Carers save NHS £87bn a year, for £1.39 an hour

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The Government must do more to recognise the contribution of carers who, says Alison Steed, are saving the NHS from catastrophic overload and get next to nothing
Britain's 6m unpaid carers provide support to their families and friends worth a staggering Pfund87bn a year, according to Carers UK, more than the Pfund82bn spent in total on the National Health Service (NHS) for 2006/07.
The astonishing figure has risen by just over a half in the past five years, and it means that the average carer is saving the nation around Pfund15,260 a year. If they did not provide these services, the NHS would effectively collapse under the extra strain.
However, in return the state help available to carers through the Carers' Allowance is a derisory Pfund48.65 a week, according to fees advice specialist NHFA, and that is only available if you are providing 35 hours or more of care a week.
That amounts to just Pfund2,529 a year or Pfund1.39 an hour far less than the national minimum wage which is set to rise to Pfund5.52 on Monday. Irene Borland of NHFA described the position as a "disgrace".