks.

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