Suffolk charity calls for greater support for carers
A new coalition to end carer poverty has been launched with nearly 100 organisations joining
A Suffolk charity tells us fewer than 2% of carers in Ipswich are getting the financial support they're entitled to.
Suffolk Family Carers - which is based in Claydon - is one of around 100 groups which have joined together to campaign for more help for people who care for friends or loved ones.
It comes as research by Carers UK revealed that 1 in 4 carers (25%) have been cutting back on food or heating to make ends meet because of the cost-of-living crisis.
It also found nearly 10% of carers are using food banks.
Because of these struggles, a coalition of 94 organisations has come together in an effort to lessen the financial hardship experienced by millions of unpaid carers across the UK.
The coalition includes a mixture of charities and local organisations, and aims to build awareness of carer poverty and the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on unpaid carers, whilst improving the limited financial support available to them.
The group is being led by Carers UK and is known as 'The Carer Poverty Coalition'
We spoke to Kirsten Alderson, the CEO of Suffolk Family Carers, who welcomes the initiative:
"I think it's a really, really good initiative that's been set up.
"We know that carers struggle financially because a lot of them have to give up work or reduce their working hours to care for someone else.
"There are also costs associated with caring for people and it's really important to recognise that, especially at a time when we're in a cost of living crisis with prices going up.
"We know that carers are one of the most disadvantaged groups, and are going to suffer, so it's a really good idea, to get a large group of organizations together to try and do something about it."
'Caring is overlooked'
"The carers we're really concerned about are the ones who are doing 35 hours a week or more of caring because that's basically like a full time job...
"People are caring in their own homes and we sometimes forget about them a little bit and we really shouldn't do that because it could happen to absolutely any of us.
"Most of us will have a caring role at some point in our lives or our close family. We really should be thinking about this in terms of planning for our own futures as well as caring about the people who are going through it right now."
Carer's Allowance
Kirsten told us that despite Carer's Allowance being available, fewer than 2% of carers in Ipswich are using it:
"I looked at the data for Ipswich on how many people are claiming Carers Allowance and it's just over 2000 people.
"Considering how big Ipswich is - it's a population of about 140,000 - that's only just over 1% of the population. It's really not a lot of people claiming it.
"If you didn't have carers at home, those people wouldn't be able to look after themselves necessarily. They would be going to their GP more. They'd probably be lots more people in the hospital.
"Carers saved the nation, something like £132 billion a year, according to Caring UK, so I don't think we can begrudge them £69.70 a week to look after someone at home, in turn, preventing the NHS from being really overburdened."
What help should be available?
Although Kirsten is happy about the coalition, she still feels there is more to be done:
"I'd like to see the Carer's Allowance significantly increased.
"I'd like to see more carers being able to access health and social care support, as it's only a small number of carers who can access social care support for free.
"Most people have to contribute or fund it, and I think if there was more help in the home, (domiciliary care)... it would just makes carers' lives a lot easier."