This Carers Week, local charity VOCAL (Voice of Carers Across Lothian) is calling for greater recognition of, and practical support for, unpaid carers, as new evidence shows caring is pushing too many people into poverty.
Unpaid carers are often managing higher household costs, cutting back on paid work, and spending more on fuel, transport, food and equipment. For many, the cost of living crisis comes on top of the cost of caring, creating intense pressure on family finances and wellbeing. VOCAL says demand for financial wellbeing support continues to rise locally.
VOCAL brought carers, staff and partner organisations together at its Cost of Unpaid Caring event to explore the causes of carer poverty and the changes needed locally and nationally.
Their report, launched on 8 June, highlights several key drivers of hardship, including the extra costs of disability and care, loss of income for working carers, difficulty accessing adequate social security, social care charges, legal costs such as Power of Attorney, and growing food insecurity.
Rosie McLoughlin, VOCAL CEO, said: “The value of unpaid care in Edinburgh alone is estimated at over 1 billion pounds but many carers provide this care at real personal and financial cost.
“This latest report shows that carer poverty is being driven by a combination of rising living costs, lost income, inadequate support and systems that are too hard to navigate. During Carers Week, we are calling for change so that taking on a caring role does not mean being pushed into poverty.”
VOCAL is calling for practical action at every level:
- A national hardship fund to support carers with the unexpected costs of caring
- Increased social security support for carers nationally
- Power of Attorney costs to be covered for carers
- An end to unfair social care charging
- More in-depth research on the Minimum Income Standard to understand the costs of caring and rollout of the Minimum Income Guarantee
- Encouraging all employers to improve their carer policies, advocate for better social care services, and offer paid carer’s leave
- Carers Act Funding to be allocated to crisis-prevention