Unpaid Carers

Thursday 15th October 2026 Westminster Hall

13:50

[Alison Bennett (Mid Sussex) (LD)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the matter of support for unpaid carers.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Barker. This is an important debate, and I am grateful to hon. Members from across the House for taking time to attend it. I thank Carers UK, Carers Trust and the many other fantastic organisations working in this space. I also thank all the contributors to the Petitions Committee survey that went out nationally in anticipation of the debate: the words, wisdom and experience of those contributors, from every part of the country, including my own constituency of Mid Sussex, are gold dust if we in this place are going to make the right changes. Even in the short window the survey was open, hundreds of people shared stories and ideas for change. I am sorry I cannot read them all out, but plenty of those stories paint a picture of a country that is failing its carers and those they care for.

That is having horrendous consequences. Last night a harrowing case from my area was brought to my attention, and I will share it as it brings to light what happens when we get this wrong. Two young boys were living with their mum, who had multiple health issues and regular emergency hospital admissions. The mum told the hospital and medical staff multiple times that her sons would look after her at home. Despite this, neither boy was ever identified as a young carer. Eventually, in February 2025, one of the boys found his mum dead following a medical incident at home and had to call emergency services. I would like the Minister to share what steps the Department is taking to improve identification of young carers by health services.

Lots of the contributors to the Petitions Committee survey talked about carer’s allowance, with varying opinions as to its efficacy. Some said they had never heard of it. I would like to share a short extract from the contribution of a former human rights lawyer who gave that up for her caring responsibilities. She wrote in to the Petitions Committee survey with a poem that ends:

“You have the privilege of debating important things every year,

But when my day of caring is particularly gruelling or heart breaking, I sometimes debate whether to go on in this life.

That’s when the strongest and kindest pair of hands curl around my neck,

And say ‘Mum, why are you sad, I love you, it’s going to be all right.’

Carer’s Leave Act 2023 now puts some new responsibility on employers,

So, we ask our employers—and it’s maybe fair to say this is the state

In the most democratic, fair and established country in the world in terms of governance, rights and liberties,

Why do up to 16.2% of the population get just 19% of the national minimum wage—and how is this still even up for debate?”

Unpaid carers are the people who look after family members, friends and loved ones who cannot manage alone. They are partners, parents, children, siblings, friends and neighbours. They provide care in all our communities, often without support and at considerable personal cost. According to the 2021 census, 5.8 million people provide unpaid care across the UK. Some 1.7 million provide at least 50 hours of care every week. Their contribution is extraordinary. The value of unpaid care across the UK has been estimated at £184 billion a year.

Those people sacrifice sleep, put their own health needs aside, limit their career prospects, use up their savings and worry about what will happen if they can no longer cope. Carers UK research estimates that 1.2 million unpaid carers live in poverty, including 400,000 who are in deep poverty. Its 2025 State of Caring survey found that 74% of respondents had felt stressed or anxious, while almost half had cut back on essentials.

No one should be pushed into poverty because they care for someone they love, and no one should have to sacrifice their own health, financial security or future simply because the support they need is not available. This is an issue of financial security, employment, health and wellbeing, and equality of opportunity. It affects people of every age and background in every constituency represented in this House.

We are right to keep saying these things: that unpaid carers do extraordinary work, that without them our entire health system would collapse and that, too often, they go unsupported. However, we also have to make tangible changes that move us on from a status quo that is not good enough—words and actions, not words and inaction.

There have been some welcome developments in recent months. The Government’s carers action plan, the announcement of a dedicated Government champion for unpaid carers, the review of carers’ employment rights and the work to reform carer’s allowance all offer opportunities for meaningful progress. I welcome those steps, but what matters is whether they lead to practical improvements in the lives of carers and those they care for.

We must ensure that unpaid carers are at the heart of the new plans for adult social care, including the work of the Casey commission and the development of a national care service. A new system must recognise that unpaid care cannot be taken for granted. Carers must have a genuine say about what they are willing and able to do, and there must be dependable alternatives when they cannot provide care. Their voices must help to shape the design of services and the decisions made about them and the people they support.

When we get this wrong, we see terrible injustices, such as the carer’s allowance overpayments scandal. The reassessment exercise is welcome, but so far the Department for Work and Pensions has reviewed just 1% of identified cases in six months, which is a woefully slow pace. I would like to hear from the Minister about the Department’s plans to resolve what is clearly an inadequate pace of redress.

As we approach Carers Rights Day next month, this debate is an opportunity for colleagues of all political persuasions to ask the Government to give us a clear and credible plan for unpaid carers. I hope it will be constructive and cross-party. There is much on which we can agree: carers deserve recognition, financial security, access to breaks, support for their health and a fair opportunity to remain in paid employment if they wish to do so.

I would particularly welcome the Minister setting out what concrete improvements carers can expect over the next 12 months, how progress will be measured and how Parliament can hold the Government to account for delivery. Unpaid carers make an enormous contribution to our national community. They should not have to struggle alone, and they should not have to wait indefinitely for the support they need. Properly supporting carers means properly supporting our NHS, our fellow Britons and the nation as a whole. I look forward to hearing colleagues’ contributions and the Minister’s response.

[Paula Barker (in the Chair)]

There will be a time limit of five minutes for Back-Bench speeches.

13:58

[Josh Newbury (Cannock Chase) (Lab)]

In December last year, I met one of my constituents, Julian, whose wife has cared for their daughter since birth. Their daughter was born with spina bifida and walked until the age of seven, but has been confined to a wheelchair since then. She was later diagnosed with hydrocephalus, which requires a shunt to drain excess fluid from the brain. Julian’s wife has devoted her life to making sure that their daughter is looked after, putting her needs first and sacrificing the opportunity to build a career and her own pension provision, so she will very much recognise the picture set out by the hon. Member for Mid Sussex (Alison Bennett) in her brilliant opening speech.

The caring responsibilities of Julian’s wife have not come to an end because she has reached state pension age, but the financial support available to her has very much changed. Julian put something to me that I thought was worth sharing today. He compared his wife’s situation with an employer paying someone for 35 hours of work a week but expecting them to carry on working, without pay, once they reach retirement age, arguing that that is fine because they are being paid their pension.

Now, caring for a family member is not the same as employment, and all sorts of things need to be considered. I appreciate the rules about overlapping benefits and the system not paying both in full for the same period, and I know that the state pension can be topped up by pension credit if it is lower than the carer’s allowance. I am not here to say that the answer is simply to pay both the state pension and carer’s allowance to everybody caring for a loved one, but speaking to Julian left me feeling that we should take a closer look at the circumstances of older carers and whether the support available to them properly reflects the realities of their lives.

While preparing for today’s debate I spoke with Carers UK. Its research shows that around one in five carers of state pension age are living in poverty, compared with 13% of non-carers in the same group. It also reports that more than 600,000 older carers provide at least 50 hours of care every week. Those figures stood out as a reminder that caring in older age is a lot more than a few hours here and there; it is an enormous and lifelong commitment. There might be some practical steps worth considering too. Carers UK has highlighted that some carers entitled to pension credit are not receiving it and has called for simpler processes and checks when carers reach state pension age.

I am encouraged by the Government’s ambition on social care and by Baroness Casey’s review, as that will help us finally realise a system that better supports people who draw on care, their families and the people who care for them. I hope that the experiences of older, unpaid carers and the particular challenges they face when they reach state pension age are being considered as part of that work. As Julian said to me,

“Carers are the nation’s unsung heroes.”

Many of us will recognise that sentiment, and I hope we can agree that respecting carers means much more than just acknowledging how much they do. It also means asking ourselves whether the support around them is enough, particularly when the alternative is social care, which costs the state much more.

I would be grateful if the Minister could take this issue up and consider if there is scope to review the support available for older carers, whether through simpler access to existing entitlements, a closer look at the additional financial pressures they are facing or further work on how their contribution can be recognised. I am not asking for a simple answer to a very complicated policy question today; I am just asking whether we can keep looking at this matter, listen to people like Julian and his wife, and make sure that carers who continue to give so much as they grow older are not overlooked. The need for care does not stop at retirement age, and the people providing that care should not feel that their contribution has stopped counting either.

14:02

[John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington) (Lab)]

We have this debate on a regular basis; on average we come back to it every six months. We have had a breakthrough with the action plan—I welcome that. For the first time we have a number of Departments working together coherently, and I think it will improve lives overall.

There is a sense of urgency now. I have chaired an unpaid carers group for about three years—I am losing track of time. They are a representative group of young and old. They are mainly parents looking after their children, but some are siblings looking after one another and some of them are young as well. Exactly as the survey said, every one of them reflects the condition they are living in; it is poverty and hardship, sometimes in the extreme. Most of them find it difficult to work. They want to work; often they have given up their jobs as a result of their caring responsibilities and some of them have given up professional careers.

Those carers also lack respite, and the common theme that comes through is the lack of a break. Another issue is that, where respite is offered, there are not the staff with the skills to cope with the individual they are caring for. Non-verbal individuals are very difficult to care for and staff need specialist training, but that is almost non-existent in many areas. I point to the report produced for the House by Siobhan O’Dwyer from the University of Birmingham, which we used in the debate about a year ago. That shocking survey—I do not like to raise this, but I have to—found that 40% of carers had thought about suicide as a result of the stress they are under.

I welcome the action plan, but there is a sense of urgency. We cannot get away from the fact that the carer’s allowance is so low. Many of the carers I work with say, “We want a wage. We’re doing a job.” No one is doing 35 hours; they are all doing 40 or 50 hours, if not longer in some instances. They want a wage to lift them out of poverty, but also to reflect our respect for the work that they are undertaking. As my hon. Friend the Member for Cannock Chase (Josh Newbury) said, we do not expect miracles overnight, but we want to see some progression to a form of living wage for carers. We also need a system through which the issue can be properly evaluated over a longer period.

I am really pleased by the Prime Minister’s commitment to social care. We have known about it for over a decade, from when he was in Parliament previously. It is a pity that there was not cross-party support to implement it at that time.

I am also involved in a campaign in honour of one of our colleagues, Iain Coleman, who was the Member of Parliament for Hammersmith and Fulham. When he was leader of Hammersmith and Fulham council, he introduced free personal care—free home care—at the local level, and it has proved incredibly successful. Some councils have tried to emulate it, but with the cuts to local government over the past 14 years, it has proved very difficult.

The first step towards a national care service could be the introduction of personal care. We should not wait until after the next general election in 2029; we should work towards it over the next year. Local authorities can undertake that work; it just needs to be resourced. I hope the social care action plan group brings forward a proposal that takes into account what Casey says next year—I am glad that has been brought forward—and sets out a step-by-step approach to introducing home care.

When my group met last week, most of the people on it had not heard of the care plan. They have now, and we are going to take people through it. What came back from them was very practical. The objectives of the care plan were set out clearly in July; we now want to see steps towards implementing the objectives, which must be costed and timetabled. Within that, we want a debate about carer’s allowance and home care.

14:06

[Linsey Farnsworth (Amber Valley) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Barker. I congratulate the hon. Member for Mid Sussex (Alison Bennett) on securing this very important debate.

Today, we are recognising the nearly 6 million parents, partners, siblings, friends and neighbours in the UK who, day in, day out, provide support, love, care and safety to some of the most vulnerable members of our society. The quiet and diligent contributions of unpaid carers is immeasurable and too often goes overlooked. The reality is that such care comes at a significant personal cost. The point of diagnosis is often as life-changing for the carer as it is for the patient, albeit in significantly different ways. I worry that our health and social care systems have become dependent on large sections of society providing care that the state would otherwise be expected to deliver, alongside full-time jobs and other commitments.

I want to focus on the role of unpaid cares in dementia care—an area of the system of which I have personal experience. Figures suggest that unpaid carers provide about half the total economic contribution to dementia care in the UK, amounting to an estimated £21.1 billion every year, yet there is too little support for those who provide those services.

My mum, brother and mother-in-law are all part of that statistic. Ten years ago, my father and father-in-law were diagnosed with dementia within a few months of each other. I know all too well the harsh reality that can follow such a diagnosis. Too often, families are handed a leaflet and are left to navigate the system. They are expected to become experts in dementia overnight. My family have become experts in spotting the signs of urinary tract infections and in understanding the risk of delirium. Every time delirium hits, my father’s dementia may accelerate, his condition may worsen and a new baseline becomes our new normal. We have learned the absolute imperative of keeping him out of hospital. As the Geller Commission has shown, dementia patients stay seven times longer in hospital than those with the same illness who do not have dementia.

Every person’s dementia journey is different. My father-in-law is awake much of the night, whereas my dad is fast asleep throughout the night, and some of the day as well. Every person’s care journey needs to be individually tailored, and I know that important steps are being taken to support local carers on a regional level. In Amber Valley, a small but dedicated team of nurses and healthcare professionals is working with the ICB to deliver the Derbyshire dementia strategy, which focuses on training, awareness and support for unpaid carers. Dementia UK installs Admiral nurses across the country, who are there to support the whole family, but there are too few of them.

Local commitments and initiatives such as the Admiral nurse scheme must be matched by national resources. As my own experience attests, accessing support remains one of the greatest challenges facing unpaid carers. One in seven are unaware of any sources of support, while 46% do not know who to contact to access social care. Given that bleak picture, is it any wonder that research suggests that 49% of carers report exhaustion or breakdown as the needs of the person they care for increase? It is often at that point that the consequences are felt across the NHS, with dementia patients needing to be admitted to hospital or A&E, or to have emergency GP appointments.

This debate is timely, as the forthcoming modern service framework for frailty and dementia presents a unique opportunity to embed measures that can right the wrongs and establish a care pathway for both those with dementia and their carers. I urge the Minister to listen to calls within the sector for the framework to include national standards for identifying and supporting unpaid dementia carers, and to ensure that it is implemented consistently across every postcode. Part of that work will involve intervening to facilitate better awareness of the support that is already available, including carers’ assessments, and ensuring that the results are followed up on.

Finally, will the Minister set out how his Department will ensure that the modern service framework enables health and social care to be joined up and share responsibility for proactive support for both patients and carers after a diagnosis of dementia?

14:11

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is always a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Barker. You always have a wonderful smile and you give us encouragement when we come along. That helps us to talk about subjects that are sometimes quite difficult to talk about—this is one of them. It is also a pleasure to see the Minister in his place. I look forward, as we all do, to his response to the debate.

Over my years as an elected representative—it has been a long time—I have met some young carers and unpaid carers. I have to start my contribution by paying tribute to them—those who quietly, tirelessly and selflessly dedicate their lives to looking after loved ones. What have I seen? I have seen the profound exhaustion. I have seen the absolute devotion. I have seen the immense financial and emotional toll. It is a fundamental truth that unpaid carers are filling a massive breach that the state simply cannot afford to fill. Without them, our health and social care system would collapse overnight.

I always give a Northern Ireland perspective. I wish I could say that it would not be replicated in what others will say today, but on this it is the very same. We have some 220,000 carers providing vital support to sick, elderly or disabled family members and friends. That is roughly one in eight adults. It breaks my heart to note that we also have roughly 17,500 children and young adult carers in Northern Ireland carrying a physical and emotional burden that no young shoulder should ever have to bear, but they are bearing it.

The latest research from Carers NI reveals that unpaid carers save the Northern Ireland Executive an astronomical £5.8 billion every single year. That is because if staff were doing that work, it would cost £16 million every single day, or more than £660,000 every single hour. That is equivalent to 80% of the entire day-to-day Department of Health budget.

In my Strangford constituency, in the Ards and North Down area, the local reality hits even closer to home. We have some 18,000 unpaid carers in our local communities, from the streets of Newtownards and Comber right down to the most isolated parts of the Ards peninsula. They are ordinary people doing extraordinary things. They are the partners, the parents and the children who have stepped into the breach because their love for their family overrides everything else.

How do we reward—I say “we”, but it is not us personally; it is government—that immense contribution? We reward them with poverty. We reward them with isolation and institutional neglect. The poverty rate among young carers in Northern Ireland stands at a shocking 28%. For those trying to survive on carer’s allowance, the situation is dire. The cost of living crisis has pushed them to the absolute brink, with more than half struggling to pay basic utility bills and over a third being forced to skip meals just so that they can look after their loved ones.

More than 52% of carers in Northern Ireland report that their physical health has suffered due to their responsibilities. Their days have a sense of fear and dread. Our carers in Northern Ireland do not even have the statutory baseline of protection. They are forced to reduce their hours or leave the workforce entirely, with nearly 30% of local carers having to give up their jobs to care. The impact on the carers is massive; poverty, for 28% of carers in Northern Ireland, is extreme.

This is the responsibility of the DWP, not the Minister, but every week in my office, sometimes more than once, my staff and I have to take on the case of someone who has had an overpayment. Sometimes they are a carer, and we have to intervene and help to get a repayment system that they can cope with, and it is all because of a mistake that was made. I am not talking about those who blatantly take advantage of the DWP system; I am talking about the ones who come to me—and probably to you, too, Mrs Barker—on a regular basis, who have to repay a statutory payment. It is a disgrace that we penalise those who want to work a few extra hours while managing their care duties. Does the Minister agree that it is high time that we stop treating unpaid carers as a free resource to prop up a failing social care system?

I welcome the fact that the Prime Minister says he will address this, but my goodness me, do it not just in England but in Northern Ireland. Will the Government commit to a comprehensive cross-departmental review of carer’s allowance thresholds and work closely with the Stormont Executive to deliver a ringfenced financial package and proper respite care, to ensure that those who care for our society are finally cared for themselves? That is what I want; I think it is what everybody wants.

Burnout is a real thing. Without support, we risk carers not only being unable to care for their loved ones but needing care themselves. That is what the ones I meet tell me. All we need to do is look at them. I am not better than anybody else, but when I engage with them, I can quickly understand how things are. This precarious house of cards around carers must be sheltered from the wind, and the Government must do that or pay an ultimate, unfathomable cost.

14:17

[Mrs Elsie Blundell (Heywood and Middleton North) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Barker, and to see the Minister, my constituency neighbour, in his place. I thank the hon. Member for Mid Sussex (Alison Bennett) for securing this crucial debate.

The debt we owe to our country’s unpaid carers is immense. I thank those across Heywood and Middleton North who often balance their caring commitments with a career, family and other responsibilities and somehow manage to ensure that those they care for can live in comfort and dignity. The difference these people make to those they support can never be fully conveyed, but the onus is on us as parliamentarians to stand beside them as, day in, day out, they make someone else their priority.

There are millions of people across the country who are doing so right now, and the number is growing as our population ages. Undoubtedly, every Member present will know a constituent, friend or family member with caring responsibilities. Being an unpaid carer, though commendable, can be deeply isolating and lonely. It is therefore crucial that when it gets too much, there is a community and a safety net that can provide comfort and support to our constituents.

Earlier in the year, during Carers Week, I met with local carers, staff and volunteers from the Carers’ Hub Rochdale at Queen’s Park in Heywood. They were coming together to meet and support each other—they really are a lovely group of people. I thank Deana, Victoria, Grace, Karen, Sarah and others for their unwavering commitment to the hub and those who rely on it.

At one of the group’s regular coffee and chat sessions, they traded stories that could make you laugh and cry, speaking candidly about their struggles, hopes and fears, the truth behind their lives and the loved ones they care for. There were so many similarities in their experiences that bound them together—a community of local heroes who just need a place to come together and take a breath.

The hub’s support for carers goes even further, offering personalised one-to-one support, wellbeing assessments, support plans, community connections with local services and friendly community groups for the carer and those being cared for. That is alongside respite services, which provide the opportunity for a short break for a night or two, and social events with opportunities to make new skills, as well as online services, a helpline and a pen pal community.

The carers I met back in the summer had some clear priorities for me to raise today, and I hope the Minister will touch on them when he responds to the debate. They felt that the earnings threshold is too rigid, creating cliff edges for working carers, and in many ways does not reflect more nuanced arrangements in relation to their caring responsibilities and their day jobs.

[Mark Sewards (Leeds South West and Morley) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend is making a powerful speech, as has every Member who has spoken today. I represent about 8,000 unpaid carers in Leeds South West and Morley—that is about 9% of my constituents—and it is clear that I need to speak for them. Something that has been missing from the debate is those who criticise the offer of extra help to unpaid carers as a cost to the Treasury and to businesses. Does my hon. Friend agree that the greater cost is the fact that 1.1 million unpaid carers have left work in the last two years because many of them had no choice but to do so?

[Mrs Blundell]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend; that is a crucial point to make. Many carers are turning down opportunities for advancement and promotion, and that is having a bad effect on the economy as well as themselves. I believe, as do the carers I met recently, that being a carer should not restrict one’s advancement elsewhere. How is the Minister working to ensure that our fantastic carers are encouraged to seize opportunities rather than being dissuaded from doing so?

Another area of focus of my conversation with the group was how we can, and must, work towards a more proactive system to identify and recognise carers. This means NHS trusts having robust and systematic processes for identifying carers, with GP records being properly maintained so that individuals can be identified early, connected to support, and have their own wellbeing needs properly addressed.

I am pleased that young carers are going to be identified quicker and better supported so that they can stay in education without falling behind at school. I am also pleased that schools are to be held accountable in respect of data on young carers’ attendance, alongside secure information sharing across different services. That is critical to ensure that these youngsters do not fall through the cracks or buckle under the weight of their responsibilities at such a pivotal moment. I am pleased that the Government are so receptive to that idea.

Finally, I would like to touch on how we secure high-quality supportive and respite services in every postcode. When carers reach a point where they feel like the walls are closing in—and, in truth, long before they reach that point—flexible respite and replacement care should be available, and should be both reliable and of high quality. Some organisations currently feel they are expected to do more with less with each year that passes. I hope the Minister can speak to that, too.

In closing, I express my sincere thanks to the unpaid carers of Heywood and Middleton North and beyond, without whom the lives of so many people across our communities would be much more difficult. The contribution that these individuals make cannot easily be qualified or quantified, but it can and must be recognised. It is our responsibility to ensure that their voices are heard and that we in turn give them a fraction of the support that they provide to those most in need.

14:22

[Anna Dixon (Shipley) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Barker. I draw Members’ attention to my entry in the register of all-party parliamentary groups as chair of the APPG on carers. I add my thanks to the hon. Member for Mid Sussex (Alison Bennett). I commend her for securing this debate and for her work on this issue on behalf of her party.

For nearly 6 million unpaid family carers across the UK, and over 8,000 across my constituency, caring is an act of love. Whether they are caring for a severely disabled child, a partner who has dementia or a parent who is at the end of their life, their everyday help demonstrates a deep love, whether by helping them to wash, dress, eat, get off to school or work, or providing emotional support through periods of pain, loneliness, fear and frustration. That is when we see human relationships at their best, yet for too many, that act of love can quickly turn into an act of sacrifice that involves giving up work, putting their own life on hold, ignoring their own health and well-being, or experiencing stress and financial hardship. Those are just some of the ways in which carers are impacted.

Unpaid carers give so much, but often get too little. I have seen at first hand the difference that unpaid carers make to the lives of the people they care for. I grew up with my disabled grandma Frieda, who suffered life-changing injuries in a road collision. The decades of support that my mum gave her enabled her to live semi-independently—to go out to church, connect with her friends and live a full life—but I saw the impact on my mum. She gave up her own career as a doctor and carried additional worry and responsibilities, including having to make sure that care was in place for my grandma every time we went on a family holiday.

I have dedicated my career to securing better care and support for older and disabled people and their carers, and I am pleased to have carried that on in Parliament through the APPG. I am grateful to Carers UK for all the support the organisation gives and for enabling us in Parliament to hear carers’ powerful stories. I also commend colleagues, including my hon. Friend the Member for Amber Valley (Linsey Farnsworth), for sharing their personal stories of juggling care and this job, which is not easy. Around two thirds of people will provide unpaid care during their adult life. It is a huge issue, and I am delighted to see that it is finally getting the attention it deserves from this Labour Government.

What support do carers need, what are they getting, and what more do they need? As others have said, they need support financially to stay in work and to find work, and when they take on a substantial amount of care, they need direct financial support. As my right hon. Friend the Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell) said, unfortunately, carers’ allowance is just not high enough. According to Carers UK, 1,500 people leave employment every day to take up caring responsibilities.

I was pleased to meet the Minister for the Future of Work, my neighbouring MP, earlier this week to discuss the recently closed consultation. In that meeting, I underlined the importance of introducing statutory paid carers leave, extending unpaid carers leave to enable people to take longer breaks and return to their job, strengthening flexible working and improving employer practices. I hope that the Minister present will urge his colleagues in the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade to go far on the response to that consultation.

Much has been done to reform carers’ allowance. I am hopeful that the Government will bring in a taper system to replace the current cliff edge. I add my request to the one made by the hon. Member for Mid Sussex that Ministers call in DWP officials to ask exactly what progress they are making on assessing cases. At the rate they are going, it will take 40 years to complete the process. That is simply not good enough when carers are being worried by debts and civil penalties.

Secondly, we need to support carers’ own health and wellbeing. About a quarter of unpaid carers in my constituency describe their health as not good. They have no time for themselves, no time to attend routine check-ups and no time to take a break. Short breaks, respite care and sitting services are vital, such as those provided by the excellent charity Carers’ Resource in Bradford and the innovative Shared Lives respite model provided by Bradford council. I also welcome the Government carers action plan, and I hope the Minister will outline what the NHS is doing.

Finally, I commend the Government for bringing in a national care service. I will do everything I can to make sure that carers’ voices are heard in shaping it for the future.

14:27

[Chris Vince (Harlow) (Lab/Co-op)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Barker.

I thank the hon. Member for Mid Sussex (Alison Bennett) for securing this debate and for succeeding me as the chair of the APPG for young carers and young adult carers. She knows that when we talk about unpaid carers, we must include young carers and young adult carers. We know that the number of young people under the age of 18 who care for a loved one or family member has increased; in fact, the amount of time for which those young carers care for a loved one has also increased significantly. The Carers Trust estimates that more than 50,000 children, young people and young adults in the UK provide more than 50 hours of unpaid care a week to their loved ones, and more than 3,000 children between five and nine take on heavy caring responsibilities.

In my role as APPG chair, along with the hon. Member for Mid Sussex, we are calling on the Government to consider three significant things. First, we must find ways to better recognise young carers. I speak regularly to young carers across my Harlow constituency, and many of them do not realise that they are young carers until they are much older; other MPs would say the same. Secondly, we have to look at how we train teachers. I will not reiterate the story I have told a number of times in this place, but as a teacher I missed that one of my students was a young carer until it came to parents evening, and that is always in my mind. Thirdly, we must ensure that all schools have a young carers lead.

I am pleased to hear from comments made by Ministers and MPs that the Government are listening and taking action to support our young carers and young adult carers. I ask the Government to think also about the transition from being a young carer. Sometimes, the person has got older and become an adult carer; sometimes, tragically, they stop having caring responsibilities for other reasons, such as bereavement. We need to think about how we support those young carers and adult carers if that is the case.

[Samantha Niblett (South Derbyshire) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend for his dedication and commitment to young carers, though I know he does not support just young carers. He has the Neurological and Physical Abilitation centre in his constituency, and knows that one of my constituents, 11-year-old Alf, utilises that service. Alf’s mum, Emma, is an incredible advocate for her son and is desperately trying to get the support she needs. She gets 10 hours support for him during term time and 20 hours during the holidays, but Derbyshire county council has recently said no to any more support, including overnight care for just one day a week to help Emma to not reach breaking point. Although my hon. Friend is talking admirably about young carers, does he agree—perhaps the Minister will address this in responding to this brilliant debate—that the new national care service, which is coming in to support older people, should extend to support disabled children and unpaid carers so that they can get timely, flexible support, including overnight care where needed, to prevent parents and carers from reaching breaking point?

[Chris Vince]

I thank my hon. Friend for her contribution and for her visit to Harlow to see NAPA at first hand. I pay tribute to the work that NAPA does in my constituency. I am sorry to hear about the case of her constituent. I hope that she is able to lobby the county council and get the situation sorted. I hope also that the Minister and those who are introducing the national care service will consider what she said regarding support for disabled children. NAPA is a fantastic organisation but not everyone can afford or have access to that support. The difference NAPA has made to young people with cerebral palsy is significant. We can see the huge difference in their quality of life because of the support they get from NAPA. I thank my hon. Friend for raising that and pay tribute to David and all those who work at NAPA.

I also take this opportunity to pay tribute to some of the schools in my constituency, which do fantastic work to support young carers, particularly the Mark Hall school—I had the pleasure of inviting some of their young carers to Parliament—and Saint Nicholas school, as well as Purford Green primary school and many others. I ask that when the Government consider the national care service—I am so pleased the Prime Minister is incredibly committed to it—the important role of young carers and young adult carers is considered as part of the tapestry of carers, which obviously also includes adult carers and kinship carers. I hope that the national care service will provide support to all unpaid carers.

As hon. Members may be aware, I previously worked for a charity that supports young carers. That is part of the reason I am so passionate about this subject. To some extent, we have a postcode lottery when it comes to support for young carers and young adult carers. Often that support is provided by charities such as the one I worked for. If we are honest with ourselves, successive Governments have relied heavily on the charity sector because they have seen it as a cheaper option, but funding for charities is short term and not always consistent across the country. If the national care service is to get to the heart of the problem, it will address that issue. A previous Labour Prime Minister described charity as a “grey loveless thing”. I think we are in a very different place now, but we should not use charities because they are cheaper. We should work with charities because they have the expertise. We have mentioned some of those charities in this debate already.

Of course, caring for someone who we love can be a real honour. Often when I talk to carers and young carers they do not even think about being carers; they do it because they love that person and believe it to be the right thing to do. However, we must recognise that it can also be extremely challenging. I pay tribute to all unpaid carers in my constituency and beyond who absolutely deserve our thanks and admiration but also our support. The theme going through this debate is the need for action and not just words. After all, who cares for the carers?

14:34

[Alison Hume (Scarborough and Whitby) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Barker. I thank the hon. Member for Mid Sussex (Alison Bennett) on securing this important debate. This is a debate that matters to millions of people across the country, not least because so many unpaid carers shoulder responsibilities that our health and social care systems could not do without.

Around 4.7 million people in England provide unpaid care for a family member or friend. I am one of them. Like many mothers, I did not think of myself as an unpaid carer at first, because when you are a parent of a disabled child, you just assume that caring is part of the package. Yet too often that commitment comes at significant financial cost.

For many people, caring is a full-time job and the hours required make it impossible to stay in paid employment, forcing families into impossible choices. I myself changed careers to accommodate my son’s needs, but I was one of the lucky ones. Every day, about 1,500 people are forced to leave the workforce because of caring responsibilities. Over the last two years, more than 1 million people have done so.

One of my constituents recently had to leave her job to care for her eight-year-old autistic son, because his needs could not be met through existing educational provision. She told me:

“We are under immense emotional, financial and practical pressure, yet we feel we have been left to cope alone.”

Another constituent, Steve, and his partner, Sindy, care for their 26-year-old son, who has severe learning difficulties. They recently brought him back to the family home due to safety concerns and, when exploring other services, they encountered a shortage of suitable supported living placements in Scarborough. Like countless other families, they stepped in because there was simply nowhere else for their son to go. These families do not complain. They do not ask for special treatment. They simply want the right support at the right time. Yet too often they find themselves battling systems that are fragmented, overstretched and difficult to navigate.

I was honoured recently to welcome HRH the Princess Royal, Princess Anne, to Scarborough to meet staff and volunteers at Carers Plus Yorkshire, many of whom are unpaid carers themselves. It was wonderful to see the joy that the royal visit brought to these people. I am really grateful for the work that Carers Plus Yorkshire does. At a time when more people are living longer and more children and adults are living with disabilities or long-term conditions, the number of these wonderful unpaid carers is only going to grow. That means supporting carers is not simply an act of compassion, but an economic necessity.

I greatly welcome the Government’s commitment to reforming social care by creating a national care service. For far too long, reforming social care has been labelled as too difficult. Carers deserve better than warm words. They deserve a system that works. Unpaid carers save this country billions of pounds every year. They care for our children, our parents, our partners and our neighbours.

I am really pleased that we are going to have an unpaid carers’ champion. I would be grateful if the Minister could outline in his closing remarks what further steps the Government will take to provide financial support for unpaid carers and to ensure that social care reform delivers real and lasting change for unpaid carers and our families.

14:38

[Helen Maguire (Epsom and Ewell) (LD)]

It is an absolute pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Barker. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Sussex (Alison Bennett) for securing this important and timely debate.

Unpaid carers are the unsung heroes of England’s health and social care system. Without their dedication and sacrifice, the whole health and social care system would have collapsed by now.

There are so many different types of unpaid carers. Unpaid carers are young or old, working full time or part time, in school or further education, unemployed or retired. However, all unpaid carers are bound by their dedication to looking after a parent, a child, a sibling or a partner or loved one. They are also tragically united by many worries: how long they, their health and bank accounts can keep going, and how they will overcome all the barriers, unnecessary hurdles and lack of Government support.

Let us talk about the Williams family. It is made up of Sarah, David and their two young children. They are no exception to all of this. David, through no fault of his own, develops a serious health condition that leaves him needing substantial daily care. Sarah becomes his unpaid carer, because the family, like so many, cannot afford expensive professional care. To do so, Sarah reduces her working hours to manage David’s personal care, appointments, medication and domestic needs. She helps him to get out of bed, changes his clothes, helps him to shower, administers his medication, drives him to appointments, does the school run, cooks dinner, cleans the house, pays the bills, and looks after their children.

As a result, the household income falls while expenses continue to rise. Over time, the situation begins to affect the whole family. Sarah is exhausted and stressed, and her own health begins to suffer. She is increasingly isolated, with little opportunity for respite or socialisation because of the all-encompassing nature of her responsibilities. She struggles to spend quality time with her children and misses important school and extracurricular events. The children also take on additional responsibilities at home, including helping their mother to care for their father. They are forced to grow up quickly, with less time for their homework, activities and friends.

Financial pressures create further problems. The family falls behind on bills and they have to use their savings to cover everyday expenses, but eventually their savings run out. The family are then forced to move to cheaper accommodation, which is cramped and not fit for David’s care needs. As time passes, Sarah’s employment prospects deteriorate because of the time she has spent outside of work caring for David. She has lost opportunities for promotion, built up less pension entitlement and now has very limited financial means. David feels guilty that his illness is placing such a burden on his family, while Sarah is exhausted, stressed and feeling trapped between needing to work to earn an income, caring for David and supporting their children.

The Williams family might be hypothetical, but their experiences are far from uncommon. According to the 2021 census, there are 5.8 million Sarahs in the UK, providing unpaid care.

[Anna Dixon]

Obviously, most unpaid carers are women and the sacrifice they make not only affects them in the short term but feeds into their poverty in later life through the gender pension gap. Does the hon. Member recognise that?

[Helen Maguire]

Absolutely. I referred to that, and the care also affects their career prospects.

The care that unpaid carers provide is worth an estimated £152 billion annually, which is equivalent to the annual NHS budget. The 2021 census also found that in England and Wales, women are more likely to provide unpaid care than men, with women accounting for 59% of unpaid carers.

The number of unpaid carers has risen by 70% in the past two decades, according to the Institute for Public Policy Research, and 1.7 million of the 5.8 million unpaid carers provide 50 or more hours of care every single week. In England and Wales, women aged between 75 and 79 are most likely to provide 50 or more hours of care a week, while among men it is those aged between 85 and 89.

The sacrifice to step up and work as an unpaid carer is not without significant impact. Evidence consistently shows that unpaid carers experience worse health outcomes than non-carers. The 2021 census in England and Wales found that around one in four carers reported “not good” health, compared with fewer than one in five non-carers. The GP patient survey in 2025 found that 72% of carers said they had a physical or mental health condition or illness. An academic study that analysed the GP patient survey data found that for those providing care for 50 or more hours a week, the health impact of being a carer is equivalent to their losing 18 days of full health each year.

The economic and employment prospects of unpaid carers are also heavily impacted. Census data shows that nearly 3 million people in the UK balance unpaid care with paid employment. Polling by Carers UK suggests that the number could actually be much higher, with one in five workers, or 6.7 million people, providing unpaid care. In addition, 69% of carers who are employees report not having focused on their career as much as they would have liked to, 61% said that caring has impacted the type of employment they have taken on and 21% said that they had taken on a lower paid or more junior role that better fitted with their caring responsibilities.

This polling also found that in the past two years 1.1 million people have left employment to provide care. That is equivalent to around 1,500 people leaving the workforce every single day, which is an increase of 150% compared with polling in 2019 that showed the figure was 600 a day.

[Jim Shannon]

I thank the hon. Lady for her contribution to the debate. She is focusing clearly on those in work. I was sitting there thinking about the young carers I first met, who were between 11 to 17 years old. The impact on them is clear and graphic. Their work and their education suffers. When they go home from school they have to do their homework and have to look after their mum, dad or siblings, so the impact on them is even greater than normal. Does the hon. Lady agree that for those in education, there is a big impact as well?

[Helen Maguire]

I absolutely agree.

WPI Economics research found that being out of work is the single strongest quantitative predictor of poverty for unpaid carers. Those negative impacts of caring are particularly felt among under-represented groups. Ethnic minority carers are more likely to be struggling financially and have concerns around services not meeting their needs in comparison with white British carers. Similarly, LGBT+ carers are more likely to be struggling financially and more likely to say that caring has impacted on their mental health in comparison with their heterosexual counterparts.

The Liberal Democrats have always been the party of carers. We have campaigned to ensure that they have the financial resources, training, support, rights, respite and access to services that they need to live their own lives to the fullest and look after their loved ones. We are proud of the successes that we have had so far in helping unpaid carers, including introducing the Carer’s Leave Act 2023 and securing increasing carer’s allowance in 2024.

However, much more must be done. We are happy to see that social care has moved up the agenda under the new Labour leadership, and we look forward to continuing to work constructively with the Prime Minister on this topic. However, the failure in social care is devastating family finances, forcing thousands to sell their homes, crippling the NHS with delayed discharges and unnecessary admissions and bankrupting local authorities. We will make sure that unpaid family carers are not overlooked as the whole system is reformed. They cannot continue to be seen as a never-ending source of labour that will always be there to cover the shortcomings of state support.

Our first test of Labour’s social care reforms will be whether family carers are front and centre with guaranteed rights. Those must include respite care and a full replacement of the broken carer’s allowance so that families can afford the care. Could the Minister clarify whether working-age adults will also be in scope for the national care service?

The Liberal Democrats will ensure that unpaid carers have a fair deal by increasing the carer’s allowance by £20 a week and expanding the eligibility for it; introducing a statutory guarantee of regular respite breaks for unpaid carers; establishing paid carers leave and building on the entitlement to unpaid leave previously secured by the Liberal Democrats; creating a carer support service in every hospital to support carers before, during and after a loved one leaves hospital and to involve them in their discharge planning; making caring a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010; and requiring employers to make reasonable adjustments to enable employees with caring responsibilities to provide that care and launching a young carers pupil premium as part of an education guarantee for young carers. We also want to see the NHS do more to identify and support unpaid carers, including by promoting the health and wellbeing of carers as part of integrated care board plans.

We are also calling on the Government to establish a new £75 million a year national scheme that would fund guaranteed respite care in every part of the country. That would alleviate the burden on carers and prevent hospital admissions due to carers becoming too exhausted to look after their loved ones. Unpaid carers deserve the right to a break. Many are overwhelmed and at breaking point because of their caring role. Being able to take a break is often described by carers as the No. 1 way to prevent burnout and in turn reduce pressure on our health services. That is particularly important as one in three NHS workers are unpaid carers themselves, and 65% of us will become unpaid carers at some point in our lives.

I urge the Minister to reflect on all the contributions and calls made by myself and other Members here today. We cannot let this crucial opportunity to strengthen support for those who provide essential care to others and reduce the risk of burnout among the millions of unpaid carers on whom our health and care system depend pass by. We must ensure that unpaid carers and the people that they care for receive the long-overdue support that they truly deserve.

14:48

[Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst (Solihull West and Shirley) (Con)]

It is always a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Barker. I congratulate the hon. Member for Mid Sussex (Alison Bennett) on securing the debate and all hon. and right hon. Members on their very thoughtful and, at times, moving contributions.

As we heard during the debate, across the United Kingdom 5.8 million people provide unpaid care. Those carers collect prescriptions, organise appointments and help with all aspects of personal care, and many do so either before or after they have done a full working day. For millions of families up and down the country, this has become part and parcel of ordinary life, but we should never underestimate the toll it takes over time. Of those 5.8 million carers, 1.7 million provide at least 50 hours of care each week—more than a full-time working week—and they often do it alongside employment or while raising a family or managing their own personal health needs.

Of course, caring responsibilities rarely fit neatly within the timetable that defines our normal week. Likewise, the way that care, and the need for it, presents itself is often varied and complex. For some, it can come with little forewarning; they may need it after a sudden accident, such as a catastrophic spinal injury. For others, it comes much more incrementally, over a period of time: needing help with shopping becomes needing help with medication, or an occasional visit becomes a daily necessity. Eventually, it can feel as though it is becoming all consuming.

Clearly, individuals must adapt because someone they love needs that help. However, our services must adapt, too. Too often we assume rather than asking whether the person who is undertaking the care is able to manage, and whether they have been shown what to do or how to use the necessary equipment and so forth. It is worth remembering that a relative’s presence is not in itself a care plan, and nor should their willingness to help be taken as proof that they do not need any support themselves.

We have heard a plethora of examples of what happens when those questions are ignored. One can only imagine the frustration encountered by so many carers who are forced to describe their circumstances, often repeatedly, only for nothing to happen. That risks leaving the carer carrying entirely the same burden and responsibility as they had beforehand, but with less confidence that if they ask in the future it will make an iota of difference, and consequently, potentially, with declining physical and mental wellbeing. Others are forced to cut back on essentials just to make ends meet.

These individuals deserve a clear plan from the Government. Carers frequently find themselves putting the needs of those they care for above their own. As we have heard, employment can become more challenging, which often leads people to reduce their hours in order to make caring manageable, which of course has a knock-on impact on their income. Some are ultimately forced to leave work, which brings further financial pressures and often makes returning to the workplace much harder. As a society, we should be helping people preserve their working life wherever possible. Work provides not only financial freedom, but an environment where carers are recognised for achievements beyond their incredibly commendable responsibilities as carers.

We must remember, too, that many older carers are managing their own fragility, and that younger carers are often in education and their own childhoods can be affected. Support must reflect people’s different circumstances rather than assuming that every family can manage in entirely the same way. Alan Milburn’s interim review identified around 300,000 informal carers aged between 16 and 24. It described young carers as

“one of the least visible groups in the NEET conversation and one of the most systematically miscounted.”

A young person who misses college, declines an apprenticeship interview or struggles to attend a job or university may be managing responsibilities that somebody has simply not asked about. In those circumstances, it cannot be right that their commitment to a loved one should cost them opportunities.

The previous Conservative Government took action through the 2018 carers action plan, the carers innovation fund and support for statutory carer’s leave. I welcome this Government’s publication of the unpaid carers action plan in July. The task now is to ensure that those commitments actually reach the people the plan is intended to help. With that in mind, I have three specific questions for the Minister.

First, with NHS England to be abolished by April 2027, who will have ownership of the actions in the unpaid carers plan thereafter? Secondly, NHS England currently has powers to support service integration between local authorities and the NHS and for the functions of the better care fund, a major source of funding and resourcing for unpaid carers. The BCF in its current form requires the NHS and local authorities to pool budgets for the purpose of service integration, as there is a requirement to use section 75 agreements. That means that to pool budgets, the BCF must involve local authorities.

The impact assessment for the Health Bill sets out that, following the abolition of NHS England, that function will be conferred on the Secretary of State. In addition, what is currently a mandatory requirement on the use of section 75 will change to a discretionary power. In short, the Secretary of State will retain the power to require pooled budgets should they wish, but that will not be the default position, as is currently the case. Does the Minister share the concerns of carers’ charities that this change may lead to significant cuts for schemes that support unpaid carers?

Thirdly, the Prime Minister set out in his conference speech the bare bones of a plan for a national care service. The Government have of course proposed to fund that through reforms to the triple lock. However, those reforms will, self-evidently, not be sufficient to fund and deliver such a service. Notwithstanding the statement in the main Chamber earlier today, the details of the funding still appear to be somewhat lacking. Much more detail of what the Government are proposing is needed. Do the Government intend to set out further details of how the national care service will be funded, and will the Minister rule out increased borrowing or tax rises to fund it?

The Conservatives look forward to working constructively on this issue. It is an important issue that we all face in our inbox every day, but for too long, across the political spectrum, we have kicked it down the track and not got a grip of it. In that spirit, we look forward to the ongoing cross-party talks on the issue. Ultimately, the marker of success must be whether carers can obtain the help that they need, are able to access respite breaks when they need them, and can look after their own health and wellbeing at the same time. That of course requires proper policy consideration, not just headline announcements, and I hope the Minister is able to provide greater clarity on that front today.

14:57

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Mr James Frith)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Barker. I begin by congratulating the hon. Member for Mid Sussex (Alison Bennett) on securing this important debate. I also thank Members from across the House for their thoughtful contributions.

Addressing me, the hon. Member for Mid Sussex gave a roll call of some of the welcome policy announcements that we have seen already. I know that an appetite is maintained for more, and we will get into that, but it was great to hear recognition of our action plan, of the announcement of a champion for unpaid carers, of the Prime Minister’s relentless historical, current and future focus on social care and a national care service, of the minimum wage link to earnings in this sector and of the increase in allowances.

My right hon. Friend the Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell), joined by the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) and my hon. Friend and constituency neighbour the Member for Heywood and Middleton North (Mrs Blundell), rightly raised a particular issue. Indeed, I think that, consistently, every single Member in the Chamber made the point that I will distil to the absolute, fundamental need for respite. We understand that too often caring is a relentless duty. It is unending love, and that love is real, but so is the toil and the demand on unpaid carers, whom we are here to speak to and appeal for today.

Unpaid carers make an extraordinary contribution to families, communities and our country. They are often the person holding everything together. They provide unwavering support to the person or people they care for, often while balancing employment, education, parenting and their own health needs. This Government are acting now to ensure that unpaid carers receive the right support, at the right time. The cross-Government unpaid carers action plan brings together work from across health, social care, education, employment and the benefits system. It is an improved recognition of unpaid carers that strengthens the way support is offered to help carers reach their full potential and live their own fulfilling lives.

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced this summer—to great cheer from those of us in the audience—her intention to appoint an unpaid carers champion who will bring the commitments in the action plan to life and bring our responsibility to bear. Our carers champion will work across Government, the health and social care sector and carers organisations to provide advice and challenge on where we can go further.

The Government are making carers more visible, empowering their voices in care planning, joining up services and reducing the practical burdens they face. A new “my carer” section in the NHS app will give carers clearer routes, clearer information and relevant support, and will help to streamline the tasks that they undertake on behalf of the people they care for.

[Valerie Vaz in the Chair]

Our task is simple: carers have to be recognised as partners in care, with their own needs and ambitions. We understand that caring can affect household finances and a person’s ability to remain in work. The Government raised the carer’s allowance weekly earnings limit by a record amount in April 2025 and again in 2026-27. A public consultation on employment rights for unpaid carers and parents of seriously ill children closed on 1 September. We expect to conclude the review this winter with a full consultation, and we will respond to it with findings and a road map for potential reforms.

Members rightly raised the availability of practical support, including short breaks and respite—every Member referred to the need for that. A postcode lottery occurs too frequently. I am sorry to say that, because of the legacy of the last Government, that will take some time to rectify, but we are making progress in redressing the patchiness of public services left by the last lot.

This Government have brought in the better care fund, which provides a framework of more than £9 billion for integrated care boards, in a bid to patch up the patchiness left by the last Government. We speak frequently in this Chamber and the main Chamber about the need to ensure a universal service. It is for us as MPs as well as for the Government to ensure that there is better joined-up care and that funding can be used for carer support and respite, including short breaks and the peer support that we know is needed.

A fellow champion of carers—the heavyweight champion of Harlow, my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Chris Vince)—made the interesting point that there should be a young carers lead in all schools. I have been a school governor. The best schools and school leadership teams know the circumstances of our children, and we have a Government who not only understand the need for breakfast clubs, but recognise the importance of both the breakfast and the club. I hope that my hon. Friend’s idea will grow and go out into the governor world as a suitable idea. I do not think it is necessarily for the Government to mandate that, but it is a terrific idea. In developing those plans, perhaps he and friends will make representations to the champion that we will appoint so that young carers in particular get the support that they need. It is sad to think that there are undiscovered young carers. That is very poignant. The need for respite is very real, and so is the cost in terms of the childhood they are missing out on.

We must also recognise the effect of sustained care responsibilities on mental health, and provide mental health support, such as through the talking therapy service, the self-referral system, the NHS app, increased evidence-based talking therapies and digital interventions, and earlier support in schools.

My hon. Friend the Member for Amber Valley (Linsey Farnsworth) raised the issue of dementia. Today is the second consecutive day that she and I have spoken about the issue. I repeat my commitment that she will be involved in the first-ever modern service framework on dementia and frailty, which is to come. I look forward to working with her on that.

My hon. Friend the Member for Scarborough and Whitby (Alison Hume) always has nice things to say to colleagues and friends across the House. Support for unpaid caring is inseparable from the future of adult social care across all ages. My hon. Friend the Member for Cannock Chase (Josh Newbury) rightly talked about the need for a distinct older care service, as carers will get older and need care themselves.

At its best, social care is transformational, and our long-term ambition is to have a national care service that is person-centred, sees the person and their circumstances, integrates with health services and is preventive, giving people greater choice, control, dignity and independence. We are committed to building that service, but it must be informed by the undoubtedly exemplary work we will see from Baroness Casey. We will build on the consensus she is seeking from the public as she asks what they want, need and expect from the system. I look forward to seeing that work, which will address difficult questions about who should get support, what families can reasonably expect and who is responsible.

The hon. Member for Solihull West and Shirley (Dr Shastri-Hurst) asked who is responsible; that is a good question. I will ensure that the changes to NHS England and the forthcoming plans are in the purview of the work that Baroness Casey is undertaking. As to a commitment on tax and borrowing, he mistakes the level at which I currently sit in Government—I will gladly answer his question if they ever dare to give me responsibility for such things—but it is a good question.

In the meantime, greater investment is already coming, alongside better workforce support, digitisation, a stronger voice for people receiving care, and closer integration across services through the unpaid carers action plan, the appointment of an unpaid carers champion, improvements on carer ID through the NHS app, stronger financial employment support, better education support for young carers, more access to mental health services and more effective local planning. We are taking practical steps now; it is a Labour Government doing this.

The hon. Member for Mid Sussex asked about identifying young carers—I recently raised the poignant issue of undiscovered young carers. This is a collaborative job. It falls to the local authority and to school leadership, and it must fall to integrated care boards to work with their colleagues in local government and local education to ensure that all children’s contexts are understood and known.

We are listening to carers, who must challenge services where support falls short. Unpaid carers enable millions of people to live with dignity, independence, love and connection. Their contribution must not be taken for granted. They get and deserve our recognition, our respect and reliable support. This Government are determined to turn that commitment into lasting change.

15:08

[Alison Bennett]

I appreciate the opportunity to wind up. I realise that I was remiss in not declaring an interest at the start. As the hon. Member for Harlow (Chris Vince) pointed out, I am the new chair of the APPG for young carers and young adult carers—so new, in fact, that I forgot to declare it.

I thank all hon. Members for their speeches and interventions. I can say to the hon. Member for Cannock Chase (Josh Newbury) that I have had a similar surgery, in which somebody asked about carer’s allowance and the state pension. I was very pleased that the right hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell) mentioned the work of Siobhan O’Dwyer at the University of Birmingham. The hon. Member for Amber Valley (Linsey Farnsworth) talked about her family’s experience of dementia. I thank the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for his constant kind words and support, and for giving us the Northern Ireland perspective.

The hon. Member for Heywood and Middleton North (Mrs Blundell) talked about Carers Week and the Rochdale carers’ hub. I did a similar event for Carers Support West Sussex. The hon. Member for Shipley (Anna Dixon) talked about Freda and her mum, and her own lifetime of working to support carers. I thank the hon. Member for Harlow—I will call him my hon. Friend—for his work fighting for young carers, both as a teacher and now in this place.

The hon. Member for Scarborough and Whitby (Alison Hume) shared stories of her own caring responsibilities, and my hon. Friend the Member for Epsom and Ewell (Helen Maguire) set out the Williams family story, which gets repeated everywhere. I thank the hon. Member for Solihull West and Shirley (Dr Shastri-Hurst) for putting those clear questions to the Minister.

Finally, I appreciate the Minister recognising that, although there is consensus in this Chamber, there is still much more work to be done.

Motion lapsed (Standing Order No. 10(6)).