Carer’s Leave

Alison Bennett Excerpts

Wednesday 14th May 2025 Westminster Hall

[Alison Bennett (Mid Sussex) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship today, Mr Stringer. It is also a great pleasure to speak on behalf of the Liberal Democrats in this debate, given that it has been secured by my hon. Friend the Member for North East Fife (Wendy Chamberlain). I thank her not only for securing the debate, but for all the work that she has done on this issue over a number of years. We are all grateful to her.

Listening to hon. Members’ contributions, I was struck by the thought that we have represented all the countries of the United Kingdom—from Scotland to England, Wales and Northern Ireland. That makes it clear that this issue is of national importance, but it is also a very personal and specific problem, which many millions of individuals are dealing with in every constituency throughout the country.

I think of my Mid Sussex constituent Fe, whom I met a few weeks ago. She is probably about my age, and has basically been a carer for the past 20 years—first for her mother, who sadly passed away, and now for her father, who has recently gone into a care home. Because of that 20 years of caring she has often been unable to work, and has at times been in employment that does not reflect her qualifications or the complexity of the work that she can do.

Effectively, Fe has been impoverished by caring for her mother, and now her father. Now that her father is in a care home, the family home—her home—has had to be put on the market. When it is sold, Fe will find herself homeless. The hope is that there might be some money left over from the care home fees, but that may not be the case. Fe is looking at a bleak future: she has not paid into a pension and has been unable to build up a nest egg to look after her future after a lifetime of caring for others.

Despite the enormous contribution that they make, unpaid carers like Fe live in financial hardship. As other hon. Members have said, the carer’s allowance, which is the main form of Government support, is just £81.90 a week—the lowest level for a benefit of its kind. That is not just unfair; it is also unsustainable. As our population ages and more people live longer with more complex needs, demand is only going to grow. How can we expect people like Fe to keep caring if they are pushed to the brink financially, emotionally and professionally? I do not see how we can. Worst of all, many carers have been punished for simply trying to make ends meet. As everyone here is probably aware, if a carer earns just £1 over the threshold of £150 a week they lose their entire carer’s allowance.

[Sarah Dyke]

My hon. Friend was probably going on to say that most carers have no idea that they have accidentally been overpaid carer’s allowance. Unpaid carers are doing such a remarkable job. I have been contacted by many in Glastonbury and Somerton who deserve our support. They are facing extreme financial hardship. Does she agree that we need to stop pursuing carers for old overpayments of carer’s allowance?

[Alison Bennett]

I thank my hon. Friend for that powerful intervention. I absolutely agree that there should be an amnesty on those overpayments. They were accrued through no fault on the part of the people who received carer’s allowance. It came about through a failure of the Government, the Department for Work and Pensions and His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs to communicate with each other, convey information and follow up on debts as they accrued.

This is a scandal. Many of those carers had no idea they were being overpaid. That is why I and Lib Dem colleagues are fighting for a better deal. In our manifesto, we pledged to increase the carer’s allowance by £20 a week, which would have raised it to £101.90—an extra £1,040 a year. We would also raise the earnings threshold to £183 a week, in line with 16 hours on the minimum wage. Crucially, we would taper the allowance gradually, instead of cutting it off entirely. That is fair, and means that carers will not be penalised for working a few extra hours to support themselves.

Our vision for carers goes beyond financial support. We would introduce a statutory guarantee of regular respite breaks, because everyone needs time to rest, including carers. Many local councils already offer a respite service, but they have been stretched and pushed to the brink. Those councils do not have the resources to meet the demand for something so vital. We would make it a legal right to support respite care by introducing free personal care and pushing for long-term sustainable funding for social care, which is something I would like to see the Government act much faster on.

We must support carers because they are frankly being let down. My Liberal Democrat colleagues and I would introduce paid carer’s leave, building on the Carer’s Leave Act 2023. The coming into force of that landmark law means that 2 million carers have the right to take unpaid leave. Our next step is to make that paid leave, because caring for a loved one should not come at the cost of someone losing their job or income. All of that is rooted in one simple belief: no one should have to choose between caring for a loved one and having a decent life of their own.

[Anna Dixon (Shipley) (Lab)]

I note that I am chair of the all-party parliamentary group on carers. A lot of employers are already going further than the statutory requirement, in offering some days of paid leave. Members of Employers for Carers have found it has helped with retention of workers. Does she agree that some leading employers are already showing the benefits of providing paid carer’s leave on a voluntary basis?

[Alison Bennett]

I thank the hon. Member for that question. I agree there are some exemplar employers who lead the way. As the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) said, the benefits to the economy of offering paid leave outweigh the potential costs.

Carers are more likely to be women, more likely to be middle-aged and more likely to be juggling children and caring responsibilities. They are that sandwich generation. One in seven people in the workplace are doing just that. They deserve real action and real support. I say to every unpaid carer listening today that, whether they realise it or not, they are pillars of our society. We, here and everywhere else, must recognise that. Carers, we see you and value you; the Liberal Democrats are on your side.