British Asians worry more about caring for their parents in old age

As the Governments consultation on the future funding for long-term care enters its final week, the survey shows a third of British Asians have concerns compared with a fifth of the wider population.

The survey reveals that Englands Asian population are:

nearly twice as likely to be comfortable looking after their older parents,
close to five times more likely to expect to look after their grandchildren while their children work, and
three times more likely to be up for extreme sports, but they are less enthusiastic about bingo.

The Big Care Debate is giving everyone the opportunity to have their say and shape the future of care and support services.

This debate affects everyone. In 20 years time a quarter of the entire adult population in England will be over 65 and the number of people over 85 will have doubled. Half of all men and two in three women will end up needing care, and if someone has more than 23,000 in savings, they will need to meet all the costs themselves.

Under the current system, the average cost of care and support is 30,000, but for someone with dementia it could be as high as 200,000. The Government wants to change this.

Minister for Care Services Phil Hope, said:

British Asian families have a strong tradition of caring for their own and keeping older people close to the family. Social care services could do more to support this culture and stop people seeing homes and savings from a lifetimes hard work be whittled away.

I believe we can build a better system for the future, a National Care Service that supports all our aspirations. To make this happen I need to know what British Asian people want and to learn about what you do well so the whole country can benefit. This is a real opportunity to secure the future of your family and build a better society, please get involved in the Big Care Debate.

It only takes a few minutes to join in the Big Care Debate at www.careandsupport.direct.gov.uk. This is the last chance before it closes on Friday 13 November.

The Afiya Trust is working to make sure BME people get the chance to have their voices heard in this debate. Chief Executive, Patrick Vernon, said:

Any process that enables British Asians to be supported in caring for their older relatives, such as the Big Care Debate is to be welcomed. Through our work with BME communities and social care practitioners nationally, it is essential to have access to accurate information about relevant services, housing options and how they need to be financed so they dont fall through the net.

The Afiya trust is inviting comments to its own consultation on the green paper with an online survey at www.afiyatrust.org.uk

Phil Hope, Minister for Care Services, will be speaking at the Afiya Trusts National Black Carers and Carers Workers Network conference on Tuesday 10 November.

country are having their say on these options through the Big Care Debate. For further information please see: www.careandsupport.direct.gov.uk

2. The Afiya Trust aims to reduce inequalities in health and social care for racialised groups. The Trust is an important bridge between policy makers, service providers and BME communities as consumers of services. For further information please see: http://afiyatrust.org.uk/index.php?option=com_frontpage