Carer’s Allowance Call for Evidence Submission

Wibbles

The government is currently debating whether the law on carers needs to be changed - maybe it does - but what about UNPAID carers - spouses who give up everything to care for their "loved ones" ?

1. Introduction

I am submitting evidence because my wife has been my full‑time carer for more than 20 years. She provides care from 7am until 10pm every day, with no breaks, no respite, and no external support. She now has cancer, yet she continues to care for me for 15 hours a day, seven days a week, because there is no alternative.

She receives £86.45 per week in Carer’s Allowance.

Her situation demonstrates that the current Carer’s Allowance system is not fit for purpose and urgently requires fundamental reform.

2. The Reality of Caring: 15 Hours a Day, Every Day

My wife’s caring role is not “35 hours of supervision”. It is continuous, intensive, skilled labour. Her daily routine includes:

• Personal care
• Medication management
• Mobility support
• Domestic tasks
• Emotional support
• Crisis management
• Supervision throughout the day
• Night‑time vigilance when needed

She has done this every day for over 20 years without a single day off.

This is not compatible with paid work, rest, or recovery. It is full‑time work — in fact, more hours than two full‑time jobs combined.

3. The Impact of Cancer on a Full‑Time Carer

My wife is now living with cancer. Despite this, she continues her caring role because:

• I cannot be left alone
• There is no replacement care available
• There is no funded respite
• There is no support network
• The system provides no alternative

Cancer treatment requires rest, reduced stress, and time for recovery. Instead, she is lifting, supervising, organising medication, and managing crises for 15 hours a day.

The current system forces carers to sacrifice their own health to keep the care system functioning.

4. Why Raising the Earnings Limit Does Not Help

The government has focused on raising the earnings limit. This does nothing for carers like my wife because:

• She cannot work — she is already working full‑time caring
• She cannot leave me alone
• She cannot take breaks
• She cannot schedule predictable hours
• She cannot physically manage additional employment

The earnings‑limit approach assumes carers can work part‑time. My wife’s situation proves this assumption is false.

5. The Economic Reality: Carers Save the State Millions

If the state had to replace my wife’s care with professional carers, it would cost:

• £60,000–£110,000 per year
• Over 20 years: £1.2–£2.2 million

Yet she has been paid £80 per week, totalling roughly £83,000 over 20 years.

She has saved the state over £1 million.

Carer’s Allowance is not an investment — it is a symbolic payment that ignores the economic reality of full‑time caring.

6. The Structural Problem: Carer’s Allowance Is Built on False Assumptions

The current system assumes:

• Caring is 35 hours of supervision
• Carers can work part‑time
• Carers can take breaks
• Carers have access to respite
• Caring is predictable
• Caring is low‑intensity

None of these assumptions apply to my wife.

Her caring is:

• 105 hours per week
• continuous
• complex
• physically demanding
• emotionally exhausting
• medically essential

Carer’s Allowance does not reflect the reality of caring.

7. The Solution: Introduce a Carer’s Wage

Based on our lived experience, I strongly support the introduction of a Carer’s Wage that recognises caring as essential labour.

A Carer’s Wage should include:

• National Living Wage for 35–40 hours
• additional payment for complex or continuous care
• paid respite with trained replacement carers
• pension contributions
• sick pay equivalent
• protection during illness
• integration into social care budgets
• a dedicated replacement‑carer workforce

This model reflects the reality of caring and protects carers’ health, dignity, and financial security.

8. The Need for a Replacement‑Carer Workforce

Respite is impossible for us because there is no one trained to step in.
For respite to be real, the UK needs:

• a national pool of trained replacement carers
• continuity of staff
• specialist training
• guaranteed funded respite hours

Without this, carers like my wife will never be able to rest, recover, or attend medical treatment safely.

9. Conclusion

My wife has cared for me 15 hours a day for over 20 years, without a single day off, while living with cancer, for £86.45 a week.

This is not a care system.
It is exploitation.

Carer’s Allowance must be replaced with a Carer’s Wage that recognises caring as skilled, essential labour and provides the financial, practical, and medical support carers need.

I urge the government to act.