There are millions of unpaid carers in the UK and a significant number of them face economic poverty. One of the reasons for this is the benefit of Carers Allowance which is set at £76.75 per week .. and because you have to care for at least 35 hours to qualify this equates to just £2.19 per hour.
That is less than a quarter of the minimum wage. This has to be increased because in a wealthy G7 nation this represents Dickensian values!
Because of this incredibly low funding unpaid carers struggle to pay for short respite breaks – necessary to protect both their physical and mental health. One of the ways they can apply for funding is through their local authority but have budget cuts and extra responsibilities meant less support for them?
The following report has been compiled by DISABILITY TALK
A COMPREHENSIVE RESPITE BREAK REPORT ON FUNDING FOR UNPAID CARERS
We (www.disabilitytalk.co.uk) have carried out an extensive survey on how much funding Local Authorities provide for unpaid carers who are in need of respite breaks.
We contacted 32 London Boroughs and 40 Metropolitan Authorities who, in total, represent 22,769,610 people and asked the following three questions:
1) How much did your council spend on respite care for unpaid carers in the financial years 1) 2021/2022 – 2) In 2022/2023 – 3) In 2023/2024
The survey highlights how much the UK values our huge community of unpaid carers.
It includes:
*The population represented by each council
*How much each council spent on providing respite breaks for unpaid carers
*How much each council’s spend relates to every individual person
*The MPs who represent each council
*The 2023/2024 Band D rate for each council
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