MPs and Lords urge right to support for young carers

The Joint Committee on the Draft Care and Support Bill’s report also said the government must change the bill so that plans to improve the rights of adult carers are extended to under-18s.

Under the present proposals, adult carers who want help will no longer need to request an assessment or prove they provide “regular and substantial” care.

But since the draft legislation does not apply to under-18s, young carers would still need to ask their local authority for an assessment and demonstrate they provide “regular and substantial” care if they want support.

The committee said this must change so that “young carers do not fall between the cracks or face a higher threshold for receiving any support”. It also recommended that since young carers need more support than adults, they should be given a right to support so that they do not carry out “inappropriate caring duties”.

The National Young Carers Coalition welcomed the committee’s recommendations.

“We’re delighted with the recommendations,” said Moira Fraser, the chair of the coalition. “While it’s great that the law will change for adult carers, you can’t have young carers left behind because surely they, of all people, need more support.”

Adjusting the legislation to accommodate the needs of young carers will probably require amendments to both the Care and Support Bill and the Children and Families Bill, she added.

“While it’s not a given yet, we’re hopeful that this will happen,” said Fraser. “We’ve been very encouraged by the willingness of the committee and MPs to look at this issue.”