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Closed Increase the Carer's Allowance to £80 per week, from £62.10 per week

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There are an estimated 6.5 million carers in the UK, meaning that 1 in 10 people have caring duties. Unpaid carers save the UK government £119 billion per year, more than is spent on the NHS. To receive the carers allowance, you must care for 35 hours a week, when many care for 100 hours or more.

Working up to 100 hours, the Carer's Allowance equates to 62p per hour, in contrast to the minimum wage of £7.20 per hour. The burden of caring is great, with 625,000 carers suffering from mental or physical illnesses - around the population of Glasgow. The problem will only get worse with 6,000 people becoming carers every day - these people need help now.

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    If this petition gets 10,000 signatures, government will respond to it.

    If this petition gets 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in Parliament.

    This petition will stay open until 2 February 2017.