A CHARITY which supports unpaid carers across the district is backing a national campaign calling for an allowance to be increased.

Carers’ Resource wants the carer’s allowance, currently £64.60 a week, to be upped to the same level as the jobseeker’s payment. The £8.50-per-week increase has already been approved in Scotland.

The charity is supporting an initiative by Carers UK, which is writing to Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey asking for a rise at least matching that north of the border.

The carer’s allowance is the main benefit for people who provide unpaid care to a family member or friend.

Carers’ Resource chief executive, Chris Whiley, said the present level of the allowance was among concerns raised by people during a recent locally-held consultation over the national Carers Action Plan, published in June after months of delays.

She added: “The action plan set out a cross-Government programme of work to support carers over the next two years.

“The main concerns raised by people we spoke to were that carer’s allowance is not in line with other benefits, which puts financial pressure on carers and gives a negative image of the value put on caring.

“That’s why we’re backing Carers UK’s Make It Fairer For Carers campaign.

“We know that unpaid carers save the economy an estimated £132bn a year, so we should recognise this and avoid pushing carers into debt or poverty.

“We have a moral duty to ensure carers have enough money to live on. Life should not be a financial struggle when they give so much of themselves for other people and our wider society.”

As part of its action plan feedback, Carers’ Resource also contacted MPs across the district seeking their support in Parliament on several issues.

Topics raised included alleged discrimination against retired carers, who may be caring for 50-plus hours a week but are not entitled to carer’s allowance, and more support for carers to understand the break options available to them.

Keighley MP John Grogan said the charity’s requests were “very reasonable”.

And MP Philip Davies – whose Shipley constituency includes Cullingworth and Denholme – said he was delighted that Carers’ Resource was contributing to national policy.

He added: “It is essential that better support is in place to help carers who do such a wonderful job.

“I will continue to do all I can to ensure the concerns raised by individual carers and Carers’ Resource are listened to by Government ministers.”

Ms Whiley welcomed the MPs’ support.

“All the MPs who got back to us were supportive and we will be in regular contact with them to try to ensure carers are kept high on the agenda locally and nationally,” she said.

Supporters can sign the national letter at bit.ly/2wmRrqd.

For more details of Carers’ Resource services, call 01274 449660.