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| TX: 04.12.08 - Carers Rights Day PRESENTER: JULIAN WORRICKER |
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| Downloaded from www.bbc.co.uk/radio4 THE ATTACHED TRANSCRIPT WAS TYPED FROM A RECORDING AND NOT COPIED FROM AN ORIGINAL SCRIPT. BECAUSE OF THE RISK OF MISHEARING AND THE DIFFICULTY IN SOME CASES OF IDENTIFYING INDIVIDUAL SPEAKERS, THE BBC CANNOT VOUCH FOR ITS COMPLETE ACCURACY. WORRICKER Now today carers from across the UK will be travelling to Parliament to lobby MPs for a better deal from government. And tomorrow there'll be events across the country to mark Carers Rights Day. This comes as research has been released which reveals that two thirds of UK carers are living in fuel poverty and over half are cutting back on essentials like food or heating to get by and that compares with 19% in 2007. Thirty two percent of those paying rent or a mortgage say they cannot afford to pay it, whilst 74% are struggling to pay utility bills and that is up from 33% last year. All evidence that carers are being hit hard by the economic downturn. Well one person who'll be joining those lobbying MPs today is Linda Wisbach from Newcastle and she told me how she became a carer. WISBACH Well 16 years ago my husband Philip had a massive brain haemorrhage which left him totally disabled. I came home from work and found him in a coma and after he was in a coma for three months he was left unable to walk, partially sighted with lots of other health problems. And when he was in hospital I was told by a social worker it was up to me to care for him. But like so many people we live in an ordinary three bedroomed house and we had to pay for all our own adaptations and that was the beginning of our financial troubles really. WORRICKER Now you had a job at the time which obviously you had to carry on with as best you could. WISBACH Yes because I was absolutely determined that my son was not going to be brought up in a household that no one was working because I come from a background where people have a very strong work ethic and I really believe that people should work if they can. And I was absolutely determined that I was going to keep my job. WORRICKER So how did you manage to juggle a job and caring for Philip? WISBACH Well this was the big problem. I had to fight tooth and nail to get a care package and once I got that I was able to go back to work and unfortunately I've had to reduce my hours over the last 16 years because of the stress of caring for Philip. WORRICKER Tell us about that care package, in terms of what it meant to you financially? WISBACH Well basically because the care package meant I could work and supplement our income because although Philip got a pension really our income was kind of frozen in time because he was retired in '93 from his job but although he gets benefits any benefit increase was kind of wiped out by inflation. So that's why we have to be very careful with our money. WORRICKER So you have his pension benefits, there was your income from work which was obviously lower than it was because you were working part time and what about additional benefits that you got because you were a carer? WISBACH I couldn't get anything because I earned too much. It's a very, very strange system you see. Carers in this country it's estimated that we save the government £87 billion a year but in fact in return carers get £50 a week in carers allowance which as you know wouldn't really help pay for any bills. So I reduced my hours two years ago because I was so ill with stress, from caring for Philip, and I was able to claim my benefit but it isn't a lot of money, it wouldn't pay a lot of heating bills, for example. WORRICKER So in a typical week how much would you say you have to live off? WISBACH Well in a typical week our joint income must be about £300 I think. But on top of that we've got a mortgage, we've got the loans to pay for adaptations we took out and of course all the other bills you have to pay like gas, electricity, council tax and our insurance premiums as well. WORRICKER So that £300 quickly goes? WISBACH Oh it does yes, very much so. WORRICKER What about in recent times when clearly so many other people around the country are suffering financially because of the wider economic climate, how much has that affected you? WISBACH Well the first thing we noticed was our food bill went up quite a lot, especially fresh meat and fresh fish and things like that. So we're very careful what we buy and I try to budget very carefully. But Philip has to eat a good diet because obviously he's very ill, so I try to buy things in season but it's very difficult. But I have to say that carers are experts in doing this because they've been doing it for years. WORRICKER So you know your way around a supermarket better than most? WISBACH Oh yes, yes I do, always buy the supermarkets own brands, yes that's what I do. WORRICKER And you talked about things like fresh fish, for example, I mean are you having to compromise on that and perhaps buy frozen instead? WISBACH I don't buy - we do buy frozen fish but I would like - I prefer to the fresh fish but it's so expensive. And I'm very lucky because I can make things like homemade soups and that kind of thing and I could make a meal out of a chicken that would last a couple of weeks - days rather. But people don't do that sort of thing anymore I don't think. WORRICKER And fruit and vegetables - the same thing? WISBACH Well that's a luxury isn't it but we do buy them. WORRICKER Linda, what about heating costs, how difficult is that for you? WISBACH Well that is a big worry because obviously Philip has poor circulation so I have the heating on full blast when he's in the house. When he's not in I turn it down and I put a cardigan on because I'm sure once the government said that we should do that to save heating costs but it's a shame that people can't help with that because disabled people need to keep warm, like other people do. WORRICKER And are you finding that you've been turning it down recently on occasions when perhaps you wouldn't have done in the past? WISBACH Well actually I tend to turn it off when I'm in the house and I put on extra clothes to keep warm. And I do my physiotherapy and I get round it that way. WORRICKER Do you know if that's made a difference to the size of the bills? WISBACH I won't till after Christmas when the bill comes in but I'm dreading it, I have to say. WORRICKER Were you the sort of household who in the fairly recent past was able to have what I'd call a monthly treat, I don't know a takeaway, something like that? WISBACH Yes, yes we were, we would have a monthly treat like a takeaway but we don't do that anymore because we're trying to save up for Christmas. WORRICKER So that has had to go? WISBACH Yes it has. That's a luxury, you have to save. WORRICKER There comes a point, doesn't there, you'll obviously have thought about this, where you've obviously made every saving you can in terms of the food you buy, the heating you use, so the energy costs are pretty much as low as you can make them, there comes a point, doesn't there, where you think what else can I cut? WISBACH Exactly and even the cat is getting cheaper cat food but I mean - and he doesn't like it, I have to say, but I mean I don't know what'll happen. The government really has to look seriously at the income for carers because it's a disgrace and it's quite insulting to carers that we get so little for giving so much. WORRICKER I mean you're very good humoured about it as we talk but deep down you must be pretty angry about that aren't you? WISBACH It's not so much anger, it's sadness that carers give up so much, they give up their quality time, they give up their leisure time, the chance of education. A lot of carers would benefit from extra money, it would lift them out of the poverty line and improve the quality of their lives and they deserve that, they really do. And it's very sad that Gordon Brown who says he values carers but will do nothing about it at this point. WORRICKER Linda Wisbach, who's among those lobbying MPs today about the plight of carers. Back to the You and Yours homepage The BBC is not responsible for external websites |
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