Support services for young carers forced to make deep budget cuts
Janaki Mahadevan
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Services supporting up to 1,192 young carers have had their budgets cut by up to 30 per cent, a UK-wide survey by Action for Children has found.
According to the research, a further 192 young carers are supported by services that have experienced cuts to their budgets of 40 per cent or more.
The charity surveyed 23 of its young carer projects between May and June this year. Findings reveal that almost half of services questioned reported a rise in the number of children on waiting lists and had seen an increase in the needs of young carers.
Hugh Thornbery, children’s services director at Action for Children, said: "Every day we are seeing that young carers’ needs are increasing. We are concerned that families will begin to rely on their child to provide them with care that the state would have previously provided. This is unacceptable.
"Inappropriate caring responsibilities, unsuitable living conditions and the emotional stress of handling the household finances are often too much for adults to cope with, so why should children be left to face this burden alone."
According to the Princess Royal Trust for Carers, there are 175,000 young carers in the UK. Action for Children said it fears that if the cuts to its projects are replicated across the country the consequences could be devastating for children and their families.