Thousands of people like myself are carers for their family members and so are unable to work while carrying out the role of a carer. 

People have campaigned in the past to have the care allowance increased inline with a minimum wage job but the government say because it’s an elective choice to care instead of work so we are entitled to claim £69.70 per week (£3624.40 per year, £302.03 per month). 

If you claim a state benefit for example I claim universal credit, however the care element is deducted from my claim. 

My breakdown consists of £334.91 standard allowance £168.81 for being a carer which totals £503.72.

The £503.72 then has £302.03 deduction of care allowance meaning that per month I receive £201.69 universal credit plus the £302.03 care allowance giving a total of £503.72 which isn’t too bad but when you deduct the standard allowance of £334.91 that means in real terms I receive £168.81 per month for being a 24 hour carer. 

Yes it was an elective choice to care and give up work but when you consider the other option is to put my family member in a care home which I refuse to do.

 

The cost of residential care is an average of £2816 and  the cost of nursing care in a care home £3552 per month. So by caring for my family member at home where they can be comfortable and in their own surroundings I am given £168.81 for saving the government up to £3552 every month. 

I see social care workers going on strike for lack of pay.

If I were to go on strike or no longer do the role of carer the tax payer has to pay for social care workers to look after my family member. If I went on strike they would be left bed bound sat in urine and excrement with no food or drink, with no one to wipe their bottom or give them their medicine or injections, so by caring about my family member, sleeping in the same room as them so they can get me up at 2,3,4 am to use the toilet or whatever I receive probably one day of what it would cost for an entire month. 

I am not campaigning for the care allowance or the state benefits to be increased but rather not have them deducted for people like myself keeping their loved ones out of a system that is already broken and under staffed. 

During this cost of living and energy crisis we find the country in it is carers like myself who are being forgotten about.