Health Bill

Debate between Baroness Nargund and Baroness Pidgeon

Committee stage
Tuesday 3rd November 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Nargund (Lab)]

My Lords, I understand the concerns that have prompted the noble Baroness, Lady Tyler, to table her amendment, and I support her fully. Many times in this very Chamber I have raised the issue of the burden of unpaid caring on one’s health, well-being and finances. The majority of unpaid carers are women who sacrifice their own health and well-being needs to care for others. It is very important that we care for them. As many noble Lords said last week, we know that many unpaid carers do not identify themselves, but women are less likely to do so. Identifying carers is important, but they must not simply become another statistic, because behind every carer there is a family. Identification should and must lead to meaningful support for carers and their families.

As the noble Baroness, Lady Tyler, has already pointed out, there is evidence of under-identification of unpaid carers. Analysis by the Nuffield Trust of 13 million GP records found that only 1.4% of patients were recorded as unpaid carers in GP systems, compared with the census estimate of approximately 8.8%. That means that for every unpaid carer identified by GP practices, roughly four were not identified. In other words, around 1 million unpaid carers were missing from GP records.

I welcome Action 102 in the Renewed Women’s Health Strategy for England, which pledges to support unpaid carers to balance their work and care. The single patient record can be an important enabling tool to identify unpaid carers and record all their caring responsibilities. Therefore, can my noble friend the Minister say whether the single patient record will be set up to systematically identify unpaid carers, and whether ICBs will have a clear responsibility to act on that information to protect their health and well-being? Will the Renewed Women’s Health Strategy for England be joined up to this to support women who are unpaid carers? We owe it to them.

[Baroness Pidgeon (LD)]

My Lords, this debate, though it started last week, has highlighted the extraordinary contribution made by unpaid carers across the country. Every day, millions of people provide care, often around the clock, enabling their loved ones to live with dignity and independence. Their contribution is not only invaluable to the individuals they support; it is fundamental to the sustainability of the health and care system as we know it. As my noble friend Lady Tyler rightly pointed out last week, and as the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, pointed out today, the unpaid care provided by an estimated 4.7 million carers in England is worth some £152 billion a year—a figure comparable with the NHS budget. Without those carers, our health and social care services would be unable to cope.

Throughout this debate, noble Lords have highlighted the stark reality that carers too often remain invisible to the very systems that rely most heavily upon them. For too many carers who are not identified by health services, this means that they miss out on support, advice and interventions that would protect their own health and well-being as well. Amendments 88 and 89 would help to address these issues.