Carers and Poverty: Carers UK Report

Baroness Merron Excerpts

Thursday 21st November 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Pitkeathley (Lab)]

I beg leave to ask the Question in my name on the Order Paper and remind your Lordships that today is Carers Rights Day.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health and Social Care (Baroness Merron) (Lab)]

My Lords, from these Benches I pay tribute to the memory of our dear and noble friend Lord Prescott.

I thank Carers UK for its report, which, importantly, as my noble friend said, is raised on Carers Rights Day. We will take the findings into account as we continue to support unpaid carers, whose major contribution I pay tribute to. We have announced an increase to the carer’s allowance earnings limit. Carers can earn around an additional £2,000 per year. This is the biggest uplift since the allowance was introduced in 1976. Furthermore, we will review the implementation of carers’ leave.

[Baroness Pitkeathley (Lab)]

My Lords, I readily acknowledge the welcome concessions by the Chancellor in the Budget and thank my noble friend for her response. There is never any difficulty in getting recognition for our moral obligation to carers, but figures published this morning by Carers UK remind us of their contribution to the economy. They show that the value of their support is worth £184 billion per year in the UK—directly comparable to the spending on the NHS in the four nations, which is £189 billion. I hope my noble friend understands that it is against this background of their huge economic contribution that we ask for entitlements for carers and for recognition of their rights to lead an ordinary life, to combine paid work with caring, and to not to be condemned to a life of poverty because of their caring responsibilities.

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I very much appreciate the point my noble friend makes, and the point made in this very important report. As well as the increase to the carer’s allowance earning limit, which I mentioned in my initial Answer, there will be an update to the Accelerating Reform Fund, which provides funding to local authorities, including for support for unpaid carers. In addition, the National Institute for Health and Care Research has commissioned an evaluation of unpaid carers’ support funded through the better care fund.

[Baroness Verma (Con)]

My Lords, I declare my interests as set out in the register. Will the Minister look at respite relief for not just unpaid carers but paid carers? There is just not enough respite relief for people who are doing this 365 days a year, and they need to have that. Will the Minister also look at families taking unpaid care work and the winter fuel allowance? This will impact a lot of families, and unpaid carers are usually well over 60.

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I understand the point the noble Baroness is making. I was pleased that my ministerial colleagues Stephen Kinnock, the Minister for Care, and DWP Minister Stephen Timms recently attended a Carers UK-hosted round table to discuss all these points, including poverty and finances. I hope your Lordships’ House will acknowledge and welcome the steps we have already taken and be assured that we know there is much more to do. We will continue to work cross-government on this.

[Baroness Tyler of Enfield (LD)]

My Lords, I welcome the recent announcement about the earnings limit on the carer’s allowance, but that helps only carers who are able to combine paid work with unpaid care. It is estimated that over 1.5 million carers are now providing over 50 hours of care per week, making it impossible for them to do paid work. What are the Government doing to support those carers? Will they look at increasing the carer’s allowance, which is currently £81.90 a week—the lowest benefit of its kind, I believe—and expanding the care-related premium to universal credit and pension credit?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

There is to be an increase in the carer’s allowance from April of next year. The change we have made in the earnings limit will, over the next four to six years, bring in an additional 60,000 people who were previously not eligible. The DWP is very conscious of a number of the pressures on unpaid and other carers and will continue to look at that. Further developments will be reported.

[Baroness Watkins of Tavistock (CB)]

My Lords, has further consideration been given to reducing or having an amnesty on repayments by carers who were overpaid due to the complex algorithm involved in being able to work for a certain amount of money? Having acknowledged that they should be able to earn at least another £2,000 without such a disadvantage, could we not cancel the situation for many, particularly over this winter, before the new carer’s allowance comes in?

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I and my ministerial colleagues are extremely aware of the anxiety the overpayments have created, and they are being independently reviewed to establish exactly why they happened. While I cannot commit to the amnesty the noble Baroness asks for, I can assure her and your Lordships’ House that we and the DWP are working to be as sympathetic to people as possible. I urge anyone in receipt of carer’s allowance to inform DWP of a change in their circumstances, so that overpayments can be avoided in future.

[Lord Kamall (Con)]

My Lords, we on these Benches also add to the tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Prescott, who has passed away.

My noble friend Lady Verma referred to the stress unpaid carers are under. We know that unpaid carers who look after family members may themselves have mental health issues, or may be looking after people with such issues. What support do the Government currently provide for the mental health of unpaid carers and those they care for, and what extra measures do they plan to introduce?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

One of the key things in all this is the identification of carers. As has been discussed in your Lordships’ House on a number of occasions, a lot of people do not identify as carers. Therefore, we are encouraging GPs and, in the case of young carers, schools, to identify carers, so that they can get the support they deserve. The noble Lord, Lord Darzi, identified that making sure that unpaid carers receive recognition and support is key, and it will be in the 10-year plan as we go forward.

[Baroness Keeley (Lab)]

My Lords, I want to raise the issue of the 21-hour study rule whereby an unpaid carer is not allowed to claim carer’s allowance and be in full-time education of more than 21 hours a week. I cannot see a good reason for that rule. It would be very welcome if the Labour Government changed the rule to allow unpaid carers to study without losing their carer’s allowance.

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend for that and can assure her that I will be discussing that very point with ministerial colleagues and am happy to return to her on it.

[Baroness Altmann (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, particularly today, will the Minister join me in paying tribute to all carers and care workers, paid or unpaid? Does she agree that, with an ageing population, it is long past time to stop treating care as some kind of second-rate service and to give it parity with the NHS? It saves the NHS significant amounts of money, and carer’s allowance is extremely low. Following the recent Budget, care charities will still have to fund the extra national insurance costs, even though NHS workers are exempt.

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I, of course, join all noble Lords in paying tribute to care workers, whether paid or unpaid. On paid care workers, that is one of the reasons why, as we move towards a national care service, we have for the first time laid legislation to ensure that there will be a fair pay agreement. On national insurance contributions, I can assure the noble Baroness that the Chancellor considered all the implications of the measures that were announced in the Budget when settlements were made. Further details of those will be announced in due course.