CHANGES to services and support for unpaid carers and those receiving care are to be made following an urgent government review carried out in the wake of the JEP’s #TimetoCare campaign.
Social Security Minister Lyndsay Feltham yesterday said she would continue “working closely” with carers and the organisations supporting them as she committed to a range of actions intended to bolster the practical support, advice and resources available.
But the minister has also maintained that, while calls to change legislation to allow a full home carers’ allowance and a pension to be claimed at the same time had been “fully considered”, she would not be proposing such a change.
Renewed criticism of the Social Security (Overlapping of Benefits) (Jersey) Order 1975 by Islander Mark Jones formed the basis of the JEP’s #TimetoCare campaign launched in October.
Mr Jones, whose wife died 14 years ago from cancer, cares full-time for his son Ryan, who has Down’s syndrome, and his daughter Megan, who has severe autism.
The 1975 Order prevents the 69-year-old from receiving his old-age pension at the same time as his home carer’s allowance, which he claims for his role looking after Megan, whose needs are greater.
Shortly after the JEP began highlighting Mr Jones’s calls for the rule to be scrapped, Deputy Feltham announced an “urgent review” of the range of support available to unpaid carers and those receiving care.
She stated that the work would be completed “as a matter of priority”, later confirming that a summary document “outlining the findings and the options under consideration” would be published this month.
Released yesterday afternoon, the report acknowledged the “significant public commentary” regarding the overlapping benefits rule.
Deputy Feltham noted that home carer’s allowance was “unique in the Jersey system” in allowing a pensioner who does not have a full contribution record to top up their pension amount by maintaining their HCA claim after pension age.
The minister stated: “Requests to override the ‘overlapping benefits’ rule and expand the current concession so that a pensioner carer could receive a full HCA amount in addition to their old age pension amount have been fully considered.
“However, delivering this change would require a significant increase in funding and would change a fundamental principle of the Social Security system.”
Deputy Feltham continued: “It would also not benefit carers of working age, would not target financial support where it is needed most, and is not the type of support that carers have been asking for more generally.
“For these reasons, I am not proposing any changes to the existing overlapping benefits or HCA rules.”
Instead, the minister has announced changes to the Long-Term Care Scheme established in 2014, which provides financial support to someone over 18 who has lifelong care needs.
The changes include enabling LTC payments to be made to individuals or families directly.
“While many LTC benefit claimants appreciate their benefit payments being managed on their behalf by the team in the ESSH department, some benefit claimants would prefer to manage their benefit payments directly,” the report explained.
“This option has been developed and is now available to any LTC claimant on request.”
And Deputy Feltham has committed to allowing greater “flexibility” on what approved care packages can include “to take better account of the needs of individual families”, such as including fuel costs for someone who requires therapeutic car journeys on a regular basis.
At the start of an LTC claim, more detailed advice will also be given on the support available to help with respite costs.
Other changes include the introduction of a dedicated care support advisor within the Employment, Social Security and Housing Department from 23 February, to provide carers with individual advice and direct them to relevant services.
A new Government of Jersey website page will be created and a ‘Connect Me’ event will be held on 17 March specifically for carers and the organisations supporting them.
Speaking to the JEP, Mr Jones said he was “disappointed but not surprised” regarding the lack of change to the 1975 Order.
“The argument is that a pensioner should be able to draw his pension and not be discriminated against just because he is a carer.”
He noted he would soon be meeting a government officer to discuss the report, but added: “I’m just going to be echoing what I’ve been saying for the last four years.
“I’ll be putting my input in but again, nothing is going to actually happen.”
Overlapping benefits
The government has said there is no current data on the number of pensioners who are also carers but that there are around 20,000 people claiming their OAP locally, citing engagement with groups like Carers Jersey that “suggests there could be thousands of informal carers in the Island”.
The government has estimated that the additional cost of providing a full HCA benefit in addition to an existing pension entitlement to pensioners who are carers would be just over £1.5M per 100 carers each year.
