Carers Week

Winning Here

First up, a massive congratulations to our four new councillors who won their by elections on a very wet day last Thursday. Jane, Erika, Billah and Kirsten all worked so hard, as did our many volunteers across Burgess Hill, Haywards Heath and Hassocks. 

Thank you to everyone who went out and voted too. Regardless of who you voted for, (or even if you didn’t vote at all), I know that our four new councillors are the kind of people who will work hard every day speaking up for you and our area.

If you are inspired by our new councillors’ wins, and fancy getting involved with the Mid Sussex Liberal Democrats, we are always ready to welcome new volunteers, and there are lots of ways to be involved - behind the scenes or in the limelight - it’s not just about standing for election.

Carers Week

It is Carers Week this week. This is an annual event which aims to raise awareness of the challenges that unpaid carers face. 

An unpaid carer is someone - including children - who looks after a family member, partner or friend when that person would not be able to cope without their support. That might be due to illness, frailty, a disability, a mental health problem or an addiction. 

Carers who I have met tell me that being a carer is one of the most important and rewarding things that they could do, and for many, they would not want it any other way. However, being a carer comes at a price - be that lost earnings, isolation, poverty or worsening physical and mental health. During the week ahead I am going to a number of events to show my support and advocate for carers.

There are thought to be about six million carers nationally, and thousands of carers live in Mid Sussex. The 2021 Census identified 11,582 carers across the whole of Mid Sussex District (the data is not available at a constituency level), but it is also thought that many more people are carers but don’t necessarily realise that this is a role that they have gradually assumed. 

Here in Mid Sussex we are fortunate to have Carers Support, a charity who with financial backing from West Sussex County Council helps 30,000 carers right across the county. I met Caroline and Anna from Carers Support last week and learnt more about what they do, be it helping when a cared for person leaves hospital and returns home, organising social events, and checking whether the family is receiving all the financial support that they are entitled to. 

95,000 carers are at risk of losing benefits

I am really worried that Carers are going to be hit hard should the government press ahead with its proposed changes to the benefits system. I have been quizzing government ministers on the impact that their proposals to reform benefits will have for Carers in particular. 

In response to my written parliamentary question, the Department for Work and Pensions revealed that 95,000 unpaid carers who receive both a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and the Carers Allowance would lose some of their benefits because they will not meet the proposed qualifying rules for PIP.

That is a hugely significant number, and should the person they care for also fall short of the DWP’s new PIP criteria, then as GB News reported, there will be a devastating cascade of lost income for these households. 

Frustratingly, we are now in a waiting game. It was thought that the government would set out this month the legislation that it is bringing forward to make these changes, but as things stand, no date for this is available.

College visits and a request for guinea pigs

Obviously not real guinea pigs. 

Last week I very much enjoyed visiting both Haywards Heath College to talk to their Year 12 Politics students, and meeting Donna-Marie Janson, the principal of Varndean College.

I am currently scoping out interest amongst local secondary schools and sixth form colleges to take part in some informal focus groups looking at the impacts of the internet on young people’s wellbeing. 

If you are a teacher, or a student and would be interested in finding out more, please email me at alison.bennett.mp@parliament.uk

Getting in touch

My parliamentary email address is: alison.bennett.mp@parliament.uk. If you need my help, please get in touch.

Best wishes,
Alison

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