Email The Government: Prioritise carers in the Autumn Budget!

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To:

Liz Kendall, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

Rachel Reeves - Chancellor of the Exchequer

Wes Streeting - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

Remember to be polite!
If you can, edit your message to include why you care about this issue.
Personal stories are more likely to stick in the mind of ministers.

Subject:

Dear (cc ),

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I am one of over 50,000 people who have been campaigning for carers through Organise, and I implore you, as Ministers, to take immediate action to fix our broken social care system.

Unpaid carers save the government billions of pounds every year, yet Carer’s Allowance is the lowest benefit of its kind. It currently stands at just £81.90 per week and is only available to those providing over 35 hours of unpaid care weekly.

At present, carers earning more than £151 per week after tax lose their entitlement. This punitive threshold creates a cliff-edge, forcing some carers to repay large sums to the DWP if their earnings slightly exceed the limit.

While I welcome the inquiry into the Carer’s Allowance scandal, it is estimated that carers owe a staggering £250 million in debts related to this issue.

Ahead of the Autumn Budget I urge the government to:

- Introduce a fair living wage for unpaid carers.
- Cancel the outstanding debts incurred by carers in the Carer’s Allowance scandal.
- Reform the system so that carers are not penalised through reduced pension entitlements for their unpaid work.

Hundreds of unpaid carers have shared their experiences through Organise, and an overwhelming 95% do not feel valued or respected by the government or society. You can read the full report here: https://orgn.is/unpaidcarersurvey2024.

Here are some personal stories:
“I used to be a very highly paid professional. Since being my son’s full time carer, our standard of living has dropped so significantly, we’ve lived in abject poverty. I don’t feel heard. I don’t feel like me anymore. I don’t feel valued. I don’t feel cared for and the isolation is excruciating.”

“My Carers Allowance was stopped in April because for that month only I went over the earnings threshold. Even though I have given them evidence that earnings since are lower than the threshold and have confirmed my eligibility, they still haven’t renewed payments. It seems they can stop payments within days but it takes months to resume them. Because one of the people I care for has now moved out from home, I am now no longer eligible for any financial support even though I still support an elderly parent.”

Please do let me know what your next steps will be in response to this campaign.

Kind regards,

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