Newark Advertiser poll: Should full-time carers have benefits equivalent to minimum wage?
We want to know what you, the reader, thinks about a plea for full-time carers to have benefits equivalent to that of minimum wage.
It comes after a Newark mum launched a petition following being forced to consider selling her home to cover the cost of caring for her son.
Leah Sumner is a full-time carer for two-year-old George, who has been diagnosed with septo-optic dysplasia, a life-threatening condition needing 24-hour care and monitoring.
Leah’s petition calls for a benefit for full-time carers of children with disabilities, paying £332.50 a week — the equivalent to 35 hours of work at minimum wage.
At the moment, Leah receives £69.70 a week — the equivalent of £1.99 an hour for 35 hours a week.
After George's birth, Leah was forced to leave her job. She and her family — including her husband Jonathan and their two other children — now rely on one income.
She said: “Our household income halved, but the bills and everything else we had before George are still there.
“I rely on my little boy’s disability living allowance, but that is specifically to help with extra costs of looking after a child with disabilities. It does not replace an income.”
George is not able to attend a nursery as his condition means catching chickenpox or even a stomach bug could be fatal.
“The money would massively change our lives," said Leah. "It would take some pressure off and allow us to live. Now we have George, this is for the rest of our lives.”
