30May 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Sunak treating unpaid carers with “disdain” amid £193m cut to support

Sunak treating unpaid carers with “disdain” amid £193m cut to support

Parliamentary news
Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey has accused Rishi Sunak of treating family carers with “disdain,” after they were left out of the government’s cost of living package. The Carer’s Allowance was excluded from the list of benefits qualifying for additional support under the plans set out by the Chancellor yesterday. It comes as new analysis by the Liberal Democrats shows unpaid carers are facing a cut to the Carer’s Allowance of £207 each this year once soaring inflation is factored in. It means the country’s one million unpaid carers receiving the Carer's Allowance are facing a combined hit of £193 million this year. The Government is increasing Carer’s Allowance by 3.1% from £67.60 a week to £69.70, or an increase of just 30p a day, despite inflation rocketing to 9%…
Read More
01Dec 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Carers taken for granted by Conservative Government

Carers taken for granted by Conservative Government

Parliamentary news
Responding to the Government's new white paper proposals on social care, Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey MP said: “Carers and their loved ones deserve far more support, but with these proposals the Conservative Government is taking them for granted yet again. “More than 1.5 million people are missing out on the care they need. To pretend you can fix that with no new funding, and without addressing the huge shortage of staff, is just insulting people’s intelligence. “Boris Johnson has broken promise after promise on social care. He’s hitting people with an unfair tax rise while failing to protect people from losing their homes. “Social care is far too important for another Boris bodge. Let’s finally have the serious cross-party talks we need to agree a long-term solution…
Read More
15Jul 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Health & Care Bill: Power-grab does nothing for Care

Health & Care Bill: Power-grab does nothing for Care

Parliamentary news
Responding to the Second Reading of the Health and Care bill, which will reorganise the NHS and hand more powers to the Health Secretary, Liberal Democrat Health spokesperson Munira Wilson MP said: "The Government are kidding themselves if they think reorganising the NHS is a simple and straightforward task. With well over five million people now waiting for medical treatment, including 16,000 people suffering with cancer, and the pandemic being far from over, now is not the time to embark on a major and disruptive restructuring of the NHS. “This is not only the wrong time for this Bill but it makes barely any mention of reform to social care. Every year thousands of vulnerable people lie stranded in hospitals long after they could have been discharged because there is…
Read More
10Jun 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
More support needed for carers after pandemic

More support needed for carers after pandemic

Parliamentary news
Responding to new ONS figures on carers, Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey MP said: “These figures confirm something the pandemic has demonstrated: we are a nation of carers. Millions of people are looking after elderly, disabled and vulnerable people. They deserve our support, but are too often forgotten and ignored by people in power. “Worryingly, the data also reveals that unpaid carers have been impacted more than most by the pandemic, in terms of their well-being, work, finances, relationships, healthcare and access to everyday essentials. Looking after a loved one is always hard, but it’s especially tough right now. “We must do far more to support our wonderful carers, including raising Carer’s Allowance and giving every unpaid carer a break. “The Liberal Democrats are standing up for carers…
Read More
11May 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Queen’s Speech: Carers forgotten and ignored yet again

Parliamentary news
Liberal Democrats Leader Ed Davey has vowed to put carers on the parliamentary agenda, as the Conservative Government once again left them out in today’s Queen’s Speech. Six other key Government publications from the past year – including the Budget, the Spending Review and the Health and Care white paper – also didn’t contain a single mention of unpaid carers. The Liberal Democrats are pushing for carers to be explicitly included in the Health and Care Bill, which was announced in the Queen’s Speech today. Ed Davey is also proposing legislation that would give carers a new right to reasonable adjustments, to allow them to juggle work with caring responsibilities. Liberal Democrats Leader Ed Davey commented: “This pandemic has shown that we are a nation of carers, but it’s also…
Read More
15Feb 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Give carers a break

Give carers a break

Parliamentary news
Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey will today launch the party’s campaign to “give carers a break”, calling on the Government to give councils immediate emergency funding so they can provide the support services unpaid carers need to take a weekly break. In a letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, Ed Davey highlights research from Carers UK showing that: 64% of carers have not been able to take any breaks from their caring role during the pandemic,74% feel exhausted and worn out as a result of caring during Covid, and44% say they are reaching breaking point. The Liberal Democrats are calling on the Chancellor to provide local authorities with emergency funding in his Budget on 3rd March at the latest. Ahead of the campaign launch, Leader of the…
Read More
03Feb 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
5p a day increase is an insult to carers

5p a day increase is an insult to carers

Parliamentary news
Reacting to Carers UK delivering a letter from near 5,000 carers calling on the Chancellor to acknowledge unpaid carers’ contribution throughout the crisis, Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey MP said: “People looking after loved ones during Covid are doing a remarkable job, in very difficult circumstances. They deserve much more support. “Millions of unpaid carers have faced serious financial hardship during the pandemic, and the Government’s plan for an extra 5p a day is frankly an insult. “That’s why Liberal Democrats are calling on the Government to support carers properly, by raising Carer’s Allowance by £1,000 a year immediately, in line with the uplift in Universal Credit. “This awful virus has shown that Britain is a nation of carers, but it seems Ministers haven’t noticed. “Liberal Democrats are…
Read More
18Jan 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Universal Credit must be extended to carers

Universal Credit must be extended to carers

Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats are calling for the increase in Universal Credit to be extended to anyone caring for a friend, family member or neighbour who cannot cope without their support. On Monday, MPs in Parliament will vote on a motion to scrap the planned £1000 cut in Universal Credit. Liberal Democrat Work and Pensions Spokesperson Wendy Chamberlain MP is pushing for an amendment which would see unpaid carers as well as others who rely on ‘legacy’ benefits to be awarded the increase too. Over 900,000 people across the country rely on carers allowance of less than £70 a week, the lowest paid benefit of its kind. Many struggle to make ends meet, often relying on foodbanks for themselves as well as those they care for. Liberal Democrats have led the…
Read More
10Dec 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Liberal Democrats call for Young Carers Action Day

Borough news
Liberal Democrat Councillors will be calling on Oldham Council to mark Young Carers Action Day in 2021. Councillor Hazel Gloster and Louie Hamblett will be proposing a motion to the next full meeting of the Council (Wednesday 16 December) requesting a local event be held in the Borough as part of a new national campaign to recognise and support young carers. Young Carers Action Day will be held on 16 March 2021. It is a new event being organised nationwide by the Carers Trust, replacing a previous annual Awareness Day held on 30 January. Councillor Hazel Gloster, who will be proposing the motion, said: “Research indicates that up to one in five secondary school children may be a carer for grandparents, parents or siblings, and that many of the children…
Read More
02Dec 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Liberal Democrats seek further support for carers

Liberal Democrats seek further support for carers

Borough news
A recent survey by Carers UK found that four in five unpaid carers were providing more care for relatives during the Covid-19 pandemic and that two thirds were worried about how they might cope with these demands when faced with further lockdowns or local restrictions. Oldham Liberal Democrat Leader, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, has written to the Mayor of Greater Manchester and to the Leader of Oldham Council with two requests to improve the rights of carers in Greater Manchester and to make life for local working carers a little easier. Councillor Sykes has written to the Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham asking him to make the Greater Manchester Care Leavers’ Travel Offer open to young adult carers. Commenting he said: “I have asked Mayor Burnham to make this available…
Read More