Supporting carers to care: forty-second report of session 2008-09 report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence

House of Commons papers 549 2008-09

Corporate Author:: Great Britain Parliament House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts
Author:: Edward Leigh (chairman)
Publisher:: TSO (The Stationery Office)

There are an estimated six million unpaid carers in the United Kingdom looking after family or friends who are sick or disabled. The Department for Work and Pensions (the Department) provides two main forms of support -paying carers' benefits and providing employment support-at an estimated cost of up to £2 billion a year. The main benefit is Carer's Allowance, which is payable to those who give up the opportunity of full-time work to provide care. Carers may also be eligible for Additional Amounts and Carer's Premiums on top of other benefits. At November 2008, 900,000 carers met the entitlement rules and the value of the social care they provided has been estimated by the National Audit Office at £23 billion a year. The Department is unable to assess the effectiveness of its work to reach eligible carers and to specific groups such as ethnic minorities as it does not know the benefit take-up rate. Benefits for carers are unnecessarily complex and cause confusion. About a fifth of carers who receive benefits have difficulties with some aspect of the application process. These difficulties include understanding the information provided by the Department and also what information they are required to provide. The Department's communications with customers can be lengthy and difficult to understand. Carers who wish to combine caring responsibilities with paid work do not receive employment support tailored sufficiently to their circumstances. Part-time work is often the most practical option, but the Jobcentre Plus target regime does not provide sufficient incentive for Personal Advisers to help customers find part-time work.

Extent	[2], 16, Ev 10p.	ISBN	9780215540904
Size	N/A	Price	£8.50
Binding	Paperback	Published	08 Sep 2009
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