Being a carer and support you can access
Three in five people in the UK will become carers at some point in their lives.
Definition of 'carer'
A carer is someone who looks after and supports a friend, relative or neighbour who could not manage without their help. This could be due to age, physical or mental illness, or disability.
It does not mean a professional care-worker or personal assistant who gets paid for their work.
The Coalition Government has allocated Carers £400 million to take a break.
Announcing the funding, care services minister Paul Burstow said, ‘The Coalition Government’s vision for social care will deliver on our manifesto commitment to provide guaranteed respite care by making over £400million available in additional funding over the next four years to the hundreds of thousands of carers who work over 50 hours a week.’
This announcement, on the face of it, is very good news, however there is a risk that the money might not be used for its intended purpose as it is not ring-fenced.
The Princess Royal Trust for Carers commented, ‘In 2009-10 and 2010-11, £150 million was pledged for carers' breaks, but our research found that most primary care trusts failed to spend the money on carers and instead used it elsewhere.’
The PRTC is launching a campaign urging carers and supporters to contact carer centres and their MPs, asking Primary Care Trusts to publish plans and to spend as much as possible on carer breaks.