Campaigns

Members of Uniting Carers are involved in local and national initiatives to impact on the quality and provision of services  for people with dementia, and for the family carers who are providing the lions share of care themselves. Members also take part in service development and contributing to national policy on dementia, older people and carers issues.

Current Campaigns

Carers' Manifesto

We support Carers UK who have published a manifesto for the general election, which sets out a blueprint for the next government to achieve real and lasting change for carers and their families, and assesses the progress for carers in the last five years. The manifesto calls for action in six key areas:

· Health and care
· Employment and training
· Poverty and social exclusion
· Equality and human rights
· Young carers
· Recognition, information and advice

If you'd like to find out more, log on here to read the manifesto and you can also email the next Prime Minister (whoever that may be) or join a virtual protest click here

Past Campaigns 

Terminate the Rate Campaign (http://www.terminatetherate.org), which campaigns against the Mobile Termination Rate (MTR). This is when mobile phone companies charge a rate for calling a different network to your own, for example calling T-mobile from an Orange network phone. Currently this is charged at 4.7p per minute. For many carers their mobile is a lifeline and is used often to make many calls, such as organising respite care, calling medical staff, checking to see that the person they care for is OK when they have to leave the house. These calls add significantly to carers expenses in a time when their income is greatly reduced. Lowering MTRs will make a big difference to carers lives. Click here to support the campaign.

Carers UK Poverty Charter (http://www.carersuk.org/Newsandcampaigns/Shortchanged/CarersPovertyCharter/), which is campaigning for government to bring forward their review of carer's benefits. Carers UK plans to present the Charter to the government and all UK political parties in the following few months. Add your voice to the Charter here.
 

Campaign to 'Keep counting carers' has been won!

Carers are to be counted in the
Census 2011 - 9th April 2008

We have been informed that a question on carers is now going to be included on the 2011 Census, after funding was found for an additional page. The data provided from the 2001 Census was the first full data on carers and showed there were many more carers than had been estimated.
So thank you to all of you who sent out our Keep Counting Carers postcards to your MP and to Ivan Lewis, as it clearly had an impact!

Carers are an important and integral part of our society, and continuing to include them in the Census ensures that they are not hidden again. It also gives valuable information that can be utilised when services are being planned and commissioned.

This is an important result for carers, and for Dementia UK, Carers UK and all the other organisations that have campaigned for carers to be included.

Barbara Stephens, Chief Executive of Dementia UK, said "Thank you to everyone who has taken up the challenge to make your views heard. Members of Uniting Carers are involved in activities throughout the country and this is an excellent example of how important it is for carers to have a voice and a platform to ensure that your interests are represented."

If you are interested in becoming involved in Campaigning or would like to let us know about a campaign that you are involved in please contact Joy  Uniting Carers  on 020 7874 7225/09 or email carers@dementiauk.org.