Carers Trust responds to Work and Pensions Committee report on benefit levels
Responding to a report on benefit levels in the UK by the House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee, Carers Trust's CEO, Kirsty McHugh, said:
“We’re pleased the committee listened to the evidence provided by Carers Trust and others showing that Carer’s Allowance is woefully inadequate. The committee’s recommendation for Carer’s Allowance and its earnings threshold to be regularly uprated would be a welcome first step towards the complete overhaul which is so desperately required.
“Carer’s Allowance remains the lowest benefit of its kind and comes saddled with a complex array of eligibility criteria that prevent thousands of carers from claiming it. The tragic result is that many are being pushed into poverty, with a Carers Trust survey showing 14% have had to use a food bank. That’s why Carer’s Allowance needs comprehensive reform. Anything less represents a continued failure to recognise the vital role played by unpaid carers, whose tireless caring for family members and friends is saving the taxpayer and state over £160 billion every year.”