Norfolk carers charity call for long-term strategy for social care
National research has shown that 1 in 7 unpaid carers are now having to use foodbanks
A Norfolk carers charity are calling on the Government to put together a long-term strategy to better fund social care.
After national research revealed that 1 in 7 unpaid carers are now having to use food-banks.
Similatly, nearly two-third surveyed have now stopped work or reduce hours to care for somebody.
"They are having to ask friends and family to borrow money"
Andy McGowan is from Caring Together:
"They can't just turn the heating down. They can't put on another jumper when they are caring for somebody who can't regulate their body-temperature or caring for somebody who's breathing gets affected by the cold. But also, in terms of the pressures that winter brings for unpaid cares; increased sickness among staff means that they might not be able to get the breaks they need."
He says their local 'Carers speak out' report paints a similarly bleak picture:
"So many of those messages contained worries and concerns around cost of living and people on carers allowance saying they cannot make ends meet. There were carers saying that they are having to ask friends and family to borrow money just to get by."
"Daycare costs are going to go up by £260 a month"
Mr McGowan also told us how rising costs are affecting local people:
"We had a young carer who was involved in our Norfolk Young Carers Forum project, who was getting detentions at school. The reasons for this were because he didn't want to go and ask his parents for the money to get the equipment he needed. He would rather get in trouble at school than ask them for the money he knows they don't have at the moment, because mum isn't working now...
"A local woman has just heard that daycare costs are going to go up by £260 a month. That's the same as all of the benefits she gets for her husband every month. So, for her this leaves her in an impossible position. Does she stop her husband going into day-care, which they both benefit from? Or where does she find all this extra money from?"
What else has this national research shown?
The research from Carers Trust, which was responded to by 2,675 family carers, uncovered that:
• 25% have had to cut back on food
• 9% have either sold their home or released home equity to pay for essential items
• 14% have not been able to pay household bills on time
• 39% have had to cut back on other household items
• 29% have had to use a credit card to pay for essential household items.
• 26% have had to borrow money from a friend or a relative
• 18% have had to take out a loan
What has the Government said about all this?
The Department of Health and Social Care say they have introduced a new 'adult social care charging framework' last month, to help the sector.
It looks at funding distribution, the use of means tests, the possible value of a cap on care costs.