Camden carers welcome plan to give them bigger say in policy decisions

Camden Council has launched an action plan that aims to give greater support to the borough’s 14,500 unpaid carers.

A year and a half after it was commissioned, the finalised plan sets out to give unpaid carers over the age of 18 a bigger voice in policy-making.

Cllr Anna Wright said carers often feel “forgotten, neglected and burnt out”, and the “plan represents a shift from good intentions to delivering the support that carers need”.

During last week’s full council, several carers spoke of their lived experiences.

One, a single father, spoke of the “physical and emotional toll” of tending to his autistic teenage son around the clock.

Another said she is living in “constant survival mode” due to financial difficulties, having given up work to support an elderly parent and two of her children with both mental and physical health needs.

“There are three eight-hour shifts a day when you’re a carer,” a third person highlighted.

Those who spend at least 35 hours a week caring for someone are eligible for Carer’s Allowance, which is £81.90 a week, or £2.94 an hour.

“In Camden, there are 5,200 people who care for 35 hours a more a week unpaid,” said Allegra Lynch, chief executive of Camden Carers, “with no breaks, no holiday pay, no workers’ rights.”

Lynch informed the council that it would cost £2.4 million a week to pay these carers in Camden the London Living Wage.

“Camden wants all its residents to start well, live well, and age well,” she added. “But unpaid carers are almost twice as likely to experience poor health compared to people who don’t have a caring role.”

Young carers are also more likely to be persistently absent from school.

“Carers tell us that they want to be treated with respect, and to be consulted and involved in decisions made about people they care for,” Lynch continued, endorsing the action plan as a step forward.

Addressing councillors, carers urged them to use the plan, and the newly-formed borough partnership and carers’ board, to introduce care-friendly policies.

These include better motor accessibility, a rethink about low traffic neighbourhoods, and a centralised system that combines the “fragmented services” of the council, NHS and local charities.

Carers also called for a better transition from child to adult services for the people they care for, labelling adult services “significantly more difficult” to access.

The action plan was universally endorsed by councillors, with many sharing their own stories of being a carer.

Cllr Larraine Revah reminded those present that it is “important the council adheres to” the plan.

Leader of the opposition, Liberal Democrat Tom Simon, called the plan a “brilliant first step towards changing the landscape of care in Camden”.