Carers call for increase in allowance

Money Box

BBC

Business

4.2 • 804 Ratings

🗓️ 27 February 2021

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Nearly a million carers will get an increase of just 35p a week from April. 939,000 people receive a benefit called Carer’s Allowance — currently £67.25 a week — for looking after another person who is severely disabled. In order to qualify people must provide for at least 35 hours a week - though most will spend considerably more time caring than that. The April rise amounts to just 1p extra per hour. This increase is in line with the rate of inflation the previous September when inflation was just half of one percent. Paul Lewis talks to the leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Ed Davey, and Gareth Howells, Chief Executive of the charity, Carers Trust.

After last week’s item about one family’s 20 hour wait to tell HSBC about a push payment fraud which cost listener Richard £8500, Money Box asked for your experiences getting help from your bank when a theft happens. Hundreds of you were in touch. Dan Whitworth reports on what you told him and Paul talks to Tom Keatinge who is Director of the Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies at Royal United Services Institute.

One of Britain’s largest insurers has admitted long delays following instructions from customers to access their pension savings when they retire. Money Box received several complaints about the weeks and weeks it is taking for customers to get hold of their own money. Paul talks to Romi Savova, Chief Executive of Pension Bee.

Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporter: Dan Whitworth Researchers: Sowda Ali and Jonelle Awomoyi Producer: Ben Carter Editor: Rosamund Jones

Transcript

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0:00.0	In Northern Ireland, from the late 70s to the early 90s, the IRA killed over 40 alleged informers.
0:08.0	But the man who often found, tortured and sometimes killed these people on behalf of the IRA
0:12.0	was himself an informer, a secret British army agent with the codename Stakeknife.
0:18.0	Who gets to play God? And why me? Why my family? When lies are still being told to this day,
0:24.0	who do you believe? I wouldn't even know where to start and I'm with the IRA.
0:28.5	Steakknife. Listen first on BBC Sounds. BBC Sounds, music, Radio, podcasts.
0:44.1	Hello and welcome to this Moneybox podcast. The bank HSBC has changed its advice on how to report a fraud,
0:50.1	after Moneybox revealed that many customers were waiting hours to get through on its dedicated scam hotline. And the pension firm Prudential admits customers wanting to take their pensions have been subject to long delays to get hold of their own money as it implements a new system to improve customer outcomes.
1:01.8	But first, nearly a million carers will get just 35 pence a week more from April.
1:07.6	The 940,000 people affected get a benefit called Careers Allowance, currently £67.25 a week.
1:15.0	They look after someone who's severely disabled for at least 35 hours. So, the rise is just
1:21.0	one penny more for each official hour of caring. This small increase in carers allowance is due to the
1:27.0	rules which are used to increase
1:28.4	benefits each April. They rise at the rate of inflation the previous September and that was
1:34.0	very low, just a half of 1%. Vanessa King is a widow who's cared for her son Jamie since he was
1:40.0	born 30 years ago with autism and severe physical disabilities.
1:44.8	He is situationally bedbound, so we're housebound, and we've been shielding now for 52 weeks
1:52.8	because of the coronavirus.
1:55.9	And I am his sole carer.
1:59.2	I work 19 waking hours a day, and I'm on call for the other five hours
2:04.9	24-7, 365 days a year. What benefits do you get? I get carer's allowance and I do get
2:13.1	income support topped up but the income support is a recognition that the carer's allowance
	...

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