The Autism Alert Card and campaign news for carers, it’s all happening!
Autism Alert Card
The Autism Alert Card is a way of quickly and discreetly helping other people like police, paramedics, doctors, nurses, firefighters or other emergency staff to be aware that the holder has Autism. The card provides an opportunity for staff presented with a card to contact a named representative of the individual on the autism spectrum, in order that they can gain a full understanding of their needs, and to help them to use the correct approaches.
Examples of situations where the card may be useful.
- Request a room change in a hotel. Discretely asking for support at a hotel reception on presenting the card.
- Discretely demonstrating the need for a double appointment in a GP surgery.
- To deter unwanted social contact.
- To access a disabled toilet.
- If you are a witness to an accident and are asked to give a statement.
To apply for the Autism Alert card:
Telephone 01463 720056
Email: autism.alertcard@nas.org.uk
Find further information on www.autism.org.uk
Tommy Whitelaw Campgain
Tommy is a man with a mission! To tour across Scotland raising awareness of the challenges carers face and deliver their concerns to the deputy first minister at their next meeting on May9th.
To find out more about Tommys journey visit his blog Tommyontour
Or contribute to his meeting by sending your letters about levels of care and support in the community where you live.
You can send letters to
tommy@i-woz-there.com
Tommyontour@alzscot.org
Or send to
Tommy whitelaw
39
Crosslee street
Craigton
Best of Luck Tommy!
Contact a Family is calling on parents and other family members caring for a disabled child to take part in their important research about the financial situation for families with disabled children in 2012.
Counting the Costs 2012 is a repeat of a survey and report we carried out in 2008 and 2010. Your collective responses will give a snapshot of families’ current financial situation and whether it has improved or worsened over the last four years.
The findings and report will help Contact a Family to raise awareness and lobby for change particularly around some of the detail that is yet to be finalised in the welfare reforms. Please help to build that picture by completing the survey which should not take more than 15 minutes. The deadline is 11th March.
Survey
North West Sutherland Care Alliance
It has been reported in todays papers that the North West Sutherland Care Alliance (NWSCA) is to close after failing to reach a funding agreement with the Highland Council.
Read the full story here at the Northern Times…
Connecting Carers are extremely sad to see this highly regarded locally based provider close and it is aniticipated that the current caring arrangements will cease on Friday the 30th of April.
If you are a carer that is affected by this news and in need of support or advice please contact our information line on 01463 723 560 or email carers@hccf.org.uk
If you would like Advocacy support to express your views and opinions in the negotiations for alternative providers the Highland Carers Advocacy Service can be contacted on 01463 723569 or by emailing carersadvocacy@hccf.org.uk
Fort William Drop In
Our first Fort William drop in for carers took place yesterday in the Fort William library. Many thanks to the library staff, Macmillian and Lochaber News for their support. The day was a great success in making local connections and providing face to face support for Lochaber carers. We were able to provide information on benefits, respite care, adaptations for the home and applications for grant funding. We also took the opportunity to signpost people to their local organisation the Lochaber Community Care Forum.
We hope to run the drop in sessions on a monthly basis so we look forward to being back soon. You can keep up to date with these plans on our website or via our Twitter feed @HighlandCarers.
There was a lot of interest shown in training and this has been passed onto our training team. They are looking for a suitable venue and hope to run some sessions soon. If you’d like to be kept informed of training please sign up to our Carers Network by contacting our information line on 01463 723 560 or emailing carers@hccf.org.uk
We’re always looking for new places to run a drop in session so if you’d like to see us in your local area just let us know.
Staying Safe Online
At Connecting Carers we LOVE modern communications technology and believe it has lots to offer us in supporting our Carers network across the Highland. With Twitter @HighlandCarers, Facebook (Connecting Carers) and our Blog we can reach large numbers of people quickly and efficiently. It’s a great way for us to let you know what’s happening and pass on useful bits of information that come our way.
However sometimes the people we work with are vulnerable or new to the internet, so we are joining the promotion for Safer Internet Day, this year taking place on the 7th of February.
This years Safer Internet Day is focused on Connecting Generations and Educating each other.
This topic looks at the reach of the online world across all generations and cultures and encourages families to work together to stay safe online. Whether you are 5, 40 or 75 years old, whether you use the internet once a month or several times a day – each person has something different to bring to the table that can help shape our online experiences and our understanding of online competences and safety. We all have a role to play in ensuring that every child is safe online.
Here are some top tips for staying safe
- Unless you change the privacy settings your facebook and Twitter account are public.
- You can never be sure that other users are being truthful about their online identities, so be careful about what information you give out.
- Make sure you know who to contact to report abuse or bullying on any sites you use and how your complaint will be dealt with
- Try to use a nickname, so no-one can look you up in a telephone directory and get your home phone number.
- It’s usually not a good idea to arrange to meet up with someone that you’ve only been chatting to online. Remember that you can never be sure that they’re telling the truth about their age or their interests and you could be putting yourself in danger.
- If you do want to meet up with someone you’ve met online, make sure that you discuss it with someone else beforehand. Make sure that meetings take place in a public place and that you take a friend with you or let them know where you are and how long you will take. Never agree to move on to a second location without updating your friend.
- If you order goods over the internet, make sure that the company you’re buying from uses a secure shopping server. You’ll know if it is a secure site if a padlock icon appears at the bottom of your browser window, or the web address begins with ‘https:’.
- If it’s a company that you’ve never heard of before, search their site for any contact numbers and postal addresses. If they’re a respectable company, they won’t mind you giving them a quick call to ask them a few questions.
- Never send your bank details to anyone in an email. Banks and online stores will never ask you to do this as it is not a secure way of sending information.
- If you do receive an official-looking email that asks you to send your financial details, you should never reply as you could become a victim of identity fraud.
Other useful websites to look at
New to caring?
At the Connecting Carers Information Line (01463 723560) we get a wide variety of calls. This week we’ve had some enquries from people who are new to caring. So in this weeks Blog Post we thought we’d take you through a quick introduction to what Connecting Carers can offer someone who is new to caring.
Meet Afia Masood
Afia Masood from Eastenders.
Afia is a married to Tamwar, who was recently badly injured in a fire at the home they share with his parents. Afia has now taken a break from work to become a full time carer for her husband Tamwar.
Afia’s caring role includes supporting her husband with his daily physio exercises, assisting in the personal care of his burn wounds, supporting him through recovery from trauma and providing emotional support.
Where to start?
So if Afia lived in the Highlands and contacted the Information Line what could we do to help her?
- We would ask Afia for her contact details, so that we can call her back if she is interuppted or doesn’t have credit on her mobile
- We’d then ask for her address so that we could send her an Information pack. Afia can then look through the pack in her own time and pick out any bits of information that are useful to her.
- We’d ask Afia is she would like to join our Carer’s Network. This gives us permission to contact her with our newsletter, training events and will give her access to our online support groups (planned for launch 2012). Afia can choose is she would rather have information by email or post.
- As a new carer there is lots to take on board, both the practicalities of caring and the emotional side. So we’d offer Afia a place on our Caring with Confidence training course.
Caring with Confidence offers unpaid carers a chance to take some time out to recognise their own skills and to build their own self confidence by focussing on techniques that can be used to develop communication skills and self belief.
If you have never been to any of our training events before, this course is an excellent place to start.
For more information contact Tina or Cath on 01463 723 573 or email TMorrow@hccf.org.uk
- Afia owns a business with her husband but she is not able to work there full time whilst caring. We’d advise her of the range of benefits that Carers may be entitled to. We’d then make sure she has contact details, phone numbers and websites for her local CAB and benefits offices.
- Although Afia has the support of her extended family she may appreciate the chance to talk with other Carers and share experiences. So we’d invite her to our regular Tuesday drop in from 10-12 at the Dunbar Centre in Inverness. If this wasn’t local we’d give her dates for other drop in sessions planned for her area.
- Afia is caring for her husband who has injuries resulting from burns so we’d help her to seek out condition specific support.
That’s plenty for Afia to get started with Connecting Carers, but she’s welcome to get in touch with us at anytime if she more questions or problems arise.
The Connecting Carers Information Line can be contacted on 01463 723560
or email Carers@hccf.org.uk
Dates for your diary
Lots of events taking place at the moment in Scotland for Carers.
ENABLE Scotland are kick starting 2012 with a variety of events for Professionals, Parents and Carers.
The Gathering 29th February and 1st March 2012, Glasgow
‘The Gathering’ taking place at the SECC on the 29th February and 1st March. The Gathering is an exhibition bringing together all parts of Scotland’s third sector. Come along and visit us at stand 43 to find out more about our services and become a member.
We will also be hosting an event from 10am on 29th February entitled Picking Up the Pieces – Who supports the Carer when the unexpected happens?
This event will focus on sharing the findings of a recent survey carried out by ENABLE Scotland into ‘back up plans’ for unpaid carers. We will look into some of the more creative approaches that have been developed to support carers and look at the support networks they rely on to help them think about and plan for the future. There will be the opportunity to discuss best practice based on what we have learned from carers and feedback new ideas around ‘back up plans’.
How to book: The exhibition and event are free but you must register through ‘The Gathering’ website. P
ENABLE Scotland Parents Together conference – 1st March 2012, Stirling
From 9.30am-2.30pm held at Forthbank Sports Centre in Stirling there will be workshops and information stands, for parents, carers and family members of children with additional support needs. There will also be relaxation therapies ‘taster sessions’ available and lunch will be provided. Parents don’t have to attend for the full day, you can ‘drop in’ for one of the workshops or for a half day.
How to book: This event is free but you can contact the ENABLE Scotland Marketing Team on 0141 226 4541 or email marketing@enable.org.ukfor more information and to make a request in advance for workshops or just ‘drop in’ on the day
For a full list of events please open the attached events list or catch up with all our events at www.enable.org.uk or join us on at:
Facebook/enablescotland and Twitter – enablescotland
The world of work – pre employability for Carers
Lead Scotland has obtained funding from Highland Council to deliver a course specifically designed to inform Carers of the type of opportunities available, working from home in the Highlands. This course will be delivered in partnership with Vertex and the Highland Employer Coalition.
The course is designed as an introduction to the skills and knowledge required to work from home, and to seek various employment opportunities.
The course will run for 1 day a week for 7 weeks and will focus on the following topics:
- the world of work,
- site visit to local employer who has a working at home team,
- customer care and working with others,
- researching, applying for work and interview skills,
- mock interviews with Vertex and feedback and outcome of mock interviews.
Starts Tuesday 7th February 2012, 10.30pm – 1.30pm
Please contact Roisin Taylor for further information and to book a place:
Roisin Taylor
Mobile: 07768 917509
E-mail: rtaylor@lead.org.uk
Pilot Project
Are you interested in representing carers’ views on bodies that shape the way health and social care is delivered in Highland? Caring Together – the national Carers Strategy – says carers are to be regarded as “equal and expert partners” alongside professionals in the delivery of care. For that to become a reality there is a need to support carers to take up representative roles that produces meaningful carer engagement with statutory agencies. To enable such engagement carers will, we believe, require financial assistance to meet all relevant expenses including, where necessary, respite costs.
Donald Macleod and is a carer living in Inverness. On behalf of HCCF and the Coalition of Carers in Scotland he isworking on a pilot project that aims to develop engagement through providing training and on-going support for interested carers. Donal has spoken with a number of people in local statutory agencies and thinks they are receptive to greater carer involvement. So, if you are a carer living anywhere in Highland and would like to explore freely – without commitment either way, at present – what is involved in taking a representative role, please phone Donald on: 01463 793772 (day/evening).
Thinking ahead as a Carer
Todays You and Yours programme on BBC Radio 4 featured the story of John Kennedy from Liverpool.
The read the full story on the BBC website click here
“John Kennedy’s father, who had the same name, died of asbestosis in 2001. In the months leading up to his death, his wife Connie began to show the first symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and she was diagnosed that same year.
Twelve months on, Connie was admitted to a care home, and because she had little savings and no property, her care was funded by the local authority, Liverpool City Council.
In 2005 when £90,000 was paid in compensation for the industrial injury of asbestosis to John’s father, Mr Kennedy had legal control over his mother’s affairs through a lasting power of attorney. There was no will to follow so a family meeting agreed that the compensation should be divided equally between the three children. However this decision led him to be charged with benefit fraud on the grounds that his mother was still living and her share of the inheritance should have been given to the council to help pay for her care.
Mr Kennedy was eventually jailed not for the benefit fraud, but because he could not repay £58,000. This was ruled to be the sum of his personal benefit from the crime under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, even though he only kept £10,000 for himself.”
We’d like to reassure Carers that this is an extreme case. However it is not unusual for problems to arise if someone dies without leaving a will.
Connecting Carers offers a free training course for Carers called Planning for the Future.
Planning for the Future aims to help carers to identify some of the issues that they need to consider when thinking about the future for the person that they care for and for themselves.
The day is divided into two sessions, the morning looks a planning considerations for carers of younger people and the afternoon focuses on the needs of older carers.
Your can chose the session which is most relevant to your situation or you can attend both sessions.
Some of the topics to be covered and some leaflets with more details on each of the topics:-
- Power of Attorney – Leaflet
- Guardianship—both welfare and financial Leaflet
- Benefits and pension considerations for carers and the people that they care for – caring and your pension website
- Employment and education opportunities – carers and employment website
- Wills and trusts – CAB guidance on making a will website. HMRC website on Trusts in Scotland.
What is Power of Attorney
Power of Attorney is a legal document. It allows you to appoint someone that you trust as an ‘attorney’ to make decisions on your behalf regarding welfare, money or property. The Power of Attorney can be limited to only making decision about certain areas such as health and welfare or property and finance. Attorneys can make decisions for you when you no longer wish to or when you lack the mental capacity to do so. The Power of Attorney must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian or it will not be valid, it can also be cancelled if your circumstances change.
What is Guardianship?
A guardianship order is a court appointment which authorises a person to take action or make decisions on behalf of an adult with incapacity. A guardianship order can be in relation to property and financial matters, personal welfare, or a combination of these. Guardianship is likely to be more suitable where the adult has long-term needs in relation to these matters. The standard term for a guardianship appointment is 3 years, although the Sheriff has the discretion to make the appointment for a longer or shorter period.
Guardianship can be applied for when a person is over the age of 16 years. For young adults about to reach the age of 16 years, guardianship can be applied for in the three month period leading up to their 16th birthday. This means that the guardianship will take affect on their 16th birthday.
In Scotland both Power of Attonery and Guardianship are supervised by the Office of the Public Guardian
Two more useful guides that may help when Planning for the Future;
Scottish Government Guide for adults who need assistance in making decisions about welfare or finances
Scottish Government Guide on What to do after a death.
To find out more about Planning for the Future contact Tina Morrow on 01463 723573 or email TMorrow@hccf.org.uk
Other training dates are on our website
2012 our Carers Year of Action
The 2012 Scottish Local Elections, will be held on May 3, in all 32 Scottish Local Authorities. The election was due to be held on May 5, 2011 but was delayed due to the Scottish parliament elections. With those out of the way the battle is now on for your vote in 2012 and there are a numberof ways to make sure the voice of carers is high on the agenda this year.
- Make sure you are on the electoral roll for your area. If you have recently changed address or now require a postal vote this is the time to get organised.
- Find out who your local candidates are and ask them what they intend to do to support Carers in their area?
- A list of candidates will be circulated by your local authority once they are officially registered. Information on elections in the Highland Council area can be found here. However many parties are already warming up their nominees for the debates. Find them on facebook, Twitter, or on their websites and let them know what you need them to do.
- The facebook group Carers Votes Count 2012 is an active group with lots of ideas and debate
- Join us on Twitter and find other organisations and politicians.
- Checkout the national organisations that support and campaign on behalf of Carers, such as Carers Scotland.
“One voice can change a room, and if one voice can change a room, then it can change a city, and if it can change a city, it can change a state, and if it change a state, it can change a nation, and if it can change a nation, it can change the world. Your voice can change the world.” – Barack Obama
Add your voice to an existing campaign or start one yourself!
The internet has created great opportunties to start a campaign through blogging, surveys and online petitions.
It takes 100,00o signatures for an e-petition to inititate a debate in the UK parliament, more details on setting this up can be found here. The Scottish Parliament e-petition site is currently undergoing work but you can check out existing petitions here.
“Sometimes all it takes is a voice, one voice that becomes a hundred, then a thousand, unless it’s silenced.” – Newsies.
Support some existing campaigns:
- Pat’s Petition to stop and review the cuts to benefits and services which arefalling disproportionately on disabled people, their carers and their families.
- Read the Spartacus Report, a campaign started by e-blogger Sue Marsh inspired by the experiences shared on her blog.
- Why not take part in a survey to add your experiences to those of other carers and create a united voice? The Coalition of Carers in Scotland are running a survey from June 2011 to June 2012 to capture experiences of Carer Equality. More information on the aims of the survey can be found here.
To add your experiences to the survey online click here or download a copy for printing.
Or join us in person during Carers Week 2012, which will takeplace from the 18th – 24th June.
For more information on our planned events keep an eye on the Connecting Carers website and our Twitter profile @HighlandCarers.
Value for Carers
A Connecting Carers we are always looking for ways to pass on new deals and funding announcements that will benefit our Highland Carers. We’re delighted to draw attention to two recent announcements which offer some financial assistance for the New Year.
Free Energy Assistance
Carers Scotland got in touch with us to let us know of their succesful campaign to highlight fuel poverty amoungst Carers. Last year winter temperatures in the Highlands dropped to record lows of -22c with maximum snow depths of 30″, thats 76cm for those of you on metric. Coupled with increasing fuel costs some Carers and their families are finding it increasingly difficult to heat their homes. Many charities are now reporting cases of fuel poverty, where people have to choose between paying for heating or cutting back on their food shopping.
The good news is that from 30th November 2011 the Scottish Government has extended the eligibility of the Scottish Energy Assitance Package to include carers in receipt of Carers Allowance.
The Energy Assitance Package can cover a range of options:
- Installation of a new central heating system, including where appropriate heat source pumps
- A new boiler
- Draughtproofing
- Internal or external wall insulation
- Cavity Wall Insulation
- Loft Insulation
- Room Thermostats and heating controls
- Insulation of tanks and pipes
For more information on the Energy Assistance Package call the Energy Savings Trust on 0800 512 012 of visit the website www.energyassistancepackage.com
Short Breaks fund for disabled children, young people and their families.
Shared Care Scotland got in touch with us to let us know that the Better Breaks Development Fund is now open for applications. The Scottish Government has made £2million available to fund short breaks for disabled children and young people and thei families and carers. The aim of this fund is to improve the provision of and access to short breaks, espcecially where children and young people have multiple needs.
The new fund is divided between two grant making programmes one with Shared Care Scotland and one with the Family Fund.
To find out more information and start the application process you can get in touch with the two organisations
Better Breaks or contact the Shared Care Scotland office on 01383 622462.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all our Carers and our fellow organisations! We look forward to hearing from you in the New Year.
Don’t forget you can get in touch with us via our website www.connectingcarers.org.uk
our information line 01463 723560 or email carers@hccf.org.uk
How to make friends and influence people…
Carers are busy people often juggling their caring role, work and other family responsibilites. It’s also easy to lose touch with friends and family or put your own hobbies and interests aside when you take on a caring role.
Due to all of these Carers can experience ‘social isolation’ and it’s one of the key concerns that we like to address at Connecting Carers.
We’ve come up with a number of flexible ways for people to access our support on this issue:
- Through training events, check out the training calendar on our website for future courses such as Navigating the System (an introduction to caring, benefits and organisations)
- Through social events, such as the Christmas Stocking Fillers sessions that have taken place in Inverness, Dingwall and Thurso. These provide a fun time out from caring duties and a chance to chat with other carers who know what you’re dealing with.
Felt Flowers from Stocking Fillers
- Online in our discussion page, or the discussion pages of our partner organisations like the Princes Royal Trust for Carers. There are plenty of groups out there to suit your style and interests, you can access these at a time and place to suit you. There flexibility makes them ideal for Carers.
- Online via our social media accounts on Twitter @HighlandCarers or on Facebook as Connecting Carers. We use these accounts to communicate quickly and efficiently with large numbers of people. They are a great way for us to stay in touch. If you are not sure how to use these account we will be running some IT introduction sessions in the New Year to help set you up. Get in touch using the contact details below if you are interested in finding out more.
In the future we hope to add even more options to our service such as a telephone befriending service and interest groups. If you are interested in sigining up to these services or helping out as a volunteer please get in touch with us on
01463 723 560
or via email carers@hccf.org.uk
More information on social isolation and top tips can be found on the Princes Royal Trust for Carers website
If you are a Young Carer check out the dedicated site for Highlands Young Carers
International Volunteer Day and Connecting Carers.
Around the world this week volunteers and people inspired by volunteers will celebrate International Volunteer Day. Meanwhile, the 10-year Anniversary of the International Year of Volunteers will culminate with a special General Assembly session on volunteerism, and UNV (UN Volunteers) will launch the first ever State of the World’s Volunteerism Report.
Find out more on www.volunteeringmatters.unv.org
Volunteering your services to help others is not just hugely satisfying; it can also teach you skills that are invaluable to potential employers. At Connecting Carers we are committed to developing ways that volunteers can become part of our team. We believe that by training and retaining volunteers we can expand our services. We can also set up projects with volunteers that support carers across Highland, which otherwise we would not have the resources to do. Volunteers can also benefit from developing skills and building confidence from joining our team at Connecting Carers.
There are a wide range of roles that volunteers could do within our organisation from general admin duties, to facilitating support groups, promoting Connecting Carers across Highland and many more.
If you require any further information about volunteering with Connecting Carers please contact;
Carol Summers, Volunteer Co-Ordinator on 01463 723563 or email; csummers@hccf.org.uk
Carers Rights Day 2011
Friday 2nd December 2011 is Carers Rights Day and this year the theme is Money Matters.
In the current economic climate families are struggling more and more, following the recent Autumn statement many projections see little or no change in the near future. Families affected by illness and disability are futher challenged by issues such as the additional costs of caring and potentially a loss of earnings.
For key point from the Autumn Statement click here
For an example of media analysis click here
So there has never been a more important time to raise awareness of Carers rights and make sure that they are receiving all of the financial help they need and are entitled too, for the important job they do. After all according to this report
Carers save the UK up to £119 BILLION per year.
Benefits
Carers Allowance is the main state benefit for carers.
To qualify, you need to meet all the rules.
- You must be 16 years old or over.
- You must look after someone for at least 35 hours a week.
- The person you look after must receive a qualifying disability benefit.
- If you work, you must not have net earnings above £100 a week. For more information on this, see the section on caring and earnings below.
- You must not get certain other benefits. See Overlapping benefit rules below for details.
- You must be living in the UK when you claim Carer’s Allowance
- You must not be a full-time student.
Your eligibility for Carer’s Allowance won’t be affected by any savings that you have, or your National Insurance contributions recor
Many Carers also have health issues and may be entitled to Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for themselves.
DLA is paid if you’re severely disabled and have poor mobility (ability to get around) or need help with personal care. Attendance Allowance (AA) is paid if you’re severely disabled and need help with personal care.
If you have children, Child Benefit should also be paid.
Top up and Means Tested Benefits
Top-up benefits are also known as means-tested benefits because they’re only paid if you have limited income and capital. They’re paid in addition to other benefits to top up income, depending on the benefits you’re receiving.
The benefits are:
- Income Support. This is paid to some people, who are below the qualifying age for the guarantee credit part of Pension Credit, who are on a low income and who don’t have to sign on as being unemployed, such as carers or lone parents.
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance. This is a new benefit paid to people under 65 who have a limited capacity for work because of ill health or a disability. It can also help with the interest-only part of your mortgage payments.
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance. This is paid to people who are actively seeking work. It can also help with some mortgage payments.
- Pension Credit. This has two parts: the guarantee credit, which is paid to people who have reached the qualifying age, to top up their income, and the savings credit, which is paid to people aged 65 and over and rewards them for having some savings. Pension credit can also help with some mortgage payments.
In addition to one of the means-tested benefits from the four above, you may also be able to claim one of these means-tested benefits:
- Housing Benefit. This is paid to people who pay rent and have a low income.
- Council Tax Benefit. This is paid to people who are liable for Council Tax and have a low income.
Entitlement to means-tested benefits often enables a person to receive other benefits, such as free school meals, health benefits and social fund payments.
There are two types of tax credits that you may be eligible for:
- Child Tax Credit, which is means tested and paid if you are in or out of work and have responsibility for a child.
- Working Tax Credit, which is paid if you work and have a low income.
For more information on benefits click here for the CAB Benefits Advice Guide (Scotland)
Don’t forget:
If a family member is turned down for disability benefits such as Disability Living Allowance or Attendance Allowance, it’s not necessarily the end of the matter. Many specialist advice agencies have a very high success rate (80%+) when appealing against such decisions.
More on Carers Rights Day
