{"id":29891,"date":"2021-09-10T15:59:48","date_gmt":"2021-09-10T14:59:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=29891"},"modified":"2021-09-12T17:32:17","modified_gmt":"2021-09-12T16:32:17","slug":"they-arent-fixing-anything","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=29891","title":{"rendered":"‘They aren’t fixing anything’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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When prime minister Boris Johnson unveiled plans to \u00e2\u20ac\u0098fix\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 social care this week, totally absent were those at the very heart of it \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the millions of carers, both paid and unpaid, without whose contribution the whole system would collapse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, Johnson announced a tax hike on those who can least afford it by raising National Insurance Contributions (NIC) on working people. Since it is a regressive tax, it will hit the lowest paid the hardest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cruelest irony of all is that both care workers and unpaid family carers in work will be forced to pay the extra tax for the very care they deliver with no extra wages or support. Likewise, unpaid carers who cannot work because of their caring responsibilities face impending cuts to Universal Credit, with no increase in Carer’s Allowance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Morale is rock-bottom’<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

UniteLive spoke to care worker and Unite convenor Carol Starr, who cares for adults with dementia and mental health issues in their homes. Her duties will vary from giving patients medication to feeding, bathing and helping them move from their beds to offering other forms of support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carol spoke of a bitter sense of frustration after the prime minister\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s announcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThey say they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got a plan to fix social care \u00e2\u20ac\u201c but they aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t fixing anything,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Carol said, adding that this isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the first time care workers have had to pay extra for social care, even as their wages stagnate. In 2016, the social care precept was introduced, allowing councils in England to charge an additional amount on council tax to pay for adult social care costs.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bFor the last few years, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been paying through the nose for council tax and now I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to be paying a lot more in national insurance contributions,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Carol said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had a pay rise worth buttons this year but everything else has gone up \u00e2\u20ac\u201c gas, electric, you name it. Speaking as someone who works in local government, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had ten years of austerity, where pay, terms and conditions have all been slashed. Morale is rock-bottom.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carol pointed out that for low-paid workers in care, the NIC increase will be deeply felt.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThey keep saying it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going up by 1.25 per cent,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she noted. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bBut actually in effect for many workers it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a 10 per cent increase on the NIC contributions we already make. The government is trying to play it down but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a significant increase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got members going to food banks; we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got members on Universal Credit, who are going to lose the \u00c2\u014120 a week on top of the tax hike. And even after council tax went up over the last few years, in part to fund social care with the social care precept, frontline social care services end up getting nothing. We are chronically underfunded as well as underpaid.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘We’re forgotten about’<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just as care workers are undervalued, so too are the millions of unpaid carers who make an enormous contribution to society. Not only do they provide the care and support that so many of our loved ones need, but they also save the economy \u00c2\u0141123bn each and every year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UniteLive spoke to Unite Community member Kerry Wilks who cares full-time for her three children, including her 15-year-old son who is autistic and needs 24\/7 care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though Kerry is eligible for Carer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Allowance, she doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t receive the full amount, because she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also on Universal Credit since she cannot work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI get less than half of the full Carer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Allowance because you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re penalised if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re on Universal Credit,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she explained. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe problem is I couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get a job even if I wanted to because I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t leave my son on his own. Childcare doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t exist for a fifteen year old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bAccording to government data I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m unemployed, even though I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m a full-time carer. And you get loads of abuse because you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re in receipt of Universal Credit. From the outside looking in, it looks as though you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not doing anything but the care I provide is a full-time job. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s very challenging and exhausting.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the prime minister unveiled his plans this week for social care, without any mention of unpaid carers at all, Kerry said she was \u00e2\u20ac\u015babsolutely flabbergasted\u00e2\u20ac\u0165.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bUnpaid carers are the backbone of the social care system,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bHow many millions of people do it? And we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re just forgotten about. You just get your Carer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Allowance and you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re supposed to shut up and get on with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe save the government billions of pounds a year and we hardly get anything for it. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the lowest paid benefit. If you break it down, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m paid one pound an hour to care for my son. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s shameful really. They view us as the lowest of the low in society, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the same with paid care workers, who are also the lowest paid in society \u00e2\u20ac\u201c I know because I used to work as one for many years.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘We can’t keep shouldering the burden’<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both Kerry and Carol believe the government is not only failing carers but those they care for as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThey say they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be capping individuals\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 care costs at \u00c2\u014186,000 of their assets or savings \u00e2\u20ac\u201c this is still a significant amount of money,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Carol noted. \u00e2\u20ac\u015b\u00c2\u014186,000 of an ex-council house is a huge percentage of that house, but \u00c2\u014186,000 out of a multi-million pound house is nothing.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t fair on the people we care for,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bYou\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got people who have saved all their lives with the intent of passing it on to their children and leaving something behind. And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s being grabbed by the government- with the exception of their wealthy friends.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Kerry highlighted that the lack of funding as well as access to support means both unpaid carers and their loved ones suffer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bAs it stand now you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re basically just left to it,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she explained. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThere\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no support for you. If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re looking after a really poorly person 24\/7 on your own, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be close to the edge. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re doing such physically and mentally demanding work and you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re just left on your own. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s wrong. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s unfair for both the carer and the people we look after when we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get any extra support.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Above all, Kerry and Carol both want their voices to be heard, and are calling on the government to listen to the people who underpin the social care system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bYou can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t keep coming after low-paid workers,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Carol said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t keep shouldering the burden. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve paid the price for austerity and now we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to pay the price for Covid and social care. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not sustainable. There needs to be a wealth tax. Even better, social care needs to be structured like the NHS, free at the point of use.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kerry agreed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bAs a carer you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re penalised in every direction,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt makes me really angry. With these new plans, this government is coming after everyone except the wealthy. And for unpaid family carers, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re just adding insult to injury. They need to be paying us more and there needs to be more support. We need to be listened to.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Hajera Blagg<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When prime minister Boris Johnson unveiled plans to \u00e2\u20ac\u0098fix\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 social care this week, totally absent were those at the very heart of it \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the millions of carers, both paid and unpaid, without whose contribution the whole system would collapse. Instead, Johnson announced a tax hike on those who can least afford it by raising […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1666,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[1379,531,595],"wps_subtitle":"Care workers and unpaid family carers speak out against government plans to \u00e2\u20ac\u0098fix\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 social care","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29891"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29891"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29891\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29910,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29891\/revisions\/29910"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}