The UK Government has dismissed proposals to increase Carer’s Allowance weekly payments to match the rate for the National Minimum Wage of an 18-year-old. Carer’s Allowance is administered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and currently pays people £69.70 per week, but an online petition asked for this to be increased to £239.05 to “reflect the work carers do”.
Carer’s Allowance is for someone who provides care for a friend or family member for at least 35 hours each week and is paid every four weeks, amounting to £278.80 each pay period, however, Emma Roberts who created and posted the petition, highlighted that when the payment rate is compared to that of someone aged 18 earning National Minimum Wage, it works out at less than £2 per hour, compared to £6.93 per hour.
The ‘Increase Carer's Allowance to equal 35hrs at National Minimum Wage’ petition on the petitions-parliament website has received nearly 27,150 signatures of support from across the UK and a response from the DWP explaining why the rate of pay cannot be increased.
