Tag Archives: ukcuts
Crisis in social care costs Britain over £5bn a year
Crisis will get worse, charities warn
Wednesday 26 September 2012
Britain’s fragile economy is losing more than £5bn a year as a result of a growing crisis in social care funding aggravated by the Government’s austerity measures.
People are giving up an estimated £4bn in pay – cash that would have been channelled back into the economy – because they are being forced to leave work to care for elderly or disabled relatives. The Treasury is also missing out on £1bn of taxes they would otherwise have paid, while carers are claiming some £300m in benefits to help cover their living costs.
The “missing” £5.3bn is equivalent to more than 0.3 per cent of Britain’s gross domestic product, charities warned last night. More than 300,000 people quit work in 2010-11 to look after relatives – and the number is increasing because of continuing cuts to care budgets, they said.
The extent of the losses to the economy was disclosed in a report from Age UK and Carers UK, building on work by the London School of Economics. They said the problem would worsen unless ministers reversed cuts to town hall budgets that were affecting services, and finally acted to settle the long-term funding of social care.
Terminally ill girl ‘faces benefits axe’
Alice Pyne, Terminally Ill Blogger Behind Alice’s Bucket List, In Benefits Row
20/09/2012 22:29 BST
Terminally ill internet star Alice Pyne has been told that her mother’s child benefit could be taken away unless she goes to college.
Alice, 16, came to international prominence when a list of the things she wants to do before she dies was posted on the internet last year.
Alice and her sister Milly, 13, from Ulverston in south Cumbria, also received the British Empire Medal this year for services to charity after raising more than £100,000.
The spokesman said although he could not give specific details about Alice’s child benefit payments, her case was now being investigated by the HMRC and her parents are being contacted.
“We are contacting her parents just to find out what the circumstances are in this case,” he said.
Disability charity makes last-ditch plea for support
Opportunities Through Technology secretary Brian Snaith in the busy classroom
12:00pm Wednesday 12th September 2012 in News
A CHARITY helping disabled people remain independent and in work will close within months if it cannot find funding.
Opportunities Through Technology (OTT), based at the Colchester Institute, introduces disabled people to computer equipment and software to help them live a life without the need for support.
But after losing a grant of £25,000 due to government cuts to funding the charity is struggling to keep its head above water, and will close before Christmas if more cash cannot be found.
