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

I wish - we are a catholic family and I have many siblings - The tax man was the main person to inherit.

Equally as stated the bulk of years never claimed carers allowance for all the care I’ve done and it’s been shed loads.

Your husband could write a £1.5m cheque and you want the government to pay for you to look after your son?

It sounds like bloody hard work and I don’t envy you, but you seem to think the state has more responsibility towards your child than you do.

Why should you be getting taxpayer money when you don’t need it?

To be frank my circumstances are not relevant - I will only be getting carers for a brief while because the natural progression of DS is looking at independent living with PA’s package. At that point I can be one of his PA and will be on an hourly rate. The irony is that I will be doing similar things but paid hourly as he is not on the same address.

I am not suggesting that carers get an hourly rate or double but a decent increase would have been good eg to say £100 per week.

Put is this way the government can afford to give money to the most wealthy and allow people to put £60,000 tax free into their pensions earning upmost of I think 310,000 per annum. That was a huge tax give away. Also people can shelter unlimited amounts into pensions. That was a huge give away and yet the country afforded it. Moreover that money can be inherited IHT free - really. But they can’t afford to pay carers more?

I’m surprised they kept the car. When my son went to residential college as he was home 14 weeks of the year we kept the car to enable us to pick him up etc. When he moved full time to residential the car had a year left on it and motability said to keep it. But once the contract finished we bought it from them. My friend lost theirs when their son went to residential college. I guess it depends who takes the call on the day. Either that or the families aren’t updating motability that the owner of the car has moved into a care home.

also, even if you earn just as much a cent over the earnings limit of £151 you cannot claim carers allowance at all even though you may to 50-60 hours of caring on top of your low paid part time role

This is the most unfair (for want of a stronger word) part of the whole thing. Penalised for trying to work part-time as well as being a carer on top.

If carers allowance was minimum wage, parents of adult DC would be getting £1441 a week. Assuming they're doing 18hour days and their adult DC is at home (some do more, some do less, to work this out I didn't include the time the DC is asleep but you'd still have to be on call)

Bit different from £81!

This needs repeating.

It can cost the state 6k a week to house and support adults with disabilities.

They give a family £81 and if you earn £1 over the limit you effectively are £80 worse off as you lose it all.

The government keep going going on about the welfare and social care bill but they are doing NOTHING that actually makes financial sense to solve it.

People simply can't afford to be caters for adults nowadays which is totally wrong. NO ONE should be considering care as an option because of finances.

Care option should be because the care cannot be provided at home - not it can't be afforded.

And OP I don't think comments like "get off of MN then" are helpful or kind either. It's just another way of saying "shut up" so people can ignore the problem

As stated he was an executor and I have many many siblings - if you understood or were trained in law or tax you would work out that I received a tiny portion of the money. Clearly you are not trained in either. Moreover it would not occur to you that some of my siblings might have been gifted money etc on which that tax might have to be paid. L

so the tax man had a great day - my father believed that taxes should be paid.

On the other people can put millions into their pensions and pay no iHT and inherit millions why is that allowed.

please also the post - I don’t have a child I have an adult son. I did not claim carers as it happens when he was a child for various reasons. He is no longer my responsibility anymore than adult children ( many of them ) are who claim top up universal credit on their wages etc.

Put is this way the government can afford to give money to the most wealthy and allow people to put £60,000 tax free into their pensions earning upmost of I think 310,000 per annum. That was a huge tax give away. Also people can shelter unlimited amounts into pensions. That was a huge give away and yet the country afforded it. Moreover that money can be inherited IHT free - really. But they can’t afford to pay carers more?

No, in a word, because the people you refer to make up 1% of people but they pay 30% of income tax. They already contribute more than their fair share so why shouldn’t they be comfortable in retirement? By saving into their pension it also means they’ll be able to afford private care and assistance and save the state money, so you could look at it like that. We need to keep higher earners and businesses sweet so they continue to prop us up.

For every person saying that carers should be responsible for their adult children please check and make sure that your adult children are not claiming universal credit top up on wages or child benefit or any such thing. How dare they when you the parents should be responsible for your children into adulthood to old ages!

That argument is a nonsense and so open to arguments of hypocrisy.

The fact is an adult is that - an adult and parents have no responsibility other for university costs. They are not responsible to pay their kids university debts or stop their kids claiming universal credit or child benefit etc

Likewise carers have no legal duty to their adult kids.

The difference between that and people who care for their parents for a few years is the concept of social care charge - there is an incentive to care for your parents as the state will put a care charge against any asset.

I don’t agree that people only look after their elderly relatives for financial gain anymore than I agree that people look after their adult children for financial gain. What a nonsensical suggestion.

I was not saying that quite but there is no doubt for a few people that is an added benefit.
But likewise many many do it for love - I was one of many siblings - so I was definitely doing it for love. I felt that no one could care as well.

As per previous posts, this isn't simpy about the £4m or so shared between many siblings (although, that would go a long way) its about everyone else

Its about as said above, you cant earn over £151 ? why? WTF? seriously!!

We want people to care for their relatives at home, overall its cheaper for the country, so why does the government make it so fucking hard

My mathing is fine. I prefer a pragmatic approach using, maths, economics and reason. If you are just mathing, it may have gone over your head.

Ref comment related to upper age limit of carer

I know people who care for their elderly parents & other relatives & claim carers allowance

https://www.carersuk.org/help-and-advice/financial-support/carers-allowance/carer-s-allowance-your-state-pension-plus-other-benefits/

You must have been because you keep bringing it up and you can't really speak for anyone else.

I agree. My parents are in their mid 70s and are still doing all of this for my brother. I think the general population have no idea this is how it is.

Can you imagine being 75+ and still doing this job? Till you die?

How does that alter what the poster is saying?

Not all of us. I'm "older" working age but have some private pension income, however we are largely reliant on savings and my (cared for, bedbound) husbands pensions.

We wouldn't get UC so yes, I gave up full time work and get £81 PW for 24/7 availability. We do have carers 2x day as I cannot do a full reposition on my own and contribute approx 6k a year towards that cost, some of which is of course AA.

The regulations around earnings and how they can penalise those still able to do some paid work need urgent review. Hell, the whole thing needs urgent review, but start with that.

So your child was losing about £300 a month so you could have a car for a year. Very generous of mobility to allow that, did your son have any say in it?

You do not know anything about our finances! My son never loses out on anything at all. He was home for 14 weeks of the year and the car used for HIS benefit. We fully support him financially! Go away with your fucking judgment on a situation you know absolutely nothing about.

You said you kept the car when he was in fulltime residential care. Out of your mouth not mine. They didn't let you keep it for free did they.