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Redhill woman in plea to MPs to support unpaid carers

BBC Hayley and Vince JenningsBBC
Hayley Jennings said her husband now had no access to their kitchen

A Redhill woman has been to Parliament to lobby MPs for more financial support for unpaid carers.

Hayley Jennings became her husband's full-time carer four years ago after a cycling accident left him unable to walk.

She said they had to set up fundraising pages and take out a loan to pay for a stair lift and an electric wheelchair.

The Department for Work and Pensions said there were means-tested benefits for carers.

Vince Jennings said because they own their flat and his wife works full-time, they only qualify for grants to adapt their home for disabled access after they have spent £80,000 of their own money.

He said: "The system is completely unfair. If I was in social housing, not in my own house, I wouldn't have to pay for anything."

He said his wife's salary was too high for them to qualify for means-tested grants to widen doorways, build ramps and make their home wheelchair-friendly.

Handout Hayley Jennings at WestminsterHandout
Hayley Jennings has lobbied MPs at Parliament asking for more support

Mrs Jennings said: "I have to do all the cooking, the cleaning, the washing, and as his wife, of course, I would happily do any of that - but the point is we used to do it together.

"Now it's all on me because he's got no access to the kitchen."

A Carers UK study suggested one in five adults was an unpaid carer. It also said nearly 800,000 unpaid carers in the South East were concerned for their physical and mental health and 340,000 were worried about coping financially.

Helen Walker, Carers UK chief executive, said: "Physical and mental wellbeing of themselves is at the top of their agenda because they're so concerned about the pressure they have been under - over the past two years in particular.

"Just below that, the biggest anxiety is of course money, because they're really struggling."

In a statement, the Department for Work and Pensions said there were means-tested benefits for carers, targeted payments for families living with a disabled person and energy support schemes.

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