In their 1987 Family Charter12 Dr Michael Schluter's Jubilee Centre say that the tax system at the moment provides little support for carers:
There is a Dependent Relatives Allowance, offset against taxable income. But this is set at £100 per year, which actually amounts to a mere £29 per year for someone paying income tax at 29%. Indeed, tax allowances are now recognised to be a rather blunt instrument and of no help to non-earners or those on very low incomes. The defective Dependent Relatives Allowance is therefore being phased out.
What is needed is a general care allowance to be paid when someone cares for a sick or elderly person - not necessarily a relative - in his own home. This would encourage more active person-to-person compassion. The Invalidity Care Allowance is currently worth £28-£30 per week (1990 figure). This is only payable where a carer spends at least thirty-five hours a week looking after a severely disabled person, who in turn must receive Attendance Allowance. Only about five per cent of the elderly people receive Attendance Allowance; and thirty-five hours a week of direct caring is a fairly inflexible rule which acts as an impediment. Not surprisingly very few people (10,000 in 1987) get Invalidity Care Allowance. A spokesman for the Department of Social Security in the Edge Hill Office at Liverpool told me that 'After they fail to qualify for attendance allowance, there is little else we could do to help.' Not only would a general care allowance ensure care in a permanent setting based on a sense of belonging and being loved, the costs would actually be far less. In 1990 the weekly cost of one place in a residential home ranged between £178 and £238 in London, and £155 and £215 outside London. Costs of nursing homes were even higher, ranging from £233 to £238 in London to £210 and £266 payable outside London. But it is not just costs - the limited number and changing nature of staff, restricted diets, and the general ethos of even the best institutions often contribute to an elderly person's decline.
The Elderly - Other Ways to Help
There are other ways in which a more humane approach could be adopted. The elderly are entitled to share independently and equally in the economic, social and cultural aspects of life. The right to a meaningful occupation should apply where