Carers Allowance should be increased

[Noras]

Recent events on Mumsnet has made me even more upset about continuing to be a carer for my adult son. There are many carers out there doing the job voluntarily. Their kids are adult and there is no duty of care owned by adults. Moreover there is no asset against which the state can claim against for social care. The decision to care for our off spring is a fervent belief this is best for the time being.

Whilst my son lives at home I get £81 carers allowance a week. If my son lived in supported living I would

Be able to charge £15 per hour carers rate (including holiday and pension).

Be free to choose my hours and never have to worry about cover to go out - that is the States duty of care

Can opt never to have to complete a pip form or universal credit form again - leave it to another carer!

So the push is for me to want my son either on social housing or supported living

Caring duties include

Sourcing and recruiting PA / interview / draft advert and check applicants etc

Send out contracts to PA’s

Chase and send in timesheets

Train PA on how to deal with DS

Draft comments and arrange attendance at EHCP reviews. Chase updated EHCP and check it for amendments and liaise with council etc

Apply for transport for college - if needs be advocate. Liaise college and transport and taxi driver for changes of which there are many
Weekly exchanges of chase up and changes

apply for Pip - complete lengthy form. Be available for interview and conduct interview - DS clearly can’t

Universal credit - apply - argue legal points if necessary - administer funds - set up bank account for DS and administer it via a monintjon or poa

Care

Take for hairdressing appointments
Cut finger and toe nails
Hold tissue and encourage to blow nose as required
prompt shaving and if needs be husband shaves him
grapple with him and insist clothes are changed
laundry
take to dentist and keep eye on teeth cleaning
laundry
clear blocked toilet
prompt meds when constipated or asthmatic and hands on care with cold as he can’t blow nose

Supervision

Stop overeating and monitor diet
Stop crazy eating eg microwaved salad or eating microwaved tuna and sweetcorn at midnight
check his desire to experiment in kitchen
discuss and practice food cookery and what he will do at residential
Ensure healthy diet because that would not otherwise occur
Stop him cutting bread rolls whilst in hand
shopping/ clothing

do all clothes shopping
check wardrobe periodically to ensure shoes js clothes all fit still - he cannot seem to vocalise that need well

Toileting

Be on hand to unblock toilet and clean mess

Activities

Organise all his activities to encourage socialisation eg disabled group or drama group - this includes research for holiday activities

Get debrief form Pa re activity

Liaise with social groups eg one council one needs to know if taxi required weekly etc

Receive feedback form groups re how he is doing/ accessing community

Help with social disabled group so organise an event or two ( to make these things happen)

Take to the gym to swimming to maintain health - this involves micromanagement in say swimming pool

Take out on bus to train and persevere with this
Make him experience busy bus times

Train how to do shopping and wait for change

math skills - ongoing - mental maths an issue due to lack of working memory on 2 and 4 percentile - yet he can do algebra and has a gcse!

Try to train to use Apple Watch as he won’t wear a tracker ( we bought it for him with our own money!)

training - social interaction eg on dog walk or in shops etc

Also keep up to date on all learning activity opportunities and be excellent welfare / eduction lawyers advocates

Finally be there every evening and night due to his anxieties and vulnerabilities unless relieved by PA or activities so I CAN HAVE A GLASS OF WINE

Pay rate £81 per week

as opposed to several hundred for fewer hours work and shared load in supported living / social housing

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.

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?

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.

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

and do you feel the same about child benefit? I don't see many threads talking about the unfairness of child benefit not being means tested.

Carers allowance is means tested.

Edited to add that I see it's not officially means tested as such, but it's extremely restrictive in the sense you are only allowed to work or earn so much whilst being eligible.

I am referring to the reality as it is- as it stands the state is the only entity with legal responsibility to care for disabled adults.

Obviously laws and policies change as time moves on, they are not ‘objective’ like the existence of the sun- maybe one day you will get your wish and families will be legally obliged to provide care, but until that point your preference for ‘small state politics’ is irrelevant.

When did I equate family with blood family? Obviously apart from when I was talking about parents of adult children…which is what this thread is about.

You can’t have it all ways love- when spousal carers were brought up you were only talking about parent carers, and when blood family carers are brought up suddenly you have been talking about spousal carers.

Nope again. You are making a habit of misinterpreting my posts. I know what the legal situation is. But this thread is about what should happen so it is a question of what we all think.

Your viewpoint is more informed be feeling and less by fact than you’d like to admit.

The thread is about the amount of CA and is it enough.

Your opinion is that it’s too much because family carers SHOULD have a duty to provide that care for free, because ‘small state politics’.

But they don’t.

And the legal changes which would shift that duty onto families are not on the cards, so it’s irrelevant.

A lot of what family carers do would not be paid for by the state if the person had no one. The state provides a fairly basic level of care.

It does, but it would still cost more to provide that basic level to all the people currently being cared for by unpaid carers.

Have a look at the title, doesn't mention children. It is about carers allowance and a spouse can get carers allowance with the same rules as a parent carer.

I didn’t say you shouldn’t or couldn’t. Just don’t misuse my post about adult adult children to start a debate on spouses.

They have the same moral duty. Family is family.

Yes.

I’ve agreed with you that the date has the legal responsibility. You are going round in circles.

I don’t have a wish for family to have legal responsibility. I never said that. You are extrapolating and still misinterpreting me.

The state having a legal responsibility doesnt mean they have to intervene in family matters.

I’m not trying to have it all ways. You have been misinterpreting my posts and now you’ve confused yourself by inserting my clarifications into points I haven’t made.

You are making inferences that aren’t there.

The OP made an entire post after the title.

"A lot of what family carers do would not be paid for by the state if the person had no one. The state provides a fairly basic level of care."

My 17 year old would get 24/7 care regardless of who did it. He gets 3 carers when looked after by paid carers as opposed to 1 or 2 parents.

Lots of people have made posts, some of them multiple posts, still doesn't mean this thread is just about parents caring for children as several people have pointed out.

Oh! I had no idea you didn't get CA over pension age! What happens then, because people will still be caring for their disabled adult dc.

You get your pension. The disabled adult children also continue getting their benefits.

I don’t have a wish for family to have legal responsibility

Right, so the state should keep the legal responsibility and therefore the duty to provide care .

The state having a legal responsibility doesnt mean they have to intervene in family matters.

But at the same time caring is “family matters”?

So, while the state retains the legal responsibility, family carers should take on actually doing the caring for practically nothing because ‘small state’ and moral obligation?