Covid crisis highlights struggles in caring for the sick or disabled

No one quite knows what goes on behind closed doors; often because we choose not to find out or simply pretend not to see.

Jamie Livingstone, Head of Oxfam Scotland

Before the coronavirus pandemic we chose to ignore the struggles faced by people quietly caring for sick or disabled loved ones at home. We also didn’t pay enough attention to those whose job it is to care for others; in our nurseries, in our care homes or within people’s homes across our community.

We allowed ourselves to ignore the poverty carers faced; left to rely on an inadequate social security system, poverty wages and insecure contracts.

We chose to remain selectively blind to the fact that caring is still dismissed as “women’s work”; leaving it undervalued and under-rewarded, with women, who deliver most care, often trapped in poverty as a result.

But as we mark Carers Week, we can no longer pretend not to know; the coronavirus has brought into sharp focus the importance of care and the poverty that comes with it.

Caring isn’t just happening behind other people’s closed doors anymore. It’s happening behind many of ours, too. Across the UK, 4.5 million people have taken on new caring responsibilities as a result of the pandemic. And that figure doesn’t even include the countless parents who’ve had to contend with schools and childcare facilities closing.

For many, it’s been an eye-opening insight into the poverty associated with being a carer; as new caring responsibilities have forced people to give up or reduce paid work and left them reliant on a complex and inadequate social security system.

This intolerable financial pressure has been compounded by anxiety about the health and safety of our loved ones and ourselves; something grimly familiar to people who were already caring prior to the pandemic.

Lynn, who’s from Paisley and has been caring for her husband for years, said: “This crisis has really brought home the fact that my husband and I are on our own; there’s no safety net. I have no idea what happens to my husband if I get sick; none.”

People whose job it is to look after others – whether in care homes, nurseries or in people’s homes – have found themselves under similar pressure as they stare death and danger in the face. Their reward? Poverty wages, insecure contracts and the “support” of a social security system that all too often results in people queuing outside food banks.

The current spotlight on carers has underlined their importance, both to our economy and our society. Now what’s needed is swift and deliberate government action.

Many of the solutions to the poverty crisis facing Scotland’s carers lie at Westminster. However, the Scottish Government is far from powerless. They’ve taken some welcome steps forward with others in the pipeline; but more will be needed.

While some unpaid carers in Scotland already benefited from greater financial support and will now get a much-needed one-off Covid-19 cash boost from the Scottish Government, others don’t qualify and will continue to miss out.

All carers need a sustained commitment that they will always have enough money to live on.

For parents facing poverty, increased provision of free early learning and child care is planned, though now delayed.

So too is the Scottish Government’s new £10 per week, per child Scottish Child Payment. Ministers must ensure that families who are struggling right now are able to access emergency financial support.

For paid care workers in Scotland there’s been a promise to fast-track a pledge that they will be paid the real Living Wage; though £9.30 an hour is the very least these workers should expect. It’s clear that Scotland’s social care system needs a big cash injection to ensure its workers are properly rewarded.

The Scottish Government is now earnestly planning a just and environmentally friendly recovery from the pandemic. It must also be a caring one.

We need a step change in the way we value those whose job it is to look after others; whether at home or at work. It’s not enough for their work to be more visible. We must protect, support and value them, both now and in the future.

To do that, we can no longer pretend to be blind to the poverty carers face.

Jamie Livingstone, head of Oxfam Scotland