Carer and co-organiser of the Carers Poverty Protest group, Christine Steel, speaks about the group's plans and the choice between “eat or heat” facing many carers in these tough economic times.

Christine cares for a relative and has seen first-hand the financial struggle facing carers.

Christine and Tony Dennis set up the Carers Poverty Protest group with other online carers from across the UK after the idea came up on a carers’ internet forum. They realised there was nothing stopping them and Carers Poverty Protest was born.

The group isn’t short on ambition, and is calling on the nation’s carers to help them take their cause straight to the heart of government.

What are your aims for the protest?
“Carers Allowance should be paid regardless of carers means or receipt of other “income replacement” benefits (including the State Pension); carers should not have to self-fund their caring role (live off their savings); means-testing and the overlapping benefit rule should be scrapped (carers should not be forced to live on a government imposed limited income) and students should not be excluded from receiving Carers Allowance.

“Carers Allowance should be paid at a level that allows carers dignity and quality of life and at a level that recognises that carers are unique within the benefit system.

“The government must recognise the injustice inherent in the fact that social care and respite are dependant on local authorities budgets and not on the service users needs.”

How do you feel about the future? Are you optimistic?
“I am cautiously optimistic as I feel that carers are joining together for their common cause and in doing so are feeling less isolated and hopeless about their circumstances and that there is something they can do to make their voices heard.”

Do you think the 'credit crunch' is affecting carers?
“Oh, most definitely! Many carers live on the breadline as it is as they have no way of subsidising their income without financial penalties, under the present system of overlapping rules.

“So with everything going up, it really can be a choice between eat or heat.”

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