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Carers 'need individual budgets to cope with crunch'

01/06/2008

Restrictions on council care services will leave many people facing a choice between caring for their loved ones and destitution, according to a new report.

A study from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has found that as local councils reduce their provision of care, more and more families are struggling to balance paid employment with a very real need to care for their family.

And as this 'care crunch' worsens, more than 1.5 million people could be affected by the shortfall between those whose needs are adjudged "critical" by councils and those who are unable to find the average £26,000 a year needed to fund formal care services.

According to the IPPR research published today, carers should be given a personal budget drawn from various local authority and health funding streams to afford them more choice over support and help them to better balance caring with working.

Ahead of the prime minister's Carers Strategy Review expected to be published during next week's Carers Week (June 9th-June 15th), the IPPR calls on the government to extend 'carer's budgets' and allow carers more control over the choice between supporting their loved ones and continuing with paid work.

James Crabtree, associate director of the IPPR, explained: "People want to care for loved ones with disabilities, and through dementia and old age at home. But people caring in families need more support to help them through the care crunch.

"Carers Week is an opportunity for the government to use a 'carer's budget' to help hard pressed carers take control of the services and support they need."

Almost one-third of carers unable to work due to the demands of caring currently live in relative poverty, compared with seven per cent of those who combine work and care.

Some 5.2 million people give some amount of care in England and Wales,
with just over a million providing care for 50 or more hours a week, according to the last census.