Launch of Campaign to "give carers a break"

Despite the Government’s announcement in November 2010 that £400m would be made available to Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) to pay for breaks for adult and young carers, the country’s six million carers fear that they will not get the breaks they desperately need if PCTs are not held to account.

Two of the country’s leading carers’ charities, The Princess Royal Trust for Carers and Crossroads Care, launched a new campaign “Give Carers a Break” at an event held on Monday 23rd May in the Attlee Suite, Portcullis House, London.
Anne Roberts, Chief Executive, Crossroads Care said “Breaks from their caring role make a huge difference in helping carers to continue – it is not a luxury – for a carer it is essential to their well-being and ability to carry on. And, if they are unable to carry on caring, there will potentially be enormous care costs, which will add to the burden for the taxpayer.”
The two organisations are calling upon Primary Care Trusts, who have not yet revised their plans for supporting carers in the light of the funding allocation, to work in partnership with local carers’ organisations to use the money within their allocations to support carers through breaks and other forms of help.
Carers and carers’ organisations throughout the country are being asked to highlight the local issues and work positively with PCTs and local authorities to achieve the best outcome for carers and MPs are being asked to support the campaign in their areas.
Liz Fenton, Chief Executive, The Princess Royal Trust for Carers said, “The aim of this campaign is to ensure that every PCT spends as much of the allocated budget as possible supporting carers and that they publish their plans and budgets by October 2011 as required in the strategy to achieve the best outcome for carers. Carers make a significant contribution to our society and it is in everyone’s interest that they are supported in order to continue to care safely and in good health.”
The commitment to the extra funding was welcomed in November but the concerns about how much of the funding will actually reach carers remain as the money is not “ring-fenced.” The previous Government provided £150m over two years for carer support but research found that only approximately a quarter of this was used for supporting carers.
Some measures have been put in place by the Government to ensure that PCTs have to account for the services they provide for carers, which includes making plans and budgets available to local people and the quality of life of carers being monitored in each PCT area but that does not mean that the PCTs have to fund breaks.