Suzanne Blackley, a guest post
Question: Would you feel valued being paid just over £2 per hour?
The unsung heroes of the pandemic are the thousands of unpaid carers across Scotland. Day centres were closed, many were frightened to have community care staff in their homes for fear of Covid striking their vulnerable loved ones. Many have gone over 16 months without support vital to maintain their role as a carer. Caring 24/7 for an elderly family member or friend with conditions such as Alzheimer’s is physically and mentally draining. The fact a large proportion of unpaid carers are elderly themselves means that for many the past 16 months has had a detrimental effect on their own health.
There are thousands of unpaid carers across Scotland providing invaluable care to their loved ones or friends. People who are vital in ensuring thousands of disabled citizens can remain living in their own homes, which is their right to do so.
People who are saving the state a fortune.
The life of an unpaid carer is not an easy one, caring is not a 9-5 Monday to Friday job, the requirement to receive carers allowance is that you care for someone for a minimum of 35-hours per week the reality is that caring is often a 24/7 job.
The Scottish Government would argue that they provide twice yearly top up payments and that this is the most they can do as carers allowance is not devolved.
We have seen the proposed take over of benefits for the disabled from the Scottish Government pushed back. They have struggled to get this system put into place within the promised timescale. Meanwhile Scottish citizens continue to face the cruel and exhaustive process of PIP and DLA, whilst carers face a carers allowance system where they feel undervalued.
This is a priority, an issue ignored for far too long. Carers allowance currently stands at £67 per week with the Scottish Government giving two additional payments of £231.40 each year. Based on a 35 hour week caring this equates to an hourly rate of approximately £2.17 per hour. Bear in mind unpaid carers generally provide more than 35 hours care per week and this figure drops lower still.
In comparison if a local authority were asked to provide 35hrs care in the community, they would pay a service provider in excess of £650 per week to do so which is around £19 per hour. As you can see the paltry £2.17 pales greatly in comparison.
Unpaid carers all over Scotland feel undervalued and unappreciated despite saving the state a great deal of money. Unpaid carers are not asking for £650 per week they do this out of love for the person they are caring for, but with earning restrictions and studying restrictions in place for doing so it’s not unreasonable to expect that in return Carers allowance be a raised to meet the cost of living. Carers allowance is also classed as an unearned income with regards to universal credit which means the whole amount of carers allowance received is deducted from your universal credit monthly payment.
This leads me on to how this relates to Independence. Systems for all areas of government should already be in the process of construction for two reasons.
1. Preparation is key to an easier transition from Union to Independent State.
2. This could be the most powerful tool we have, in turning, No voters to Yes voters. A well prepared Government with insight and strength is a vote winner any day of the week.
Sadly I have seen few signs that this is indeed the case and I fear this could be our eventual downfall. Action is now urgently needed not just on the route to Independence itself but the forward planning as to how an Independent Scotland will manage itself and look after its citizens. Consultation groups involving the public and experts from each field whether that be Business, Financial, Health etc. should have been established to begin planning for an Independent Scotland, zoom has proven meetings can take place safely even during a pandemic with the most quoted line of the past year being “you’re on mute.”
Scotland can no longer afford to be on mute.
Our disabled citizens and their unpaid carers deserve better.
SCOTLAND deserves better.
Carers most certainly deserve recognition but Sturgeon only spends OUR cash on that which benefits Sturgeon ie 1) baby boxes = much joyful publicity 2) MSM = total supporting publicity 3) Stonewall = support plus an added bonus – division of the YES MOVEMENT.
So, we can forget any progress in Scotland as long as we have Sturgeon as leader. She is a block on our future.
Then there are those of us who are completely unpaid because we don’t get carer’s allowance. I care for a relative and we worked it out that it is worth more if he claims the allowance than if I do. I get a very small company pension of £50 per week and no state pension because WM have robbed me off that until I’m 66. If we claimed, he would lose the carer’s allowance altogether and I would have to pay a portion of my rent and council tax – which I don’t have to pay at the moment. I’d probably also have to swith to UC instead of Housing Benefit and if, for any reason I were to stop being his carer, I would be forced to llook for work – at nearly 63 and after nearly two years out of the workplace (due to Covid).As a result, I don’t get the extra bonus either and have had, instead, to apply for a monthly grant to a Scottish Women’s charity. Over 40 years of NI contributions with the promise of a pension at 60 and instead I have to rely on a charity to supplement my income – now up to the princely sum of £75 per week.
I’m disgusted at the SNP led Scottish govt who have done absolutely nothing to mitigate the financial problems of those affected by the pension age increase but who are throwing money at the youth and at at the likes of Stonewall. If nothing else they could have funded the winter fuel allowance and the Christmas bonus for us – but then they are completely ageist. I’m hoping that Alba will be more inclined to offer some support to the WASPIs.