Lords committee to explore the relationship between unpaid care and poverty, benefits and work

The sessions will take place on Monday 25 April at 3:45pm and can be followed on Parliament TV.

The first session will explore unpaid carers’ finances, particularly the impact of providing unpaid care on income and benefits, as well as discussing ideas for improving unpaid carers’ financial position:

Giving evidence will be:

• Nadia Taylor, Chair of the Board of Trustees, Carers Network
• Dr Valentina Zigante, Research Officer at the Care Policy and Evaluation Centre, LSE

Questions the committee is likely to ask include:

• To what extent are existing benefits sufficient to support unpaid carers who do not have an income through paid work?
• What are the obstacles to ensuring that unpaid carers receive targeted and personalised financial support?
• From an economist’s point of view, what are the key considerations and constraints to keep in mind when designing realistic financial benefits for carers?
• What role do financial benefits have to play in formalising unpaid care, and with what consequences?

The second session will look at unpaid carers’ experiences of work and having to leave the world of work to care, as well as discussing ideas for supporting unpaid carers to remain, or return, to work.

Giving evidence will be:

• Madeleine Starr MBE, Director of Business Development and Innovation, Carers UK
• Professor Sue Yeandle, Professor of Sociology and Director of Centre for International Research on Care, Labour and Equalities, University of Sheffield.

Questions the committee is likely to ask include:

• To what extent does better support for carers to remain in employment constitute a suitable solution for all carers?
• What reform should be implemented by the Government to enable carers to remain in paid work?
• What are the limits of legislation when it comes to driving a change in attitude towards carers in the workplace?
• What does good employer support for carers look like?
• What are the particular challenges that carers face when transitioning from caring to working