Carers deserve more than the pitiful allowance they’re getting. This is how the government can give it to them
The IndependentThe best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy It shouldn’t have taken a pandemic to shine a spotlight on the struggles of our country’s unpaid carers. That’s why, this Carers Week, I’m calling for an urgent emergency support package for unpaid carers across the UK, along with long-term measures to change the system for good. That’s a lot of money, but I believe our unpaid carers, who give their time and energy to the care of others, are more than worthy of it. In response to the previous economic crisis, £31m was cut from carers’ benefits, and 10,000 people had their carer’s allowance removed completely.
History of this topic
Budget changes will leave disabled and elderly without care as struggling providers go under, experts warn
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Reeves warned she faces £8.6bn annual bill to save ‘broken’ social care sector
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Long-term work sickness absence ‘a serious fiscal threat’ to UK
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Social care staff need 41% pay rise to earn same as NHS counterparts – report
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Unpaid carers ‘feel increasingly socially isolated and unsupported in roles’
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Care homes ‘could face widespread closures’ under social care reforms
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Almost 82,000 carers received extra payment at Christmas, figures show
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Social care for elderly and vulnerable rationed as Covid hits staff
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Budget 2021: Why it is more important for women than ever before
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The pandemic has laid bare the social care crisis as never before – so why didn’t Sunak tackle it in the Budget?
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Coronavirus: Carers facing 'growing poverty crisis' during pandemic, MPs warned
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Carers ‘bullied’ by government as ministers try to ‘claw back’ losses, MPs warn
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