State of Caring Carers UK State of Caring 2017 Report | Página 26

STATE OF CARING REPORT 2017
Recommendations
There is an urgent need for a cross government plan setting out
how improved support for carers will be achieved with targets and
milestones so carers can see the progress being made.
This should include measures:
• Carer’s Allowance, just £62.70 per week on 2017/18 rates, needs
to be raised significantly over the longer term and in the short
term at least raised to the level of Job Seeker’s Allowance (an
increase of £10 per week) with equivalent increases to carer
premia to ensure that those on the lowest incomes benefit from
an increase.
• The earnings threshold for Carer’s Allowance needs to rise year on
year in line with the National Living Wage pegged at least to the
equivalent of 16 hours a week. A taper should also be introduced.
• To auto-enrol carers in a second pension – a Carer’s Pension that
recognises the value of unpaid work and ensures that carers do
not suffer financial hardship later in life.
To ensure that there is sufficient funding so that
older and disabled people get the care they need
and which is affordable:
• An urgent new, sustainably funded settlement for social care
and the NHS to make legal rights to support a reality and ensure
that services are there when carers need them. This must include
housing fit for caring and technology that supports caring.
• Good quality, reliable and affordable care services are needed to
support the role of carers and ensure we get the breaks we need
to care without putting our lives on hold and our health in danger.
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To ensure that carers and our families do not suffer
financial hardship as a result of caring: