News

From March 2011 Liz Fenton will take the position of Chief Executive of the Princess Royal trust for Carers.

Liz is currently Chief Executive of Care for the Carers in East Sussex. She was also, up until recently, Vice Chair of the UK Partnership Council and a member of The Trusts’ Board of Trustees.

Liz joins The Trust with a wealth of experience and knowledge about carers, carers’ issues and the management of charitable organisations.

This puts her in an excellent position to steer the work of The Trust and ensure that any new organisation is fit for purpose.

Carers UK is conducting a major new research survey into the impact of caring unpaid for ill, frail or disabled relatives. They are assessing carers’ health, wellbeing and finances, and the support they receive from health and care services and their employers if they juggle work and care.

This survey brings together and updates a variety of different pieces of research Carers UK has done in previous years to get a fresh picture of the state of caring in 2010-11. Because the survey covers lots of different aspects of caring it is longer than usual, and will take around 20 minutes to complete, however these questions are important to build a really clear picture of the impact of caring.

If you would prefer not to provide some of the details, you can skip certain questions. However the more details you provide the better able we are to build up a detailed picture of how caring affects different people.

As well as ticking the boxes, they are also keen to hear in more detail about your experiences and views. Please use the comments boxes if you would like to add more detail. If you have had a particularly good experience and received support that has made a real difference to you, or have had particularly bad experiences, they would like to know.

Please click here to complete the survey

Please find below a link to download a consultation questionnaire from NHS London about the Public Health White Paper: Healthy Lives, Healthy People: Our strategy for public health in England.

Public Health White Paper: Healthy Lives, Healthy People: Our strategy for public health in England

We are seeking patients’ views and opinions about the care they receive from clinical nurse specialists and nurse consultants, and also their ideas about the best ways of assessing or measuring nurse performance.

Read more

The latest edition of the Southwark Carers News is available to download, please click below to access it.

Southwark Carers News – March / April 2011

Carers UK comments on the government’s Welfare Reform Bill, which confirms that Carer’s Allowance will remain outside of the Universal Credit.

Commenting on the publication of the Government’s Welfare Reform Bill, which confirms that Carer’s Allowance will remain outside of the Universal Credit, Carers UK Chief Executive Imelda Redmond CBE, said:

“We are pleased to see that Carer’s Allowance will remain a non means-tested benefit. It is clear that the Government were considering drawing Carer’s Allowance into the new system and if this had been the case, hundreds of thousands of carers would have faced a means-test and the risk of losing their Carer’s Allowance and a key recognition of their contribution to society.

We are pleased that the Government has listened to us and preserved this important right – recognising that carers have a unique place in the benefits system.

The Government is still making major changes to the welfare system which will affect carers. Carers who already receive means-tested benefits will be moved onto the Universal Credit and families are facing major reforms and, in some cases, reductions to disability benefits. We will be scrutinising all of the Government’s plans for the benefits system and fighting to ensure that families, who are saving the UK £87 billion every year with the care they provide, get the support and recognition they need.”

This consultation seeks your views on the Government’s proposals to replace Disability Living Allowance (DLA) with a new benefit – Personal Independence Payment. The Personal Independence Payment will continue to be a non-means tested, extra costs benefit. It will help disabled people remove the barriers they face to leading full and independent lives.

This consultation asks for views to inform our policy for reforming DLA and introducing a new objective assessment. The consultation applies to England, Wales and Scotland.

The consultation is aimed primarily at disability organisations and disabled people, but we would like to hear from anybody who is interested.

The below link will take you to the consultation paper and details of how to submit any responses.

To take part in the consultation please click here

The council has just published its proposals on how it intends to make the necessary savings to balance its budget, including information about which services may have to change.

Holmhurst stakeholder Letter

This year Southwark Carers have been able to provide families of children with additional needs the opportunity to apply for an Aiming High Grant.

The Aiming High Grant is designed to give children with additional needs the chance to take a holiday or gain positive experiences independently of their families.

Due to conditions set by our funders we were unable to offer these families the chance to apply for the Fix Yourself a Break Carers Grant. We recognise that carers of children with additional needs also require the opportunity to take a break and have been able to convince our funders to release further grants for these carers to allow them to also take a break.

This grant can be for either £100, £200 or £250 depending on your caring roles. You will be eligible for this grant providing you have sent in receipts for the Aiming High Grant you received earlier this year.

If you have any questions please contact Rob Danavell the Grants Manager on 020 7708 4497 or email info@southwarkcarers.org.uk

Carers Week’s annual carers survey has just launched, and it will be the results from this survey, from carers’ experiences and opinions, that we create the overall picture that will be at the centre of Carers Week, being held this year from 13-19 June.

The survey is open to every carer in the UK, so please do spread the word, make sure that every carer knows about it, and help to ensure that carers’ voices are heard loud and clear.

To take part in the survey please click here