Westminster message by Iain McKenzie MP
Published 23 Jan 2012 10:45
LAST month I went to a public meeting organised by Inverclyde Carers' Council for Carers' rights Day.
One of the main aims of the meeting was to give carers advice about benefits they are entitled to.
Many people told me these benefits are inadequate, and the system is unfair and confusing.
Carer's Allowance is a weekly non-means tested cash benefit of £55.55 and not all carers are entitled to it.
Carers at the meeting said that £55.55 didn't go anywhere near what is actually needed.
One young man told the meeting that he'd given up a well-paid job as a long-distance lorry driver to take care of his elderly father, and not surprisingly now found it hard to get by on Carers Allowance, which pays less than the minimum wage.
Carers Allowance is classed as an overlapping benefit.
This means if the carer becomes entitled to any other benefit, including the state pension, maternity allowance, widow's benefits and jobseekers allowance, Carers Allowance stops.
Claiming Carers Allowance can alsoaffect the disabled person's means-tested benefits.
A disabled person receiving the Severe Disability Premium would lose that benefit if their carer claimed Carers Allowance.
I think it's a mean way to treat people who are caring for other people, especially when carers are saving the Government a huge amount of money in home helps and other support.
I am writing to the secretary of state for work and pensions, and asking him to review this system, given the fortune carers save the UK.
This article appeared in Greenock Telegraph 13 Jan 12
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