What action will the Minister take during the sixth Senedd to appoint a carers or young carers champion, to ensure the voice of unpaid carers is heard?
Our Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 put carers’ rights on an equal footing with those they care for, and a critical aspect of that legislation is ensuring the voice of unpaid carers is heard, both as members of our communities providing essential care and support, and as people, with their own individual needs. Working with and alongside carers is vital to ensure that their rights are delivered and their needs are met. We need to create and improve services which help them to care, but also supports their own health and wellbeing.
Last year during the pandemic we created a specific Task and Finish working group, with my officials meeting with the chief executives of the four national carers charities in Wales to identify barriers and find swift solutions, with the ID letter to help carers to access pharmacies as just one example. In March we responded to their calls to clarify guidance in Wales around the vaccination of unpaid carers. We worked with these charities to achieve this, and to encourage eligible unpaid carers to use the local health board self-referral forms to access a vaccination appointment.
Since 2018 the advice and work of the Carers’ Ministerial Advisory Group members including local authorities, local health boards, the third sector, academics and Commissioners, has been key in helping to focus the views of unpaid carers and service providers. The MAG works alongside a Carers’ Engagement group which allows us to draw on the experiences of even more carers, for example those caring for someone with a life limiting health condition or disability, as well as young carers.
Another key mechanism for engaging carers and receiving their input are the Regional Partnership Boards and all seven boards has an unpaid carer representative. Contact with carers through meetings and events also provides Ministers and officials with very direct opportunities to hear about the issues affecting carers day to day, for example during Carers Week, which will be held this year during the week of 7th – 11th June.
The voice of young carers is as important as those of adults. We provided Children in Wales with £14,000 in 2020-21 and again this year, to support the Young Carers’ Network. My officials also work closely with Carers Trust Wales, which supports a Youth Council of young carers, providing a vital insight into the pressures and needs facing young and young adult carers.