Have your say about how caring has affected your health

Carers Week 18th – 24th June 2012

In sickness and in health

Every year we ask thousands of carers to tell us about their lives. We use the survey to generate interest in the press and media. 

Our theme for 2012 is “In Sickness and in Health” and your answers will help us to highlight;
- How does caring impact on your health and wellbeing?
- How much have the cuts to local services impacted on your health and wellbeing?
- What could really make a difference to your life as a carer?

Take the survey here

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If you are worried about cuts to services please sign Pats Petition too and then gather as much support as you can.

 

Proposal to replace Disability Living Allowance with Personal Independence Payment (16th September 2011)

 

3.1 Carers UK is surprised and disappointed at the lack of adequate assessment of the impact of the PIP proposals on carers:

· There was no mention of carers in the initial Impact Assessment of the DLA reforms, published with the Bill; or in the Equality Impact Assessments published during the Committee stage. The Government’s response to the DLA reform consultation, published in April, simply states that the Government is considering the implications for Carer’s Allowance of DLA reform.

· This lack of upfront information not only makes adequate scrutiny of the proposals impossible – but it is also causing a huge amount of distress for families, including those affected by the most severe disability and terminal illness, who fear the loss of their disability and carers’ benefits because they do not know if they may be affected.

· Given that 73% of current Carer’s Allowance claimants are women, it is also concerning that the potential loss of independent income for a group predominantly made up of women was not a key part of the gender impact assessment for the Bill.

3.2 We believe that it is critical that a full evaluation of the impact on carers is conducted as a matter of urgency. This must include an estimate of the number of carers expected to lose Carer’s Allowance, a disability impact assessment and a carer equality impact assessment which looks at the impact on gender equality of the likely loss of Carer’s Allowance .

Proposal to replace Disability Living Allowance with Personal Independence Payment (16th September 2011)

An opportunity to raise YOUR voice to break the silence

This is a joint venture between CarerWatch, The Broken of Britain, Disabled people Against Cuts and ACTnow. 

Everyone is urged to support this.

To all our members and supporters;

The Labour party conference starts in Liverpool on Saturday. As we all know, Labour were the architects of Employment Support Allowance and the ‘not fit for purpose’ Work Capability Assessment which is so stressful and traumatic it was linked to the suicide of claimants whilst Labour were still in power. The Labour party are the official party of opposition, but they are not opposing the Welfare Reform Bill as they should be and seem to have forgotten that the 10 million sick and or disabled people plus carers, friends and family in the UK have the power to vote. It is time for us to remind Labour that they will not get any of our votes if they do not start to oppose the parts of the Welfare Reform Bill set to return sick people, disabled people and carers to a life of desperation, dependency, despair and charity.

We are asking you to help with a mass email to the Labour party to remind them of our voting power. Please include the following details in your email and send it to Ed Miliband, Margaret Curran (shadow minister for disability) and Liam Byrne (shadow minister for DWP). If you have time please also email it to any Labour MP and particularly any members of the shadow cabinet. We have provided a list of email contacts below.

Please aim to send your email at 11am tomorrow (Thursday the 22^nd September) If you can’t send the email at 11am, don’t worry, just please try to send it at any time between then and the end of Labour party conference on Wednesday 29^th September.

The email subject should read “Your Silence Is Deafening”

We suggest embedding a link to this youtube video “The Sound of Silence” To embed the video into your email just copy and paste the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvsX03LOMhI  

Then please copy the following text into your email;

Dear (insert name here)

‘The 10 million disabled people in this country plus their carers, relatives and friends are watching what your party do in relation to disability issues and wondering why you seem disinterested in trying to get their votes by opposing the savage attacks against disabled people being made by the Coalition government. During conference season we wish to remind you, the architects of Employment and Support Allowance to ‘never fall ill, never grow old, never become disabled, never become a carer’, for if you do, as we have found, not even Labour will speak up for you.’

If you would like to add a short, personal message explaining to Labour how you feel about their lack of support for sick, disabled people and carers then please include it after the suggested text. You might also like to include a photo of yourself, or perhaps a photo of what disability, sickness or caring means to you. Don’t worry if you don’t want to personalise the email, sending the suggested text is fine.

Contact details below

Ed Miliband MP, Leader of the Labour Party

House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Tel: 020 7219 4778
ed.miliband.mp@parliament.uk

 

Shadow Secretary of State for Work & Pensions

Liam Byrne

House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Tel: 020 7219 6953
Fax: 020 7219 1431
byrnel@parliament.uk

 

House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Tel: 020 7219 8102
Fax: 020 7219 6656
margaret.curran.mp@parliament.uk

 

Shadow Home Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities

Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP

coopery@parliament.uk

 

Shadow Chief Secretary

Angela Eagle

eaglea@parliament.uk

 

Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation & Skills

John Denham

denhamj@parliament.uk

 

Cabinet Office and Minister for the Olympics

Tessa Jowell

jowellt@parliament.uk

 

Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government

Caroline Flint

House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Tel: 020 7219 4407
Fax: 020 7219 1277
caroline.flint.mp@parliament.uk

 

Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport

Ivan Lewis

House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Tel: 020 7219 2609
lewisi@parliament.uk

 

Shadow Leader of the House of Commons 

Hilary Benn

House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Tel: 020 7219 5770
hilary.benn.mp@parliament.uk

 

Shadow Secretary of State for Defence

Jim Murphy

House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Tel: 020 7219 4615
Fax: 020 7219 5657
jimmurphymp@parliament.uk

 

Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Mary Creagh

House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Tel: 020 7219 6984/020 7219 8766
Fax: 020 7219 4257
creaghm@parliament.uk

 

Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Election Coordinator

Andy Burnham

House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Tel: 020 7219 8250
andy.burnham.mp@parliament.uk

 

Shadow Lord Chancellor, Secretary of State for Justice

Sadiq Khan

House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Tel: 020 7219 6967
Fax: 020 7219 6477
sadiqkhanmp@parliament.uk

 

Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change

Meg Hillier

House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Tel: 020 7219 5325
Fax: 020 7219 8768
meghilliermp@parliament.uk

 

Shadow Secretary of State for Health

John Healey

 

House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Tel: 020 7219 6359
Fax: 020 7219 2451
healeyj@parliament.uk

 

Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Shaun Woodward

 

House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Tel: 020 7219 2680
woodwardsh@parliament.uk

 

Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland

Ann McKechin

House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Tel: 020 7219 8239
Fax: 020 7219 1770
ann.mckechin.mp@parliament.uk

Constituency

 

Shadow Secretary of State for Transport

Maria Eagle

House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Tel: 020 7219 4019
Fax: 020 7219 1157
eaglem@parliament.uk

 

Shadow Secretary of State for Wales

Peter Hain

House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Tel: 020 7219 3925
Fax: 020 7219 3816
hainp@parliament.uk

 

 

Steven Timms MP

timmss@parliament.uk
stephen@stephentimms.org.uk

Karen Buck MP

buckk@parliament.uk

Coalition government – a ‘machine’ made from steel

For countless years, with successive governments, family carers have continuously raised their voices outlining the many problems they face, about resources, finances, respite and/or equipment.

Yet no matter how much they chipped away at the brick wall no real action has been taken, by past and present govts. Campaigns have followed one after the other from many individuals, groups, and charities.

We are currently witnessing the biggest shake up of welfare benefits in over 60 years and still the issues surrounding Carers Allowance are not being addressed.  It is the LOWEST of all benefits at £55.55  per week.

As campaigners we will not give up even though the brick wall is now made of re enforced steel. Behind that wall lies a Coalition machine made from cold steel too. It shows NO understanding, NO compassion. It operates so clinically, so precise and its actions prove that it has no heart.

It speaks of Responsibility, Big Society, yet continues on its mission to persecute many disabled people, their families, and carers, with this current Welfare Reform Bill.

Is this the future we want for ourselves, for our children?

A future where disabled people and their families are battered from all directions.

Borrowing the famous words from Winston Churchill and altering them slightly…

Never has so much been given so freely by so few, for the benefit of so many.

 Carers need action and they need it NOW

 Please contact any groups/charities you belong to. Tell them your concerns surrounding Welfare Reform.

Contact your MP . Add your postcode in the box on this link to find their details

Feel free to use this template from Sue Marsh of The Broken of Britain

Support the Hardest Hit campaign which following on from a successful march in May 2011 are now planning local protests.

One simple change re ESA

As individuals any action we take may seem so small, but collectively we can be stronger.

CarerWatch Discussion Forum Taken Down

 

UPDATE

22nd August

Letter to Atos Legal Department

 

We are sorry to have to announce that the CarerWatch discussion forum is currently unavailable and that we cannot get in touch with all members for the moment.

 

We have been informed by our hosting company that we are under threat of legal action by ATOS and have therefore been taken down.

 

As we were not contacted directly by ATOS and have received no complaints we are unaware of any issues causing concerns.

 

We will therefore be writing to ATOS to try and resolve this problem.

 

Any updates will be posted here and if any members would like to hear more about what is happening please contact us at admin@carerwatch.com

 

Meanwhile don’t worry – the group will soon be back – and you can continue to discuss issues on this blog, our Facebook page and Twitter

 

 

What does the future hold for family carers?

Can we afford to ignore family carers?

Care provided by them is a necessity and will be even more so as the population ages.  Plus as medicine breakthroughs continue and many people with disabilities and illnesses will live longer, the country will rely even more on the foundation that family carers provide.  They are a group of people who provide a vital service, yet governments, past and present, have taken them for granted, have taken their love for granted.

In this present economic climate we are already witnessing many cutbacks within Local Authorities:

• Care criteria being tightened
• Day centres closing
• Respite allocations reducing in many areas
• Meals on wheels costs increasing dramatically
• Care package costs increasing
• Transport for disabled people either stopping or priced out of reach
• Carers’ grants under threat

…………… and so the list could go on.

Yet through all this, the one thing that remains constant is the love and support given freely by families. They provide a foundation that would be a great folly for any government to ignore.

We recognise that many carers want to return to/remain in work, and realise that any support given to them is vital.

However we cannot, and must not, ignore full-time carers.  Failing to recognise their input is storing up even further trouble for the future by placing added pressure on already stretched Social Services departments and the NHS.

Carer Watch were pleased to learn in the publication of the Welfare Reform Bill that Carers Allowance will remain outside the proposed Universal Credit. Along with many others we campaigned long and hard for this. However Carers Allowance has always been completely inadequate and carers still seem to be overlooked and forgotten as other benefits are changed around them in the biggest shake up of our benefit system in over 60 years.

To date, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Mr Iain Duncan Smith, and his department, have maintained silence as to their intentions re:CA. Leaving it outside the proposed UC is not enough. They need to address the problems that have surrounded this benefit for far too long.

There have been many campaigns over the years by various organisations (see notes below) all asking for the same – the reform of Carers Allowance – to remove the restrictions therein and also to increase the monetary pittance that CA is.
 
In the report Breakthrough Britain (2007) from the Social Justice Policy Group (policy recommendations to the Conservative Party) it was recommended –

 doubling the carers allowance to £90 a week because of the vast amounts carers save the taxpayer by looking after their sick and elderly relatives at home and not relying on the state to care for them.

Other measures would need to be put in place to ensure that families claiming other benefits/premiums were no worse off.

The report also states -  

Family carers are undervalued in our society and receive a disproportionately low level of financial support given the many hours of work that they do.

We cannot and must not allow this opportunity to fully reform CA to pass us by.

Carers are used to words of praise, more of which can be heard here from David Cameron but it is NOT enough. No matter how much understanding he says the Coalition has, no matter how many times he says Thank you, it is NOT enough.

Carers need action and they need it now

Notes

Carer Watch campaigns    

National Pensioners Convention      

Carers UK         

Daily Mirror

Age UK – Invisible but invaluable

A space to discuss the Dilnot report – funding of Care and Support

Tomorrow sees the publication of the Dilnot Commission’s report into the funding of care and support – a significant policy development for anyone interested in social care for people of all ages.

Discussion on Twitter has used the #dilnot hashtag for people’s thoughts and to share links/information regarding the Commission. ( also #carecrisis and #socialcare)

People on Twitter have built networks and will be interested in the many responses that will be published by individuals/groups/charities etc. For many time will be limited.

Therefore after a discussion among a few people who host highly respected blogs, it was agreed that ArbitraryConstant  (aka Rich Watt) would offer space, so a frank and open discussion could take place by anyone interested in social care issues.

With many thanks to @rich_w, @monstertalk and @jrfemma for their willingness to try this.

So once you have read the Dilnot report, if you want to discuss the details, please join in with the discussion here

BBC News – Analysis: Why social care has to change

 

Everyone agrees the social care system is out-of-date.

When it was created after the Second World War under the 1948 National Assistance Act the idea was to create a safety net for the most vulnerable in society.

But the support was only ever meant to be short-term. Back in the late 1940s people tended to only live a few years after retiring.

Now the situation is very different. Many live for 20 years after stopping work and children born today will probably spend a third of their life in retirement.

Granted, advances in medicine mean people are living for longer in relatively good health.

But that does not mean they will not need some help with basic tasks like washing, dressing and eating.

BBC News – Analysis: Why social care has to change

Burstow: pensioners will have to pay for their own elderly care

Paul Burstow, the health minister, said he expected a public outcry when detailed plans for the future funding of the social care system in England are announced next week, as he ruled out an NHS-style free national care service for all.

However, the minister suggested that the government would delay a final decision on reforming the social care system, prompting concerns that the issue could yet again be “kicked into the long grass”.

On Monday, a commission led by the economist and broadcaster, Andrew Dilnot, will publish its long-awaited blueprint for funding care and support for elderly and disabled adults.

Mr Dilnot was appointed by ministers to draw up plans for a new system in July last year, two months after the coalition took power, in an attempt to resolve one of the longest-running and most difficult issues facing public policy.

READ IN FULL HERE

Care of the elderly – Politics show 26th June 11am

Should councils reopen care homes for older people?

Last year was a tough one for Ann Dryden and her mum Emeline.

Durham County Council decided it had to close Shafto House – the local authority care home that Emeline lived in.

Ann and other relatives campaigned against the decision, but to no avail.

What followed was a traumatic move. Emeline is in her 90s.

The good news was that she found another home in her native town of Newton Aycliffe with some of her friends from Shafto House. She has now settled in.

But the bad news – the home belongs to Southern Cross.

READ IN FULL HERE

The Politics Show will be debating the future of care for older people at 11am on BBC1 on 26 June.