Vol. 515 No. 1
195 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the arrangements, if any, he will make so that carers aged 60 or over will retain free schemes if the person they are caring for becomes permanently resident in a home which would be a similar concession to that offered to widows. [5540/00]
Free travel and free telephone rental allowance are available to carers in receipt of carer's allowance and to carers of people in receipt of prescribed relatives and constant attendance allowance.
Budget 2000 extends the free electricity allowance and free television licence to these groups, thereby qualifying them for all free schemes. In addition the free schemes will be extended to all persons aged 75 years and over, regardless of their income and household composition. Both of these measures will be implemented from October 2000 at an estimated full year cost of £6 million.
The review of the carer's allowance noted that the role of caring can involve significant isolation and additional financial costs. The free schemes were extended to carers to support their role in providing care in the community, regardless of their household composition and income. However, there was no proposal that such allowances would remain in payment to non-care households and the review noted that the payment of non-cash benefits to carers could lead to a ‘step-down' in income when the carer's payment ceased.
That a carer is providing full-time care means a person, who is most at risk of being in institutional care, is being maintained in the community. Government policy is strongly in favour of supporting care in the community and enabling people to remain in their own homes for as long as possible. This policy has been affirmed by the extension of the free schemes to carers. However, entitlement to the free schemes ends when the full time care contingency and social welfare payment ceases.
