This is Carers’ Week and the time to recognise the extraordinary contribution of the 6.5 million people who care for a family member who are older, disabled or seriously ill. It’s also a time to think about what more we can do to support them. 

Carers are inspirational. They make an enormous difference to the lives of those they support, giving their time to a role that can be tough, stressful and exhausting. And their time, given feely and without a thought for themselves, saves a huge amount of public money.

I am delighted to back carers, as an Ambassador for Sheffield Carers Centre and a Patron for Sheffield Young Carers. More needs to be done to support carers; that’s why I’m backing the Carers’ Manifesto -; and I’ve called on the Government to increase Carer’s Allowance and extend it to carers in full-time education.

The theme of this year’s Carer’s Week is ‘Building Carer Friendly Communities’. Find out more about Carers Week: http://www.carersweek.org/