Today, on Young Carers Awareness Day I’m launching a new All-Party Parliamentary Group for Young Carers and Young Adult Carers, with the support of the Carers Trust. It builds on work I’ve done with Sheffield Young Carers (SYC) of which I’m a Patron. The Group is being set up to promote awareness in Parliament of the issues affecting young carers and develop a cross-party platform to campaign for better support. 

After SYC’s Young Carers Action Group developed a set of recommendations on how they could be better supported, I took a group of local young carers to meet with the then Prime Minister Theresa May in 2018, and then last year led a debate in Parliament to press their issues. Last summer, I hosted a meeting in Parliament with young carers groups from across the country, which identified common concerns.  

Young carers face extraordinary challenges, juggling caring responsibilities with education and everything else in their lives. Working with them through Sheffield Young Carers has been inspirational, but they need better support. This All-Party Group is the next step, coordinating campaigns and raising young carers voices in Parliament and with the Government.  

For information about the APPG, contact Oliver Mawhinney at the Carers Trust.