YOUNG CARERS AND THEIR FAMILIES

Early day motion 539, tabled 18 January 2005 by Annette Brooke (Liberal Democrat). Signed by 119 members.

That this House welcomes the recent launch of the Joint Position Statements on Young Carers; notes that this partnership between the Princes Royal Trust for Carers, the Children's Society and the Disabled Parents Network illustrates the voluntary sector's leadership in working together to provide whole-family, preventative support for young carers and their families; applauds the Department for Education and Skills for funding this initiative; recognises that the vast majority of the United Kingdom's 175,000 young carers endure their entire childhoods unsupported and receive no form of assessment, a fact highlighted by the latest report from the Young Carers Research Group; regrets that services for adults and services for children often struggle to work in partnership, especially where a local authority does not have a protocol for joint working; believes that disabled parents should be able to access the support they need to enable them to get their children to school and that young carers should receive appropriate recognition and support once at school; and calls for services that support adults to recognise that many fo their clients are parents and require support with that role in order to prevent their children having to take on inappropriate caring roles.

Signatures by party: Labour 41, Conservative 36, Liberal Democrat 29, Labour/Co-operative 5, DUP 3, UUP 3, Scottish National Party 1.