Unpaid carers currently save
the Government around £87 BILLION annually!!! This is a huge amount.
To quallify for Carer's Allowance you have to care for someone for more
than 35 hours per week - for this you will recieve £48.50 per
week - less than £1.40 per hour!!! In addition, the person you
care for has to be claiming Disability Living Allowance or Attendence
Allowance.
Fair Pay For Carers is one
of the major issues we will be campaigning on.
The letter below has been
sent to various organisations - as yet with little responce:
Dear Sir / Madam, DATE
Re: PAYMENT TO CARERS
May I introduce myself? I am a 61-year-old father and grandfather. When
my dear wife, June, died in January 1993, I was in full time employment.
By 1996 it had proved impossible to carry on working, for I had two
sons at home, one with Down’s syndrome.
For a number of years I have been a parent member of the Down’s
syndrome association, and that is where I learnt about The Decision
Makers Alliance. Which is why I am writing to you now.
Carers care for a variety of reasons. Most of them are of working age
and living on the bread line. This results in them being unable to plan
for their retirement-or, indeed, for those for whom they are caring.
A spokesman for the ICA Unit says: ‘The ICA payment is not wage
it is a benefit.’ I say that this is a derisory payment with conditions
for working and providing a minimum of 35 hours per week, in one’s
own home, caring for those not fully capable of caring for themselves
should attract the minimum wage. Which came into force in the tax year
1999/2000. I therefore believe that the government’s ICA Unit
is acting unlawfully. Given the stance of the ICA Unit to date a TEST
CASE is long overdue which would clarify what appears a monumental injustice
to carer’s.
To achieve this we need to go to law. And that is costly. Enquiries
show that enlisting the services of a barrister would cost around £10,000.
XXXX, a solicitor with XXXX, has written a letter on my behalf - and
believes that there is a strong case for "Fair Pay for Carers".
Your association is a member of the Decision Makers Alliance, whose
core value is working together. I have funded the initial enquiries.
I cannot, however, put my family home in jeopardy. Therefore, would
you please bring my campaign to the attention of your members and ask
for their generous help in raising the necessary money?
Yours very sincerely,
Grenville Green