Carers Allowance should be increased

No you haven’t got it right. I’ve said that I think carers allowance should be means tested so that more can go to the people who don’t have access to family funds.

It’s a thread about CA which is relevant to all carers.

You didn’t say you were only talking about parent/child relationships, you said

“our family members are primarily the responsibility of the state and not the family”

Spouses are family members.

Do you think spouses/friends who are carers should receive a higher amount of CA than blood family carers, as they have less moral duty?

Your causality is the wrong way round. I disliked my family’s approach because I have small state politics. Nothing about politics is based in objective fact because facts are open to interpretation. Caring is an objective fact. Whether payment should be made to family carers is subjective opinion.

This isn’t a post about spouses. I was talking about children and adult children

It is (yet another) thread about carers allowance. Of course those of us who care for spouses are going to comment.

Of course it should be increased it’s an insult. It should be paid the same as the NLW or at least the NMW.

This isn’t a post about spouses. I was talking about children and adult children.

What would these look like?

Why are you hoping for this? How will it benefit you?

Some of us are hoping for legal and systematic changes that are fair/ reasonable, effective and sustainable for everybody. What can be achieved is always gong to be constrained by the resources that are available.

Nope. She sees it as this and thinks that… fair enough, but legally the situation isn’t what she sees it as or thinks.

Indeed.

@StormingNorman is also presuming all unpaid carers are blood family and therefore have some sort of moral duty to sacrifice themselves-

my wife is my carer, I wasn’t disabled when we married and my disability means that several issues exist now which mean if you took disability out of the picture no one would blame her for leaving me.

I don’t see what moral duty she has for being my carer- divorce is perfectly legal and acceptable, that doesn’t change because someone is disabled… she does it by choice, thereby saving £££ for the state- not because it’s an obligation.

I agree with everything @StormingNorman has said. The irony is that Storming has been rational, not emotive unlike many of the responses they have had.

I think because the state sets rules and standards around familial caring responsibilities and can legally intervene when it deems necessary, it also has a responsibility to support the carers and act in partnership actually.

We won’t agree because you are ignoring the facts in favour of your emotions about your family. Which is all very nice and touchy feely, but irrelevant.

Some of us aren't caring for our children, I am thankful that my children are all able to care for themselves. I'm 70 and caring for DH, my neighbour is similar age and caring for his wife, my husbands best friend for 60 years is in his mid 80s and caring for his wife. What is the choice? We walk away from our partner of 40, 50 or 60 years or we cope until we drop. CA is a pittance but we don't even get that although to be fair that isn't the help we need

Quite. And if we do walk away then who will the burden of care fall to? We aren't worth the pittance we are paid in CA, but if we stop we will cost "the state" far more.

Some of us aren't caring for our children, I am thankful that my children are all able to care for themselves. I'm 70 and caring for DH, my neighbour is similar age and caring for his wife, my husbands best friend for 60 years is in his mid 80s and caring for his wife. What is the choice? We walk away from our partner of 40, 50 or 60 years or we cope until we drop. CA is a pittance but we don't even get that although to be fair that isn't the help we need.

My big issue with CA before I was retirement age was the cliff edge, I worked but couldn't do overtime as I'd lose CA, I didn't benefit from annual bonus as I lost CA. I think that makes it very hard.

You say you make up what he loses financially but can you see how this is open to abuse? The vulnerable disabled person loses their mobility payment so someone else has a car 365 days a year for free. I've seen it happen and I don't think the system should be relying on if you are honest enough to make the money he loses up to him.

Even though the state has a legal responsibility for caring for a disabled adult, I see this very much as a backstop if there is nobody else and I don’t think family are entitled to payment as a carer any more than a parent is entitled to be paid as a childminder

You don't think that people should be entitled to carers allowance despite having had to give up their jobs in order to become carers? Have I got that right?

Fundamentally you and I aren’t going to agree. You think the state has primary responsibility and I think the family does.

Even though the state has a legal responsibility for caring for a disabled adult, I see this very much as a backstop if there is nobody else and I don’t think family are entitled to payment as a carer any more than a parent is entitled to be paid as a childminder.

That’s irrelevant- the state has the legal responsibility to care for disabled adults. Families don’t. The government aren’t being asked to ‘make up’ for anything, they are being asked to provide fair remuneration for someone else taking on their duty.

You don’t deserve it. Lots of people don’t deserve the lives they have but it isn’t necessarily the state’s responsibility to make that right.

My life is less than it should have been. Chronic illness means I earn a quarter now of what I earned 10 years ago. This affects my long term prospects until I die. I don’t think the state needs to make up for that though.

There are several threads running on MN at the moment about the carers allowance scandal and how family carers are treated. The NHS workers are conspicuous by their abscence. Its like tumbleweed. Yet post a thread about how can we improve the NHS and its like a klaxon has gone off and the health workers on here (not all of them but a good amount of them) are lining up to patient blame and moan about how the families of patients arent doing enough yet post a thread about how family carers are being treated re CA and they couldnt give less of a shit!
despite the support they got during the strikes. Would that be reciprocated if family carers went on strike?!

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/amibeing_unreasonable/5048517-to-bring-your-attention-to-the-carers-benefit-fraud-scandal?page=1

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/chat/5045433-carers-allowance-and-benefit-fraud?reply=134540759

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/amibeing_unreasonable/5049094-to-think-the-carers-allowance-scandal-shows-the-uncaringness-of-the-dwp#:~:text=The%20pressure%20on%20the%20prime,a%20few%20pounds%20a%20week. These threads are nowhere near as long as the NHS ones are either

I also don't fall in line with arguing that my Caring responsiblities save the state a lot of money if I downed tools and walk off the job because inevitably my caring is over once I die.

It's the bit of my life that I have left before I die that I'm worried about, endeavouring to make sure that DS will be ok after I'm gone. I'm early 60s and have to stay motivated, poor, still trying to earn a bit here and there (all declared) and caring til I'm 67, then at least the State Pension will kick in, or I die or become incapacitated before then.

Tell me I deserve this and if so how I can make it better?

Why is you loving your children relevant? Do you think that parent carers who want fair remuneration for the work they do don’t love their children?

I do it for two of my children and obviously only get carers allowance for one
But
They are my children who need me so i don't feel the need to list everything i have to do for them!
I love them unconditionally just like I love my neurotypical child 🤷‍♀️