New call for people on Carer’s Allowance to be paid £1,600 each month
dailyrecord.co.ukMore than 7,800 people have signed an online petition calling on the UK Government to increase Carer’s Allowance to match the National Minimum Wage rate of £11.44 per hour, which would give people a weekly payment of £400.40, or £1,601.60 every four-week pay period.
The benefit is currently worth £81.90 each week (£327.60 every pay period) to people providing 35 hours of unpaid care and is set to rise by 1.7 per cent to £83.30 (£333.20 per pay period) from April.
Petition creator Emma Roberts argues Carer’s Allowance is currently worth around £2.34 per hour, is a taxable benefit and “counted as income for other benefits like Universal Credit”.
During the Autumn Budget in October, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the weekly earnings limit for unpaid carers will rise from £151 to £196 from April 7 - equivalent to 16 hours at the National Minimum Wage.
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