AIBU to think carer's allowance is abysmal!!

[Fizzielove]

Simply that!!

All the work, save the government thousands and the carer's allowance is shit!!

Yep, the care act is a red herring. Even if your assessment says you need support, most carers will be expected to pay towards that support, or the person they care for could be asked to foot the bill. Having needs identified is no guarantee that they will be met, sadly.

Local authorities just don't have the money to provide all the services that carers need - the care act is just another example of this government's approach, which is all about localising blame when things don't work as promised.

Isn't the care act relevant only if you care for an adult (over 18)?

www.gov.uk/government/publications/care-act-2014-part-1-factsheets
Fact sheet 8

You don't have to cut any budget services, you just redistribute the money going to private companies to do the same job.

We can talk about welfare budget cuts once corporations and individuals start paying in.

We need to get over this myth of the private sector doing it better, cheaper is not better

Not necessarily cheaper, either.
Two services my family use that have been privatised are Wheelchair Services and Audiology.

Both DS & DD need wheelchairs. DS outgrew his, so I suggested a basic refurb on his old wheelchair so that DD could use it, adjustments being made for her height etc, then a new one for DS. But no, it was scrapped and two new ones provided. Which is very nice but not cost effective.

If hearing aids broke they used to be repaired. Now they chuck them and give you a new one.

Flipping heck Brennan! My Dcs wear over six grands worth of hearing aids between them, they have it drilled into them not to lose them. I still remember the time my dad took a DC to soft play and came back without their hearing aids and said "they lost them in the ball pit, you've got a spare haven't you?"

I can think of lots of areas where funds could be "redistributed". I'd start with the MPs pay rise...

Purple my hearing loss exceeds 90dB in nearly all points now. You can imagine how hi tech my aids are. One kept cutting out, they didn't investigate the fault they just chucked it and gave me. New one.

Repairs and refurbs are a skilled technician's job.

But the private sector didn't want the expensive and pension-entitled NHS technicians TUPE'd over, and so they mostly took early retirement.

I presume there are much better profit margins from billing the public sector for replacement items. And don't get me started on the con-trick of 'ooh, the tubing is blocked? You'll need a new GP referral letter'

I know a woman who claims carer's allowance but lives in a different country to the person she is meant to be caring for! I guess £62 a week for doing nothing is quite a lot!

But £62 for a 7 day week of 24 hour shifts is beyond shite. Sure the odd person does commit fraud for carers allowance same as anything else in life but that is no reason to think it's an ok wage for the vast majority

Which illustrates what, exacly, windchime? If she's claiming fraudulently, shop her. Your anecdote does nothing to mitigate the fact that many people claiming their £62 per week are caring around the clock for one or more people and that many of those people have had to give up jobs earning a lot more than £62 per day. Nor does it mitigate the fact that that £62 counts as taxable income, so many people in receipt of tax credit s lose most of it from those.

I have a very part time voluntary role - it does pay expenses so it's as near to a job as I'll get in the forseeable future. I've worked 2 days, so far, this year. If DH can't get the time off work, that day of that month, I can't do it.

well I know someone with 15 kids by 23 fathers who claims an old age pension and she's only 13!

(Nothing quite like a bit of propagandist bullshit, is there?)

windchime what is the point of your post?
\it makes no sense.

I gave up a career as a solicitor to care for my disabled dd, I will never go back as she has a rare condition that only affects hundreds worldwide and will always have lots of problems. 62 pounds a week isn't exactly what I envisaged when I spent 6 years studying and training and working. I find it disgusting, if we were given any respite I'm pretty certain that 62 pounds would be swallowed up in the first couple of hours as she would need someone with medical training to look after her.

and the scumeron wants to reward hard working people.

fuck his shit.

most carers are HARD WORKING 24/7 caring for someone and paid shit for it.

we're not hard working though are we?

and now the other fucker Osborne wants to cut disability payments too.

fucking shit scum lot!

thanks all who voted for them.

Carers weren't exactly looked after under labour either

odfod
so you think someone should do a lifetime of 24/7 care with no help??
no wonder this government is so twisted.\god cameron didn't manage to do it for a few years.

The reason carers get money is to recognise the fact they cannot go out to work as they have a caring role.

Yes it should be the 'done thing' to care for your family but people also need an income in order to pay for food and bills

Yes youareallbonkers what an entirely reasonable view point. Let's cut any carers allowance, that way before anybody decides they'd like to be seriously ill/ disabled they'll be more considerate and think of the impact on their nearest and dearest. Ditto all those money grabbing parents who decided they'd like ill or disabled kids so they can profit from carers allowance. It's definitely worth being jealous of someone with all that worry, responsibility and often heart break cos they get the equivalent of a few pence an hour.

youareallbonkers - gissa snog

Family should look after family without expecting payment

Yes. If caring means anything to you, stop complaining. After all, with no carers allowance you'll be privileged to sleep on your gran's floor, eat from the neighbour's bins, and steal tampax from Asda each month. Providing she's safe to be left for those few minutes, of course.

Makes me sick, people wanting £67 pounds a week for nothing more than providing years of 24/7 care. Anyone would think hardworking taxpayers should be grateful to those layabout carers. Just ignore the bleeding-heart leftie-snp-greeny-liberals.

Great post Becker

Even some members of my family have no idea at all how much is involved in caring for a family member. We are managing to scrape a caravan holiday next week but no respite so DH comes with us. I'll be doing exactly the same jobs as at home, except Ill be in a caravan. Some holiday huh. Never mind the one to one care, increased washing, changing etc, add in the travel to and from appointments, making phone calls, chasing up prescriptions etc and the week is soon gone. And an uninterrupted night's sleep? I can't remember what one of those is. Now I have dangerously high blood pressure and my already crumbling spine is worsening, no doubt helped along by the packing/unpacking of wheelchairs and scooters, and manual lifting involved. But no, we arent classed as 'hard working tax payers'.
I don't think any of us appreciated how much the Lib Dems held back the Tories from their kill the weak policies before. I am dreading tomorrow's budget.

Youarealbonkers - looking after is the least of it. I am my dds carer 24 hours 7 days a week. I don't get a break. Most people with NT children can put their child to bed at night and know that they will be get up the next morning. I put my child to bed and pray to god she is still alive in the morning. I listen to a sound monitor and have a pc monitor attached to a cctv unit watching her all night.
Most people with NT children visit the hospital at most a couple of times in their childhood, dd has now been admitted in the 100s range.
Most people with no children don't have years of medical, therapy appointment, worry about what the medication is doing to their child's organs or listen to people telling u that if your child takes this medication and they lose their eyesight oh well, she isn't going to need it anyway!!!!!
Simply looking after my child is the least of the things that I do!