Carers UK is the main membership charity in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

for

carers A caregiver, carer or support worker is a paid or unpaid person who helps an individual with activities of daily living. Caregivers who are members of a care recipient's family or social network, who may have specific professional training, are o ...

. It was formed by the merger of two existing voluntary organisations on 14 May 1988. Originally constituted as Carers National Association, it was renamed Carers UK in 2001.

Charitable purposes

Carers UK provides information to carers and leads campaigns to improve carers' rights and tackle inequality. It has been instrumental in securing the first ever legal rights for carers. These include : * the Carers (Recognition and Services) Act 1995 * the Carers and Disabled Children Act 2000 * the Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004 * the

Work and Families Act 2006 The Work and Families Act 2006 (c 18) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Section 19 - Commencement Orders made under section 19(2):The Work and Families Act 2006 (Commencement No. 1) Order 2006(S.I. 2006/1682 (C.58))The Work and ...

Carers UK organises Carers Rights Day, produces leaflets and a magazine, and has a free carers helpline. The registered address is 20 Great Dover Street, London, SE1 4LX.

Governance and organisation

Carers UK is a Trustee-led organisation, with a membership of approximately 45,000 individual members. Members at the AGM approve the appointment of the Trustees who must always be a majority of carers. Carers UK operates out of four major UK cities -

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

(Headquarters),

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, and

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

. National committees exist in the devolved countries with some degree of autonomy to formulate local responses to the national devolved assemblies and their policy processes.

History and origins

In January 1963, the Reverend Mary Webster wrote letter to ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' concerning the difficulties that confronted single women facing the complex task of earning the family living and caring for the home, the sick and the elderly. Her letters to newspapers, journals, MPs and peers drew attention to the isolation and financial hardship that women carers were suffering, and generated a huge response from hundreds of women in similar situations. As a result of Webster's efforts, the National Council for the Single Woman and her Dependants was formed in 1965. Baroness Seear was an early supporter. Due to her intervention, a meeting was held in the Grand Committee Room of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

. Other early supporters and fundraisers included

Sir Keith Joseph Keith Sinjohn Joseph, Baron Joseph, (17 January 1918 – 10 December 1994), known as Sir Keith Joseph, 2nd Baronet, for most of his political life, was a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as a minister under f ...

, MP. The NCSWD was instrumental in securing the first ever right for carers in the Dependant Tax Allowance in 1967 as well as contributing towards the campaign to introduce Attendance Allowance, the benefit for people aged over 65, as well as securing Invalid Care Allowance, later renamed Carer's Allowance which is still the main benefit for carers today. In 1981, Judith Oliver, a carer for her husband, founded the Association of Carers, aided by a grant of £9,879 from the Equal Opportunities Commission. The group campaigned for

Invalid Care Allowance Carer's Allowance is a non-contributory benefit in the United Kingdom payable to people who care for a disabled person for at least 35 hours a week. It was first established as Invalid Care Allowance in 1976, and married women were not eligible. ...

to be extended to married women. Following a test case brought to the European Court on behalf of Jackie Drake, in June 1986 the government was forced to capitulate. In 1982, The National Council for the Single Woman and Her Dependants was renamed The National Council for Carers and their Elderly Dependants in an attempt to be more inclusive. Carers National Association was formed by the merger of the two existing voluntary organizations on 14 May 1988, and was renamed Carers UK in 2001. The Chief Executive is Helen Walker.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carers Uk 1988 establishments in the United Kingdom Charities for disabled people based in the United Kingdom Social care in the United Kingdom Organizations established in 1988 Carers organizations

Charitable purposes

Governance and organisation

History and origins

See also

References

External links