MASSIVE PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR GRANDPARENT CARERS IN THE SOUTH WEST
EIGHT IN TEN ADULTS SAY THEY SHOULD RECEIVE SIMMILAR SUPPORT TO
FOSTER CARERS
New poll findings from YouGov commissioned by charities Grandparents Plus, the Family and
Parenting Institute and Family Lives show huge backing for better financial and practical help for
grandparents raising children because their parents can’t look after them.
81% of adults in the South west of England think grandparents and other relatives bringing up a child
should receive practical help from their local council, and 71% think they should receive a financial
allowance. This rises to 84% of adults who think grandparents should get a financial allowance if
they are on a low income. 83% think they should receive similar support to foster carers.
63 year old local grandmother Dorothy Evans from Plymouth has been bringing up her grandson,
now 13, since he was a baby with no support from the local authority. Robert was taken into care by
the local authority when he was 6 months old because of concerns about neglect and domestic
violence, before coming to live with Dorothy.
Dorothy says, “We’ve done our best to make sure my grandson doesn’t miss out but it’s difficult
when you are managing on a pension. I buy lots of things second hand and luckily Robert isn’t
bothered about labels. He’s happy to make do with Primark.”
She adds, “We struggle to afford things other children take for granted, like family holidays.
Dorothy, who has health problems, receives a state pension and Pension Credit but gets no financial
help from the local authority.
Karen, 56, from Devon, cares for her three grandchildren aged 9, 11 and 12. Although she now
receives some financial support, it took a long battle lasting more than two years to achieve this.
Every year a letter arrives reminding her that this payment is discretionary and could be stopped at
any point. She says, “It’s horrible living like that, it’s like a swords hanging over you. If the payments
stop I will have to sell my house to fund us.”
Charity Grandparents Plus is campaigning for better support for grandparents and other relatives
bringing up children when parents cannot look after them, for example because a parent has died or
is seriously ill, or because they are misusing drugs or alcohol.
Grandparents Plus own research shows that just 33% of family members who are bringing up a child
because their parents can’t look after them get financial assistance from their council, and 68% of
carers who asked their council for help still don’t get the support they need.
Sam Smethers, Grandparents Plus chief executive says, “It’s great that people in the South west are
backing grandparent carers. Grandparent carers are already treated as second class carers because
they are not entitled to similar support to foster carers or to parental leave when they take on care
of children. We’re calling on local authorities to give kinship carers like Dorothy, and the children
they are raising, the support they need. All too often kinship carers are left to bring up vulnerable
children without any financial or practical help from their council.”
Ms Smethers adds, “It is time for local authorities and central government to recognise and support
the vital role kinship carers play in keeping children out of care because it is both better for children
and more cost-effective for the taxpayer.”
In the UK there are an estimated 200,000 kinship carers – grandparents and other family members bringing up between 200,000 and 300,000 children because parents cannot look after them.
Research shows that a high proportion experience poverty, isolation and lack of support.
Notes to editors
1. All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2066 adults.
Fieldwork was undertaken between 5th and 8th October 2012. The survey was carried out online.
The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+). Respondents
were given brief information about entitlements to support by foster carers, but were told that
grandparents and other relatives usually receive no help from the local council for the children they
are bringing up. They were also given brief information about parents’ entitlement to maternity
leave and adoption leave.
2. The poll was conducted on behalf of Grandparents Plus, the Family and Parenting Institute and
Family Lives as part of the Big Lottery Fund Silver Dreams Fund Relative Experience project based in
Newcastle.
3. Grandparents Plus is the national organisation that champions the role of grandparents and the
wider family in children’s lives, through the provision of advice and support, research and
campaigning. Our advice service is open Monday to Friday 10am -3pm on 0300 123 7015.
www.grandparentsplus.org.uk
4. The Family and Parenting Institute is a charity working to improve the lives of children and
families now and in the future through campaigning, research and practical support.
www.familyandparenting.org
5. Family Lives is a charity that has over three decades of experience in helping parents deal with the
changes that are a constant part of family life through a range of national and local services including
a 24 hour helpline, live chat service and local services in community venues across the
country.www.familylives.org.uk
6. Dorothy Evans and other case studies spokespeople from Grandparents Plus are available on
request.
Ends