EDM 445: Carers Rights Day

That this House celebrates Carers Rights Day; recognises the hard and vital work unpaid carers do caring for their loved ones; notes that carers across the country support the wellbeing of millions of the most vulnerable in our society and contribute £184bn to the UK economy; further notes that health and care services and the NHS cannot function properly without the contribution of family and unpaid carers; regrets that hundreds of thousands of carers live in poverty, and suffer from social isolation; further regrets that two in five young carers are persistently absent from school; reaffirms the importance of existing rights for carers, such as unpaid carer’s leave; applauds the work of voluntary and charitable organisations like Carers UK, who have improved the lives of countless carers; and calls on the Government to mark this Carers Rights Day with action, including by making unpaid carer’s leave paid, introducing a generous entitlement to respite care, reforming Carer’s Allowance, establishing a Young Carers Pupil Premium, and ending the persecution of carers for overpayments of carers allowance.