More than 90 organisations, including 88 charities, across the UK have formed a coalition with the aim of ending the financial hardship of unpaid carers.
The Carer Poverty Coalition will campaign for targeted financial support for millions of unpaid carers, as well as changes so they can combine caregiving with paid employment.
Led by Carers UK, the coalition said it would like to see the government introduce “a benefits system” for people who provide large amounts of unpaid care.
The coalition comprises 88 charities including the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA) and five local organizations including Leeds City Council and the CIC City Health Care Association.
Their first all-member post-launch meeting will be on February 28, where members will discuss planning and policies, among other things.
‘Caregivers deserve better’
Helen Walker, chief executive of Carers UK, said unpaid carers, whose work “helps hold society together”, are unable to earn a full income while caring for family and friends.
“As a coalition, we believe that caregivers deserve better,” she said.
“There is a clear moral as well as an economic case to support unpaid carers to live on a decent income, and to support those who can continue paid work while caring to stay on the job. We hope that the government and policymakers see this too.”
Abby Jitendra, Senior Policy Adviser at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, added: “It is not correct that 29% of unpaid carers live in poverty, a significantly higher rate than those without care responsibilities, and the gap is widening. enlarging.
“The act of caring is very valuable to us as a society and to the people we care for, but this is not reflected in our social security system, which should ensure that no one is left without essentials. Caregivers deserve better and as a nation we need to do better, which is why this coalition is so important.”
Chris James, MNDA’s director of external affairs, said: “Caregivers make great sacrifices to provide care and support for their loved ones; they in turn need support.
“That’s why the MND Association has joined forces with 90 organizations to call on the government to give carers better financial support and more opportunities to stay in work.”
The complete list of members is as follows:
Access social care
Action for Carers Surrey
Action for Family Caregivers
Age UK
Barnet Care Center
Being young free caregivers
Bliss
Care4CarersClub
caregivers first
Caregivers in Hertfordshire
carers leeds
Lewisham Caretakers
Westminster Carers Network
carers Northern Ireland
Barking and Dagenham Caretakers
West Lothian Caretakers
Oxfordshire caretakers
Carers Plus Yorkshire Ltd
Caregiver Resources
carers scotland
Carers Support Center – Bristol and South Gloucestershire
Carers Support East Kent
Carers Support Merton
Carers support West Sussex
Trust of caregivers
Carers Trust Crossroads West Wales
Carers Trust Mid Yorkshire
UK carers
Carers Voice Norfolk and Waveney
Wakefield and District Caretakers
carers wales
caring for caregivers
caring together
CIC City Health Care Association
Civil Service Pensioners Alliance
Cloverleaf Defense
CommuniCare
Contact
Enfield Carers Center
Essex Carers Support
Falkirk District Association for Mental Health
FamilyCarersNet
advanced caregivers
Furness Keepers
Gaddum Center
GCMHG – Seacole House
Greenwich Caregiver Center
Hartlepool Caretakers
help and care
hospice uk
Independent Age
Independent Food Aid Network
Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Kingston Carers Network
Leeds Town Hall
Lewy body society
London Unemployment Strategies
Motor Neurone Disease Association
MS Society
MSA Trust
n-compass northwest ltd
Neath Port Talbot Council
Newcastle Caretakers
North Lanarkshire carers together
North Tyneside Carers Center
oxfam GB
Parkinson’s UK
Princess Royal Trust for carers in Hampshire
rethinking mental illness
United Kingdom
Richmond Caregiver Center
Sandwell Youth Carers Project
Sense
Sheffield Carers Center
shine charity
South Ayrshire Health and Social Care Association
Spinal Cord Injury Association
Subco Trust
Suffolk Family Carers
Swindon Caregivers Center
The Anthony Seddon Center
The care collective
The Caregiver Center
The Association of Family and Residents
Your life
Union of Commerce, Distribution and Allied Workers
Warwickshire Young Carers
We Care Campaign
Women’s Budget Group
Worcestershire Carers Association
York Caregiver Center
Young lives against cancer
Z2K