Caring MP meets carers

Westminster Life: Recognising carers who give so much

Rainbow Court in Paston

Rainbow Court in Paston

A few weeks ago, it was my privilege to attend the Peterborough Deafblind Club monthly meeting at Rainbow Court in Paston to listen to the views of club members and meet both them and their carers, most of whom were interpreters too. I always get a warm welcome and my marching orders from the inestimable Peter Skivington MBE, who is a great advocate for deafblind people.

This week the campaign to raise awareness of Carers Week  which this year begins on 10th June through to 16th June, came to Westminster. It’s about celebrating and thanking these dedicated people in our community.

Carers are the unsung heroes of our public services, providing unpaid care by looking after an ill, frail or disabled family member, friend or partner. Carers give so much to society yet as a consequence of caring, they experience ill health, poverty and sometimes discrimination.

There are thousands of carers in Peterborough and 6.5 million across the UK as a whole, including 175,000 carers who are under eighteen – often children struggling with their studies – and 1.5 million who are over 60 and one in eight carers also combine their caring responsibilities with paid work.

Over the years, we’ve come on a long way in understanding and providing for the emotional, practical and financial needs of those with a caring role but we always have much more to achieve.

The new Care Bill announced in last week’s Queen’s Speech belatedly enshrines a right for the millions of carers in England to receive support from their local council and I will be ensuring that Peterborough City Council is amongst the best in the country.

For the first time the Government will also introduce a duty to meet carers’ eligible needs for support as well introduce a new adult safeguarding framework.

Locally, Peterborough Council for Volunteer Services also has an excellent carers advocacy programme, which is comprehensive and focuses on vital information on areas like benefits and respite care but also social events too.

I suppose we should have a Carers Week all year round – not just a one off in June.

That said, any opportunity to show our gratitude to those who give so much for little but love as their reward, is worth it and I will try and do my bit too in June.

http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/opinion/