LGBT Carers Group newsletter, September 2004

Lisa Cooper

Development Officer, Lesbian and Gay Network

We have had a busy summer travelling the country to promote the Lesbian and Gay Network. The work of the network is now firmly established within the Alzheimer's Society's inclusion programme, and we hope that this newsletter will provide you with a flavour of the exciting developments taking place.

Network development officer Lisa Cooper and volunteers braved the weather to attend Gay Pride events in Birmingham, London, Brighton, Nottingham and Wales. Promoting the Society at such events is an excellent opportunity to address a previously untapped audience on such a scale and to introduce members of the lesbian and gay community to the Society's services.

services. In Brighton we sweltered in record temperatures. The Network, along with many other voluntary organisations and about 70,000 attendees, enjoyed the sunshine in Preston Park. Many people were keen to find out more about the care and treatment of various forms of dementia.

In London, the sun eventually came out for a rally in Trafalgar Square. Following the colourful Pride march through the streets of London, the rally celebrated the rights gained by the lesbian and gay community in the UK. The introduction of the equality employment (sexual orientation) regulations finally makes it illegal to discriminate people on the grounds of sexual orientation in employment and vocational training.

However, we were also reminded of the battles yet to be won - as we go to press we await the outcome of the adoption of the civil partnerships bill. The aim of the bill is to extend partnership rights to adult same sex couples in long term stable relationships. These rights may include tenancy succession rights, joint state pension benefits, the ability to claim a survivor pension and the right to register the death of a partner. An amendment was introduced in July to extend these rights to family members and carers. While it is important to acknowledge the contribution made by family members and carers, the bill was not originally intended to address these groups. We believe that the amendment confuses the central issue - the need to recognise full legal rights for same sex couples. We support the view of the Law Society and Carers UK that this amendment is unworkable. Perhaps a separate bill needs to be introduced to cover the rights of family members and carers?

We look forward to reporting that the bill has become law in our next newsletter.

Note: Highlights of this edition are available online. Click on the article titles at the bottom of this page to read each article. A downloadable pdf version of the newsletter is also available.