The Commons work and pensions committee said people who looked after friends and relatives saved the taxpayer £87bn.

It recommended income replacement for those unable to work and compensation for extra costs of “intensive” caring.

Carers say the current £50.55-a-week allowance is “insultingly low”. Ministers say they are working to give carers more “balance”.

In its report the committee said more state help was of “critical importance” and the current system was “outdated”.

‘Disappointed’

It recommended a “two-tier” approach combining income replacement and pension protection for carers who were unable to work or only able to work part-time, and compensation for extra costs incurred by “intensive” caring.

It also said the government should help carers who want to return to work to do so.

The MPs said they were “disappointed” the government had not directly addressed financial help for carers in its Carers Strategy launched earlier this year, and that the group was identified as a long-term priority only from 2011.

“Carers need a separate benefit which recognises that they are not unemployed but are making an important contribution to society” Imelda Redmond, Carers UK

Carers struggled to stay in work and often found their vocational skills became rusty and out of date, they said.

The committee’s chairman, Labour MP Terry Rooney, told the BBC: “The average, if there is such a thing, carer is aged between 35 and 55. That’s normally a prime earning period for people, so they lose out in terms of employment opportunity, earnings, future pensions.

“And that group, I think, especially, truly needs to be recognised and recompensed in a better way.”

‘Valuable contribution’

He said 2011 was “too far away” and he hoped the report would bring changes more quickly.

The £50.55-a-week is the lowest income-replacement benefit and amounts to £1.44 an hour, assuming a minimum 35-hour week.

Imelda Redmond, chief executive of campaign group Carers UK, said the existing Carer’s Allowance was “insultingly low”.

“It’s not just about the benefits side. It’s looking at support” Anne McGuire Minister for disabled people

“The two-tier benefit recommended by the committee would be a major improvement to the current system,” she said.

“Carers need a separate benefit which recognises that they are not unemployed but are making an important contribution to society.”

Anne McGuire, minister for disabled people, said she welcomed the report as a “valuable contribution to the debate” and said the government was working with employers to help carers get a better balance between their work and caring responsibilities.

She said a review of the care and support system would take place as part of a wider welfare reform programme.

But she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “It’s not just as straightforward as it might appear that you just up the amount of money – there are all sorts of ramifications to that.”

She added that the government had already provided extra resources to allow carers to take short breaks.

News reported by The BBC

One woman, who helps care for her husband at home, talks about her fight for help.
Freddie was 64 when he was diagnosed with dementia

Freddie Smith was just 64 when he was diagnosed with a form of dementia brought on by a series of mini-strokes.

“It suddenly became clear,” says his wife, Angela.

“For a while he had been asking me what the time was or keeping bags of change in his pocket – he didn’t know what they were worth so kept paying with notes.”

That was 11 years ago and ever since his condition has been deteriorating, so that now he struggles to move and cannot communicate.

The 49-year-old, from Kent, said she soon found herself asking for help caring for her husband.

But despite his diagnosis, she was told she would have to pay for the help he needed dressing, eating and going to the toilet.

“Mrs Smith, who works as an exercise instructor and in a post office, says: “In the end all my wages, about £200 a week, was going on paying for his carers. What gets me is that this is a medical condition, he was diagnosed, and yet he did not get the help he needed” Angela Smith

“I even had to rely on my mother, who was in her 80s, to help him out, make him drinks and drive him to the day centre.

“What gets me is that this is a medical condition, he was diagnosed, and yet he did not get the help he needed from the NHS. My life was a nightmare.”

However, that has now changed. Four years ago, after many years of battling, she finally convinced the NHS to fund Freddie’s care.

He now has what is called a continuing care package, which means carers are now funded to look after him at home.

Mrs Smith even gets respite care meaning she can put him in a home while she goes on holiday.

“It has made the world of difference. Like many people, I would not want him to go in a home full-time, but to do that you do need help.

“I am getting that now, but I know I am one of the lucky ones. So many people don’t get what I do and I think that is wrong.”

News reported by The BBC

Alzheimers Research Trust
Alzheimers Society

Alzheimers Research Trust
Alzheimers Society

The announcement, expected later today, is part of a 10-year drive to improve the lives of the UK’s 6m carers.

According to the Department of Health an extra £150m will double the amount of respite time available over 2 years.

But charities are disappointed that improvements to carers’ benefits across the UK have not yet been finalised.

It is almost 10 years since the Government’s first Carers` Strategy introduced annual grants for local councils to provide support for carers.

Today’s announcement of a new vision for the next 10 years is – according to the health minister, Ivan Lewis – supposed to reflect the changing needs of our times.

“In a society where an increasing number of us are caring for ageing parents or sick and disabled relatives, it is right that we recognise carers are at the heart of 21st century families and communities,” he said.

“In the next decade elder care will be the new childcare and it is essential our policies properly meet the scale of the challenge.

Enhancing support

“Thousands of carers, irrespective of their roles or postcode, have told us they want a support system that is on their side, rather than a constant struggle and the right to a life of their own alongside their caring responsibilities.”

According to the Department of Health the new strategy will also include £6 million to support professionals to ensure no child has their childhood stolen through taking on inappropriate caring responsibilities. And £38m will help carers who want to combine a job with their caring role.

A further £61m will be aimed at enhancing support to voluntary organisations and ensuring NHS and Social Care professionals focus on the specific emotional and health needs of carers; for example, there will be pilot schemes to look at ways of providing annual health checks for carers .

Carers’ charities are pleased the government is tackling many of the challenges brought on by our ageing population , but one remains unresolved: carers’ allowance at £50 a week is the lowest benefit of its kind in the UK.

Many carers of working age have to give up paid jobs and many already retired have just small incomes.

Imelda Redmond from Carers UK told BBC News: ” There is a need to radically overhaul benefits for carers . The system is no longer fit for purpose.”

Ministers say they want to improve carers` incomes, but any benefits reform has not yet been finalised. Until it is, many carers will give these plans only a cautious welcome.

News reported by BBC