The carer's allowance is a social assistance scheme which provides an income maintenance payment to people who are providing elderly or incapacitated pensioners or certain persons with disabilities with full-time care and attention and whose incomes fall below certain limits. At the end of last December 10,330 people were in receipt of a carer's allowance at a cost of more than £37 million in 1997.
Since its introduction in 1990, the allowance has been improved and expanded progressively over the years. As announced in the budget, the weekly personal rate of the carer's allowance is being increased from next June by £5, from £70.50 to £75.50 for those over the age of 66, and £3 for carers under 66 from £70.50 to £73.50.
In addition, the budget also provided for three additional improvements for carers. The first two of these are of a more technical nature and benefit a small number of people. These improvements are a disregard of non-national disability pensions up to the maximum level of the old age contributory pension in assessing means and the payment of carer's allowance for six weeks after death to carers whose spouses were not in receipt of a social welfare payment. The third improvement is the provision of a free travel pass to all those in receipt of carer's allowance in their own right.
Last month I met representatives of the Carer's Association, the organisation which represents the interests of carers in the home. I will meet the association again shortly, as will the working group carrying out the review of the carer's allowance scheme. As part of my commitment to improve the supports for carers, I have recently reviewed the operation of the condition whereby the carer is required to provide the care recipient with full-time care and attention and have decided to adopt a more flexible approach. Carers may now attend educational or training courses or participate in voluntary or community based activities for approximately ten hours per week provided the carer makes adequate provision for the care recipient in his or her absence. These new arrangements come into effect immediately.
In An Action Programme for the Millennium the Government is committed to progressively relaxing the qualifying criteria for the carer's allowance to ensure that more carers can get the benefit and to increasing the value of the allowance in real terms. In line with these commitments, an overall review of the carer's allowance is being carried out in my Department. This review is considering the purpose and development of the scheme, both in terms of its current operation and its future development. It will also examine the potential for the development of provision for carers through the social insurance system and the role of the private sector. The review is expected to be completed by the middle of this year and it will be published. Further developments will be considered in the light of that review.