Piece on BBC News about Carers’ Allowance claimants being prosecuted, and in the DWP’s right to reply, they said “we appreciate the work they do.”

Now that they now recognise it as “work”, will they raise it to the minimum wage x 35 each week? That’s the fair thing to do 🧵

Claimants have to provide care for at least 35 hours a week to be eligible; so it’s only fair that’s the rate of pay for them: 35 x min wage PW.

Then most won’t need second jobs to survive. But if they choose to take on extra hours on top of the 35; they should be able to…

… earn whatever they damn well want.

Kate Garraway has been really open about how caring for her late husband left her in debt; despite having a really well paid job.

It’s time to both stop these prosecutions; and pay family/friend carers properly.

There should also be no earnings limit. If you devote 35 hours a week to care for someone; it doesn’t matter how rich you are. You’re putting in the work so you should get your 35 x min wage PW. What other job would be allowed to not pay you cos you have another job that pays?

But the background to this is that the only reason carers are persecuted & prosecuted by the DWP, is because of their proximity to us: Disabled people.

We’re the DWP’s real target. Disability News Service wrote this amazing article on 30 years of cruelty and death by DWP of us disableds disabilitynewsservice.com/the-department…

Some people have compared the prosecution of CA claimants to that of subpostmasters/mistresses, and they’re half-right.