Do You Care For A Loved One?

SomeBozo wrote: »

I really think people need to understand and read the consultation before they sign a "e-petition".

To those who have signed it, have you actually read the green paper?

Anyone who wants to read it, it can be seen here. By responding to the consultation your views are more likely to be heard then a e-petition!

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/welfarereform/noonewrittenoff/

Bozo

You are quite right in what you said Bozo.In fact CarerWatch have done both,here is our response below.I am also attending a consultation event tomorrow about Welfare reform.
Like with all petitions it is up to an individual to read and decide for themselves.
Many thanks to anyone from here who has supported this.

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Carer Watch are an online campaign group for carers across the UK run by independent, unpaid carers. Carer Watch has canvassed for carers' opinions on the Welfare Reform Green Paper across the various online carer forums.

As well as the response below we would ask the government to take into account the response to the petition:

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/caringiswork/

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to withdraw the proposal to transfer carers on carers allowance and income support to job seekers allowance and to recognise carers' valuable social input by keeping carer benefits separate from the rest of the benefit system.

The petition was started on 25th September 2008. We believe that, taking into account the limited publicity Carer Watch have been able to give the petition due to our lack of resources, the high number of signatories gained in a relatively short time is a good indication of the strength of feeling on this issue.


Question 22: Is a system based on a single overarching benefit the right long-term aspiration? How could a simpler system be structured so as to meet varying needs and responsibilities?

From the Green Paper: “6.6 We think there is a strong case for abolishing IS altogether as it is a largely passive benefit that expects very little from its recipients and does nothing to prepare them for a life after benefits. In fact, its very name implies financial dependence and inactivity”

Carers on Carers Allowance and income support cannot be classed as being inactive. Carers are unique within the benefit system in that they have to fulfil the requirement of providing a minimum of 35 hours a week care in order to qualify for Carers Allowance. Over 1 ½ million carers provide more than 50 hours a week of care, some providing care 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

Carers Allowance cannot therefore be considered as being a passive benefit. Caring places physical and emotional demands on a carer. Unpaid caring entails carrying out the same tasks and duties considered by society to be work when carried out by paid care workers.

Without carers’ unpaid contribution to society this unpaid care would have to be provided by state-funded social care staff at a considerably higher cost to society. Without carers our NHS and social care systems would collapse. The average carer is saving the nation over £15,260 a year. A full time carer saves the nation considerably more.

Carer Watch believes that a single overarching benefit as a long term aspiration indicates a failure on the government’s part to recognise that caring is not passive and that carers make a valuable contribution to society. (estimated to be worth £87 billion a year).

From the Green Paper: “6.12 As we move towards abolishing IS, when resources allow, we need to consider how we support carers. Carers are one of the primary groups on IS and are not currently subject to any work-focused activity, as we recognise the importance of their caring responsibilities”

Carer Watch believes that if Government truly recognised the importance of carers' caring responsibilities the Government would consider how to support carers appropriately BEFORE abolishing Income Support.

The proposal to move carers to JSA has left many carers anxious about government plans for the future of Carers Allowance, for example, how would a single overarching benefit cater for carers who are currently eligible for CA who are not on income support

Carer Watch strongly believes that the Government should recognise carers’ valuable 'social input' by keeping carer benefits separate from the rest of the benefit system.

Question 23: Would moving carers currently on IS onto JSA be a suitable way of helping them to access the support available to help combine caring with paid work or preparing for paid work?

Transferring carers who are providing a minimum of 35 hours a week unpaid care (work) to a benefit that suggests they are not working, are not contributing to society and are available for work is an insult to carers and is a contradiction of the government’s claim to recognise carers’ ‘immense contribution’ to society.

Placing carers on JSA is misleading. It implies that those with substantial caring responsibilities have the choice to combine unpaid caring work with paid employment. The reality is that the lack of appropriate affordable respite in the system means that many carers lack equality of opportunity with non carers and do not have a genuine CHOICE.

Most carers do not choose to become carers or to be financially dependent on benefits. A fair benefit system would recognise this fact and keep carer benefits separate from other benefits and at a level that provides a liveable income. Carer Watch believes that it is not sufficient or fair to just state that:

From the Green Paper: "6.15 …. Those carers who do not feel able to combine paid work with caring would not be required to do anything more than they do at present and there would be no change to their benefit income".

Carer Watch believe that removing the restriction on hours spent studying and the earnings limit on Carers Allowance would be a more suitable and effective way of helping carers combine caring with paid work or helping carers prepare for paid work than moving carers to JSA.

From the Green Paper: “Carers who wish to undertake paid work alongside their caring or prepare for work at some point in the future, should be allowed able to volunteer for increased support from Jobcentre Plus”

Carer Watch believes that this does not require moving carers on IS to JSA. Carers on Carers Allowance could be allowed to volunteer for this support.

The Green Paper is 188 pages long; only 5 paragraphs are devoted to carers. Carer Watch respectfully suggests that this is because the thinking behind this Green Paper, that “Individual responsibility is at the heart of these reforms”, cannot be applied to carers.

Carers are amongst the most responsible members of society. Carer Watch believes that moving carers to JSA with the object of streamlining the benefit system would result in an unfair system that gives no recognition whatsoever of the contribution carers make to society or the lack of ‘equality of opportunity’ for many carers.

Carer Watch believes that Government should accept their responsibility to carers. Carers deserve a liveable income, a separate benefit which recognises that they are not unemployed or passive recipients of benefit but are making an important contribution to society.