Carers Poverty Protest 2009

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This section contains archive information information, responses, pictures, videos and correspondence from the Carers Poverty Protest 2009, which took place on Budget Day, 22nd April 2009.

Letter to Carers UK (received 12th June 2009)

Tuesday, 18 May 2010 13:28 Carers Poverty Protest 2009

Dated 12th June 2009: from DWP Permanent Secretary

Thank you for your letter of 3 June.

I was really pleased to learn that everyone thought this was a worthwhile meeting and I know that I speak for both Terry Moran and Jeremy Groombridge in saying that we found it very valuable in gaining a better understanding of the issues that carers face.

While many of the Department's services have improved, our meeting showed that there is clearly much we can yet do to support carers better. I am happy to say that, as I subsequently told the Public Accounts Committee at the hearing into the NAO's report, the Department will be commissioning a study into how we can make a better estimate of the take up of Carer's Allowance.

Letter 1 to David Burrow MP (received 31st May 2009)

Tuesday, 18 May 2010 13:28 Carers Poverty Protest 2009

Dated 31st May 2009: from the Minister for Disabled People

As you may know, the Carers Poverty Protest petition to the Prime Minister has been passed to this Department for reply. I am replying as the Minister for Disabled People.

It may help if I explain that the primary purpose of Carer's Allowance is to provide a measure of financial support for people who have given up the opportunity to work full-time to care for a severely disabled person. Carer's Allowance is not a wage for caring nor is it intended to make up for earnings that either the disabled person or the carer had become used to or may have hoped to attain. The level of Carer's Allowance is increased in April each year in line with the annual movement in prices as measured by the Retail Price Index.

Meeting at Caxton House, London (13th May, 2009)

Tuesday, 18 May 2010 13:28 Carers Poverty Protest 2009

Meeting at Caxton House, London 13th May, 2009

Six carers met Sir Leigh Lewis, Permanent Secretary at the Department for Work and Pensions, Terry Moran, Chief Executive of the Pensions, Disability and Carers Service and Jeremy Groombridge, Director of Policy at Jobcentre Plus, to talk about their experiences of using the benefits system.

The carers travelled from across England to talk about some of the issues raised by a National Audit Office report which found that carers simply don’t know which benefits to claim and that when they do come to claim, they find the forms difficult to fill in and hard to understand. They also talked about what it was like caring for someone, the tough job that it entails both emotionally and physically, and that they needed a benefits system that was easier to use.

Letter 2 to David Burrow MP (received 16th June 2009)

Tuesday, 18 May 2010 13:28 Carers Poverty Protest 2009

Dated 16th June 2009: from Minister of State for Care Services

As you know from Jonathan Shaw's response to the Carer's Poverty Protest petition of 22 April submitted to Gordon Brown, I have been asked to reply to the points raised by the petition about social care provision and respite care. These issues fall within the remit of the Department of Health.

I note the concerns expressed in the petition that relate to social care, but I should explain that it is for local authorities to manage their social care priorities and decide how resources should be distributed. They should do this in accordance with locally determined practices and in the context of local accountability. However, in making these decisions local authorities also need to consider preventive services - helping people with lower needs to avoid admission to hospital or residential care.

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