Carers Week supporters meet with Minister for Social Care to start the countdown to Carers Week 2024
Carers UK and eight other organisations who are supporting Carers Week 2024 joined with the Minister for Social Care, Helen Whately MP, for a roundtable on 1 May 2024 to highlight the challenges that unpaid carers who support family and friends across the UK are currently facing.
To mark the start of the countdown to Carers Week, taking place this year between 10-16 June, the discussion explored the Government’s current and future priorities for supporting unpaid carers. Organised by Carers UK, the discussion also included senior representatives from Age UK, Carers Trust, Motor Neurone Disease Association, ME Association, Oxfam GB, Rethink Mental Illness, The Lewy Body Society, and TSB Bank plc.
The attendees heard from Michelle, who has been a carer all her life. She first started caring when she was 9 years old – helping to look after her siblings when her mum had an accident – and she now cares for her niece who has limited mobility. Michelle also works full time for TSB Bank plc alongside her caring responsibilities. Michelle spoke about how she has benefitted from TSB's Carers Policy which allows employees to take up to 70 hours of paid Carer’s Leave a year to support them to juggle work with their caring responsibilities.
Commenting on the discussion, Helen Walker, Chief Executive of Carers UK, said:
“All the organisations supporting Carers Week this year welcomed the opportunity to meet with the Minister for Social Care to discuss the Government’s support for unpaid carers and their plans for the future – including that of the cross-departmental group of Ministers that met last year to focus on the needs of unpaid carers. We shared our organisations’ experiences of supporting carers, carers’ current needs and the challenges they are facing, and where Government could make a difference. We look forward to continuing to work closely with the Minister for Social Care in the run up to, and during, Carers Week.”
Carers Week is an annual awareness campaign which takes place each year to recognise the vital contribution made by the millions of unpaid carers in the UK. It is also a time of intensive local activity with hundreds of activities and events planned for carers across the UK. This year’s theme is Putting Carers on the Map. To find out more and discover ways to get involved this June, visit carersweek.org.
