Carers facing long wait for financial help

UNPAID carers are having to wait longer to hear whether they will be given financial support by the Government, data suggests.

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) figures also show that greater numbers of people have applied for carer’s allowance over the last two years.

People who spend more than 35 hours each week looking after someone with a disability or illness can make a claim for the £69.70-aweek payment.

A freedom of information request by the PA news agency revealed 30,688 carers were awaiting a decision in mid-June, when the average clearance time for a claim was 31 working days. This compared with 17,453 people awaiting a decision in early November 2020 when the average clearance time was 20 days.

Shadow work and pensions secretary Jon Ashworth said: “Long waiting times for essential benefits like carer’s allowance are unacceptable in a cost-of-living crisis. This is another example of ‘backlog Britain’ presided over by the Conservatives.

“The Department for Work and Pensions needs to get a grip and ensure people who need it get the support they are entitled to, without delay.”

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, himself a carer for his son, said: “When people take on caring responsibilities, they should get the support they are entitled to without delay. It is completely unacceptable that the Government is forcing tens of thousands of carers to wait weeks to get carer’s allowance.”

A DWP spokesperson said it was taking on new staff to reduce processing times for carer’s allowance.