Last week I held a Westminster Hall debate on access to education and training for young adult carers, and the challenges these young people face, as well as highlighting the changes that need to happen to ensure that education and training is accessible to all young people, including young adult carers.
Since being elected in July 2024 I have championed young adult carers, from speaking up for them in the chamber, to meetings with ministers and bringing young adult carers to Parliament for the chance for their voices to be heard in-person. One aspect that has arisen repeatedly in conversations in the accessibility of higher education and training for these young people, alongside the identification. From both the young adults and charities/organisations that have worked alongside them doing research and reports, this has been consistently recognised as a concern.
Before anything else, to be able to provide the support for young adult carers, we must be able to identify who they are. In this area I have been championing changes such as training for teachers to recognise the signs and be able to address them, as some young adult carers do not know that that is what they are. With 69% of schools reporting they do not have any young carers, we know this statistic is wrong, and to be able to correct it our recognition and reporting needs to be worked on. With the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) reporting the need for a young carers lead in all schools (a point of contact), the government are now actively working towards this type of support being made available.
Only 26% of young adult carers felt they have the same access to opportunities as other young people when they are adults. There is a clear gap in the transition from secondary education to higher education and training opportunities offer to the lifestyle of a young carer, and with data lacking in this area it means we may not even know the extent of the challenges. The support offered, often is not transitioned once a young carer becomes a young adult carer, a time where more than ever in their life they may need it.
The APPG inquiry recommended that the Independent Commission on Adult Social Care address how to improve transitions and support for young adult carers, and that government departments identify ways to strengthen these transitions, including ensuring local authorities meet their statutory duties. Having this joined up thinking and collaboration would ensure the support is there in a crucial period of their life – as they are deciding who they really want to be as a person, and as an adult.
Throughout the debate I held, there was unanimous, and strong agreement that our young carers and young adult carers need more support, and as a government we need to work towards removing the barriers they face. The responding Minister, Josh MacAlister, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education, agreed he fully recognises the difficulties faced and has made a commitment to ensure this government continues its ongoing work to monitor and review they key issues and improve the support in place.
I will continue to work to champion these incredible young people and ensure their voices are heard in parliament and, more importantly, listened to. These policies cannot be formed without their experiences and their confidence to speak up and tell us, the government, what needs changing. The scale of their responsibilities, and the weight they carry silently, just caring for those that they love because they say ‘that is just what you do’ should never be underestimated and when I have the privilege to speak in the chamber I shine a light on their work and what we, the government, can do to acknowledge, recognise and support them.
