By Helen Mooney
26 October 2009
A forgotten army of grandparent carers are living ‘below the poverty line and struggling to cope’, according to a report by the charity Grandparents Plus.
In a recent survey, the organisation found that almost 40% of grandparents who looked after their grandchildren full-time were struggling to cope financially and were overlooked by children’s services.
The charity estimates there to be 200,000 grandparent carers across the country, who collectively save local authorities millions of pounds a year by keeping their grandchildren out of foster homes and residential care. Each child in the care system costs local authorities around £40,000.
The survey found that 38% of grandparent carers lived on a net income of less than £10,000 a year – below the poverty line of less than £235 a week. A further third of these families lived on less than £300 a week.
It also revealed that two-thirds of the families surveyed had not received help from social workers even if they had asked for it, and three-quarters who had had contact with social workers were not happy with the service.
Sam Smethers, chief executive of Grandparents Plus, said: ‘We can now see very clearly the intolerable stress and poverty that grandparents who step in to bring up their grandchildren face every day of their lives.
‘Not only are they left unsupported, often in extremely difficult circumstances, but they are not even counted in official government statistics. They are the forgotten families of family policy and it is time to change that.
She added that the cost to the taxpayer of children in foster care would be £40,000 per year. ‘A small amount of support for family and friends carers would be cost-effective, keeping children out of the care system,’ she said. The survey suggested that one in three were not even receiving child benefit, he added.
However, a spokesman for the Local Government Association told Public Finance that the report lacked clarity. He said: ‘The lack of detail makes it extremely difficult to accept or reject any findings. However, what we do know is that grandparent carers do an extremely important job of raising children who come from broken homes.’
The charity helped to organise a mass lobby of Parliament on October 28. It called on ministers to collect data on grandparent carers and for the government to introduce a new financial allowance for grandparents caring for their grandchildren.
Terry Rooney, chair of the Commons work and pensions select committee, hosted an event at the lobby day. He said: ‘For too long their plight has been hidden away and this event will focus the spotlight on a serious injustice. It is time for parliamentarians to grasp this nettle and come up with worthwhile solutions. This issue is not going away.’
26 October 2009
A forgotten army of grandparent carers are living ‘below the poverty line and struggling to cope’, according to a report by the charity Grandparents Plus.
In a recent survey, the organisation found that almost 40% of grandparents who looked after their grandchildren full-time were struggling to cope financially and were overlooked by children’s services.
The charity estimates there to be 200,000 grandparent carers across the country, who collectively save local authorities millions of pounds a year by keeping their grandchildren out of foster homes and residential care. Each child in the care system costs local authorities around £40,000.
The survey found that 38% of grandparent carers lived on a net income of less than £10,000 a year – below the poverty line of less than £235 a week. A further third of these families lived on less than £300 a week.
It also revealed that two-thirds of the families surveyed had not received help from social workers even if they had asked for it, and three-quarters who had had contact with social workers were not happy with the service.
Sam Smethers, chief executive of Grandparents Plus, said: ‘We can now see very clearly the intolerable stress and poverty that grandparents who step in to bring up their grandchildren face every day of their lives.
‘Not only are they left unsupported, often in extremely difficult circumstances, but they are not even counted in official government statistics. They are the forgotten families of family policy and it is time to change that.
She added that the cost to the taxpayer of children in foster care would be £40,000 per year. ‘A small amount of support for family and friends carers would be cost-effective, keeping children out of the care system,’ she said. The survey suggested that one in three were not even receiving child benefit, he added.
However, a spokesman for the Local Government Association told Public Finance that the report lacked clarity. He said: ‘The lack of detail makes it extremely difficult to accept or reject any findings. However, what we do know is that grandparent carers do an extremely important job of raising children who come from broken homes.’
The charity helped to organise a mass lobby of Parliament on October 28. It called on ministers to collect data on grandparent carers and for the government to introduce a new financial allowance for grandparents caring for their grandchildren.
Terry Rooney, chair of the Commons work and pensions select committee, hosted an event at the lobby day. He said: ‘For too long their plight has been hidden away and this event will focus the spotlight on a serious injustice. It is time for parliamentarians to grasp this nettle and come up with worthwhile solutions. This issue is not going away.’
