Carers Week 2010 Parliamentary Ambassadors (right to left) Hywel Francis, Labour MP for Aberavon; Paul Burstow, Liberal Democrat MP for Sutton & Cheam; and Tony Baldry, Conservative MP for Banbury. At the Parliamentary launch of Carers Week we put some questions to them.

Carers Week  How do you feel perceptions about carers have changed since your first became an MP (in parliament and in society in general)?

Hywel Francis  There has been enormous change both inside and outside Parliament in how carers are perceived, driven by the launch of a National Carers Strategy, the leadership of the Prime Minister and the work of campaigning organisations at a local and national level.

As a Vice-President of Carers UK I put a huge value on the work they do in improving awareness of carers’ needs in Parliament by briefing MPs and co-ordinating parliamentary work and campaigns. As Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Carers I am impressed by the way the issue has moved up the political agenda for all political parties. Compared to the 2005 election, when we had seen lots of good publicity around the Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act which I sponsored, now carers are taken account of in all major social policy, from the Equality Bill to forthcoming changes to pensions. This is good news but only a short way along the journey for carers.

When I entered Parliament, even though my wife and I had been carers for over 16 years for my son, I wasn’t even aware of the word ‘carer.’ Now, with the work of charities like Carers UK, Mencap, the Down’s Syndrome Association and other organisations, people are increasingly aware of the term, and misperceptions about carers are being broken down.

Carers Week  Do you see many carers at your constituency surgeries and elsewhere? What issues come to the fore most often?

Hywel Francis  Although health, social care and education are all now issues that are devolved to the Welsh Assembly I work as a team with Dr Brian Gibbons, who is the Assembly Member for Aberavon. I have held carers advice surgeries in my area – in fact, the Neath Port Talbot area in my constituency has the highest concentration of carers in the UK.

Carers often come to me for advice, particularly as a result of my roles with the All Party Parliamentary Group for Carers and Carers UK. Their top issues are benefits and carer poverty, particularly the inadequacy of Carer’s Allowance and the fact that carers lose their Carer’s Allowance when they become pensioners – but many also experience difficulties in accessing work and training, and support from social services.

Carers Week  What do you think has been the biggest step forward for carers in this current Parliament?

Hywel Francis  We have seen modest advances right across the board, rather than any one single achievement. However inadequate the advances in respite care that were announced with it, the National Carers Strategy was a big step forward and the Work and Families Act introduced important rights for carers to request flexible working – beginning to right the wrong of carers having to give up work to care.

Carers Week  What would you like prioritised with regards to carers during the next Parliament?

Hywel Francis  There has got to be a focus on the three ‘Rs’: respect, respite and recompense - the big one. We should be calling for a new National Carers Strategy to address carers’ poverty.

My Act, the Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act, tried to place carers not in the context of charity but as having rights to education, work and leisure – we need to make sure these rights are now embedded in all legislation.

I’ve been impressed with cross-party support we’ve seen in Parliament for putting right the injustices of caring. We need the kind of cross-party support we have on the NHS, because we all agree on the need to support carers. Carers need a clear Bill of Rights which includes rights to benefits, education, training, leisure. The Carers and Equal Opportunities Act focused on information but we need to go further to guarantee equal opportunities.

Carers Week  What opportunities does Carers Week provide for carers?

Hywel Francis  Carers Week is unique – one of the most effective of all the national campaigns. It brings national attention for a whole week with enormous coverage in local and national press, lots of support from MPs in Parliament and mobilises local carers and organisations across the UK. Carers Week is also a time when politicians are keen to show their support for carers – with Ministers always getting involved and the Prime Minister hosting Carers Week events in No. 10 in previous years.


Carers Week  What do you think are the main issues facing carers at the moment?

Paul Burstow  Invisibility is the main thing, getting access to the right support and services at the right time. Also their health and wealth which suffer as a result of caring.

Carers Week  What progress do you think has been made over the last few years with regard to carers?

Paul Burstow  The main progress that has been made is as a result of individual MPs taking up the cudgels and bringing forth legislation to improve the lives of carers. The Carers Strategy has been an important starting place for developing services. With regard to specific legislation, the right to a carers assessment is an important step, although there is still some way to go to make it a reality. The fact that health and social services now have to have more regard for carers’ needs is also an important move forward; there is definitely more focus on carers now than there was 13 years ago when I came into politics.

Carers Week  What are your hopes for carers after the election?

Paul Burstow  That the wider reform of social care will have the needs of carers at its heart. Carers need greater certainty and security about how this will be funded. It’s important that carers have access to support with their caring role but also to have a life outside of this.

Carers Week  Do you think that the parties prioritise carers enough?

Paul Burstow  This election, there is a real chance of carers being part of the debate far more than previously, particularly with issues of social care being high up the agenda. At the moment the parties are competing with eachother over what they will offer and carers will benefit from this.

Carers Week  What issues do carers in your constituency tend to bring up with you? Are there any recurring themes?

Paul Burstow  The biggest issue is the cost of care. Most carers feel insulted by the level of Carers Allowance, which doesn’t reflect the responsibilities that they take on. In my constituency, in Sutton, we have had a very active Princess Royal Trust for Carers centre since the 1980s, so they have helped to give me a strong focus on carers issues. However, one difficulty is that we don’t hear from those carers who aren’t on the radar. As I mentioned, there is the problem that lots of carers are invisible. For example, the census showed that we have 19,000 carers in my constituency, but the authorities only know of 5,000 of them.

Outside of my constituency, I met directly with a number of carers when I attended the Carers UK summit, and was struck by the passion and anger of carers about their circumstances and the fact that they are not being adequately supported. The tragedy is that they are too busy caring have the time to organise political action.

Carers Week  Do you have a personal motivation for your involvement with carers issues?

Paul Burstow  I have no personal experience of caring and have been lucky enough not to have had relatives with serious illnesses. However, my interest in the area has grown thanks to the advocacy of the local Princess Royal Trust for Carers centre in Sutton. They have been very effective in raising the issue with me and drawing me in and I have wanted to take the issues up.

Carers Week  Do you have a message for other local organisations arranging activities for Carers Week?

Paul Burstow  The most effective thing that my local carers centre did with me was to arrange for me to spend some time shadowing carers, which is the best way of getting an appreciation of the responsibilities that people are taking on. It allowed me to see that carers are ordinary people doing extraordinary things, often beyond what is reasonable to expect someone to do.

Carers Week  Do you have a message for carers?

Paul Burstow  Coming up to the election, I would advise carers to take a long hard look at what the parties are saying that addresses their issues. I was personally delighted when Nick Clegg made a commitment to fund respite care for the 1 million carers who shoulder the greatest caring burden in this country.

From a personal perspective, I don’t pretend to understand the emotions and feelings that drive carers because I have had no personal experience of caring. But I have learnt a lot from listening to carers and I have taken what I have heard to parliament to argue the case for the fair deal that carers deserve. Without the commitment of carers, our NHS and Social Services would simply collapse.

Carers Week  How do you feel perceptions have changed since you first became an MP?

Tony Baldry  Much greater recognition of carers within Parliament and throughout the general public. There is also a great understanding that carers are of all ages and from all backgrounds. However, many carers themselves often do not recognise themselves as carers which may mean they do not get the help they need.

Carers Week  Do you see many carers at your constituency surgeries and elsewhere? What issues and concerns come to the fore most often?

Tony Baldry  I do meet a lot of carers and a recurring complaint is that there is confusion among carers about which professional should be doing what to support them. Carers come into contact with so many people – GPs, community health teams, social services – and they often do not know who to turn to for the right help.

The biggest concern I hear from carers is the lack of respite and problems with NHS Continuing Care. The different between free NHS Continuing Care and means-tested social care adds to confusion and worries. Has met people who were receiving Continuing Care but after a review, their needs were judged to be greater but that these would now be met through means tested social care.

I recently met a carer in my constituency who was in his 70s caring for his wife who has dementia and has not received any respite at all.

Carers Week  What do you think has been the biggest step forward for carers in this current Parliament?

Tony Baldry  The All Party Parliamentary Group for Carers has grown substantially in profile with the Prime Minister taking questions on carers during Prime Minister’s Questions and meeting representatives of the Parliamentary Group for Carers. The Carers Strategy for England could be a step forward but needs mechanisms in place to audit delivery. Publishing a strategy is not an achievement in itself, delivery is and it should not be viewed as something as a box to be ticked in Whitehall once published.

Carers Week  What would you like prioritised in regard to carers during the next Parliament?

Tony Baldry  I would like to see a voluntary register of carers that could assist planning services for carers and helping to make sure people received information. Currently, it is too random in how we plan to meet needs of local carers because of a lack of information.  We also need health and social services to work closer together to plan and deliver services.

Schools could also be made aware of who was a young carer to give them greater assistance as many schools are unaware of young carers as pupils. It would also help GPs understand who had caring roles for their patients and might enable them to feel more able to share information and advice in relation to the patient.

Carers on a voluntary register could have access to an annual assessment and review of their support package to check whether they are getting enough respite for example. We need to improve how we engage with carers.