Brian Sloan, INFORMAL CARERS AND PRIVATE LAW Oxford: Hart Publishing (www.hartpub.co.uk), 2013. xxix + 260 pp. ISBN 9781849462815. £62.
| Pages | 436-438 |
| Date | 01 September 2013 |
| Author | Nicole Busby |
| Published date | 01 September 2013 |
| DOI | 10.3366/elr.2013.0176 |
In twenty-first century Britain the spectre of care is everywhere: news reports tell of the care needs of the ageing population and, at the other end of the life cycle, the crisis in childcare. Vignettes of modern life illustrate how the care requirements of infancy and old age are sometimes conflated. For some, this conflation gives rise to apparent mutual benefit through the utilisation of grandparent carers, while others see in it a double-dose source of stress for the “sandwich generation” who, due to late parenthood and longer mortality, often find themselves caring for their young offspring and aged parents simultaneously. Political attention is increasingly focused on the needs of carers and associated resources: better financial support, access to increased services and respite facilities have all been the subjects of fierce debate in the context of the current austerity measures, and we are often reminded by campaigners of the plight of individual carers and the potential threats to their health and wellbeing in what can be highly demanding and stressful circumstances.
Part of this debate has emphasised the place of obligation and responsibility with a burgeoning interest developing in the appropriation of rights and their application in this area. In fact the recent political and media attention given to the relationship between law, policy and care, along with the sudden growth of academic literature on the subject could give the misleading impression of a new phenomenon, whereby the search for legal solutions has arisen in response to the myriad of care dilemmas which have emerged as a feature of contemporary life. Of course, the challenges posed by how best to respond to the requirements of care in both personal and societal contexts have been around for as long as humankind's existence. Issues of dependency and interdependency are among the few static features of life and, rather than there being anything particularly new in the demands of care's recipients, it is the supply and availability of
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