These are not good times to be a carer

By Kate Green MP

This week is Carers’ Week, and I’m very proud to be Labour’s parliamentary ambassador for the week.

Politicians of all parties – rightly – pay tribute to the immense contribution cares make. Their commitment to caring for loved ones enables many of the most vulnerable to remain in their own homes, safe and secure with those they know and trust – and at a substantial saving to the public purse. Many carers put their own lives on hold to fulfil their caring responsibilities. So it’s not nearly enough to praise their efforts: society – and politicians – owe them tangible support.

But these are not good times to be a carer, as the government’s cuts start to bite. Reductions in local authority budgets are already taking a severe toll. In my own borough of Trafford, day centres are closing; in many boroughs we’re already seeing funding being prioritised only for those with the highest levels of need. Carers worry of course about the burden that places on them – a day centre can provide respite, time to take on employment; overnight care on some nights of the week at least allows carers to catch up on much-needed sleep. But more than that, carers are worried for those they care for – just the other day, parents of adult learning disabled children in my constituency told me of their deep concern at the ending of travel provision to day activities, denying their children the chance to attend activities they enjoyed, and to socialise – now they face greater isolation, and their parents were upset and distressed for them.

So a government that really wants to recognise the contribution of carers would rethink the effect of its cuts on them and their families. That’s why this week, as the welfare reform bill reaches its final Commons stages, I’m proposing an amendment to the bill that will give Ministers the chance, in one small way, to put their money where their mouths are, to demonstrate that they too care.

Many carers want to work, and indeed many already do so. But the demands of caring often mean that carers can manage only a few hours of paid work. At present, if they’re in receipt of income support, they can keep the first £20 of any income earned from employment without it affecting their benefit. That however won’t invariably be the case under the new universal credit being introduced in the welfare reform bill. For some carers, in future their benefit will start to reduce as soon as they earn just one pound from paid work.

Penalising carers who want to do some paid work surely can’t be the government’s intention. It’s at odds with the whole concept of the universal credit, that even one hour of work will pay. So I hope my amendment will be accepted by Ministers, a small sign at least of the sincerity of their commitment to carers, a gesture that surely they will not be too mean to make in Carers Week of all weeks.

But I’m not holding my breath on this, for changes to other parts of the benefits system are already a cause of concern for carers. Most worryingly, the changes to Disability Living Allowance (DLA ) – a gateway benefit for carers to receive Carers Allowance – with the expectation that significantly fewer disabled people will qualify for the new Personal Independence Payment that will replace DLA, will not just cause hardship for many disabled people, but could leave thousands of carers no longer qualified to receive Carers Allowance.

Ministers need urgently to look at the cumulative effect of their policies on carers, whether it’s their welfare reforms, their plans for longterm funding of social care, or the impact of public service cuts. Surely, of all weeks, Carers Week would be a good time for them to start.