At the recent meeting of the Standing Commission on Care, members were presented with current findings from the four taskforces set up by the government to work on specific concerns with regard to its New Deal for Carers. The issues covered are: health and social care, employment, income and equality. It was not surprising that the working groups, comprised of officials from government departments and interested stakeholders, came to similar conclusions with the objective of offering carers a better future.
There is broad agreement that carers should be able to make the choice of whether or not to take paid employment without heavy financial penalties and that they should not experience discrimination in the job market. At the same time, it is recognised that for this to become reality, reliable high quality support services across the country need to be in place and for those carers who choose not to work, the value of their contribution to society should be recognised. But how can this be achieved? If full-time carers received the minimum wage commensurate to the time they put in, the cost implications would be colossal. However, there is consensus that any acceptable solution to the present situation will be expensive.
Investment in caring is important for the wellbeing of the whole of society but the present demographic shift in longevity, even with the higher retirement age of 68, will necessitate increasingly significant costs in care. Is it reasonable or even realistic, to expect the full burden to be carried by the taxpayer? In my opinion, when a loved one becomes incapacitated for whatever reason - age, accident or illness - families will always bear the brunt of the responsibility, financial and otherwise, unless there is a fundamental shift in attitude. Not just by government, but by us all. We cannot aim to offer similar social care programmes as for example in Scandinavia, unless we agree to similar levels of taxation. Also, I think the carers' allowance - no matter what it is called nor at what rate it is finally fixed - should be wholly means-tested. Surely, whatever money is in the pot should go to those who most need it.
The proposed New Deal has received a lot of exposure and hence created high expectations from carers throughout the country. As a result, I believe there will be political and financial trade-offs over the coming months. Ministers are clear that they want carers to have the opportunities others take for granted and that any changes in present regulations need to make a real difference. Given that the strategy is a long-term project, perhaps it is time for a root and branch reassessment of the system rather than a makeover of what is presently in place. It could be explained that although initial changes may be slow, over the proposed ten year period of the strategy, lives of carers will significantly improve. Alternatively, the New Deal for Carers could follow the lead of the New Deal for Lone Parents relatively quickly with the introduction of tax breaks and care vouchers.
Then again, whatever recommendations are made will have to take into consideration the difficulties that local authorities already experience in providing adequate services. This brings us back to the underlying problem of funding.
· Judith Cameron is a former SocietyGuardian columnist
