Health Bill

Baroness Morris of Bolton Excerpts

Committee stage
Tuesday 3rd November 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)]

My Lords, as I moved the first amendment in this group, it might be helpful if I recap the nature of the debate last week. The noble Baroness, Lady Tyler, spoke to a number of amendments on carers. She said that there are

“4.7 million unpaid carers in England”.—[Official Report, 28/10/26; col. 1234.]

They lack support. One of the reasons for that is that we do not have a system of identifying who they are. This was backed up by the noble Lord, Lord Young, who spoke about young carers. He spoke of

“15,000 schoolchildren spending more than 50 hours a week looking after their parents or siblings, and 3,000 of those were aged between five and nine”.—[Official Report, 28/10/26; col. 1237.]

They face many disadvantages in the field of education, as the noble Lord, Lord Young, identified. They are rarely identified by the relevant authorities until, on average, three years have passed since they first began caring.

My amendments run in parallel to those tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Tyler. They are about introducing a new legal right to ensure that no one is cut off from relatives and friends in care homes, hospitals and other care settings. This would mean that anyone relying on health and care services, either in the short or longer term, would have the right to nominate a trusted relative, friend or paid carer to provide essential in-person support. Their access will be protected and their advocacy respected. During Covid in particular, but subsequently too, there was a lot of evidence that, when a carer, relative or friend raised concerns about their loved one in a residential care home, in some cases they were told that they were not allowed to visit again. There have been some cases, too, where the resident was required to be removed from the home. The noble and learned Baroness, Lady Hallett, recognised the importance of this in her recent Covid-19 inquiry report:

“In a future pandemic, visits from essential carers should be available to all residents where possible and should be distinct from considerations regarding general visiting”.


Her report recommended this protection be framed as a right.

[Baroness Morris of Bolton (Con)]

My Lords, it is sometimes frustrating when sitting on the Woolsack or at the Table during Committee when a debate is taking place and you wish you could jump up and say something—a situation I found myself in on Wednesday night. I was very glad when the Committee adjourned the debate on Amendment 21; in fact, I think I was the person who adjourned the debate, which allows me to say just a few words today on this group of important amendments.

I must admit to noble Lords that I have not spoken on a health Bill since I was the Opposition health Whip to my noble friend Lord Howe many years ago. I was also the shadow Minister for what was then the department for children, schools and families. In that capacity, I met many young carers. I was humbled by their dedication and the sacrifices they willingly accepted; my admiration for them—then and now—knows no bounds.

I wish to add my voice to the powerful speeches already made on this group, particularly in support of respite care. In doing so, I have just one question for the Minister. I recognise from the Government’s unpaid carers action plan that much work is going in to the collection of data and identification of unpaid carers by bringing together multiple services, but, from my own experience, many young carers are wary of official services, fearing that they may think them unable to cope. However, many will turn to the wonderful charities who are active in this space, such as Action for Children. Therefore, can the Minister say whether the voluntary sector will also be included in this bringing together of services to improve the outcome for young carers—indeed, all carers—and their families? Will carers also have a voice?

[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.