All-party Parliamentary Group for Young Carers and Young Adult Carers
A message from the officers of the APPG for Young Carers and Young Adult Carers - Wednesday 30th October 2024
The officers of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Young Carers are delighted to announce that the group has reformed. It held its first meeting of the new Parliament on 29th October, with UK charity Carers Trust re- appointed to provide the secretariat.
Chris Vince, Labour and Co-operative MP for Harlow, has been elected as the group’s new Chair. Prior to entering Parliament, he was the Young Carers Service Manager for Essex-based charity Action for Family Carers and was also a secondary school teacher for 15 years.
The APPG vice-chairs are:
- Alison Bennett, Liberal Democrat MP and Spokesperson for Carers and Care
- Baroness Keeley, Labour Peer
- Lord Young of Cookham, Conservative peer.
In addition to electing the officers, young and young adult carers shared their experiences at the meeting on topics such as balancing caring and education, support for their families, and the join-up between health and social care services. They also presented findings from Carers Trust’s new report into young carers and education, showing young carers miss more than a month of school on average.
The APPG provides a cross-party platform at Westminster for MPs and Peers committed to supporting more than one million young and young adult carers in the UK. Last year, the APPG held the first ever parliamentary inquiry into the effect of caring on young people’s life opportunities. It highlighted a devastating impact on their education, wellbeing and future prospects and uncovered evidence showing 15,000 children, including 3,000 aged just five to nine, spend 50 hours or more a week caring.
This parliament, the APPG will focus on three key areas:
· Improving identification, recognition of young carers within school.
· Improving support for young adult carers as they transition to adulthood, including access to higher education, training and employment.
· Improving joined-up working between health and social care services so that young carers and their families get the support they need at the earliest opportunity.
The group also wants to work closely with the APPG for Carers on issues such as a national carers strategy.
APPG Chair, Chris Vince MP said:
"It is an honour to have been appointed as the chair of such an important APPG, on a topic that I care passionately about.
“During my time with Action for Family Carers and working in schools, I saw first-hand just how much young carers have to deal with on a daily basis. This is why it is so important that young carers are identified and supported at the earliest opportunity.
“In the last Parliament, the APPG, led by my predecessor Paul Blomfield, who I would like to express my gratitude to, helped to build real momentum in Parliament around young carers. I am determined that as an APPG we continue to push for better recognition and support for young carers so that they can have the same life opportunities as their peers. That is the very least that they deserve."
About the APPG for Young Carers and Young Adult Carers
The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Young Carers and Young Adult Carers brings together Parliamentarians from across the political spectrum who are committed to improving the lives of young carers and young adult carers. The group’s mission is to provide a forum for key issues affecting young carers and young adult carers which will be addressed collaboratively by Parliamentarians and other key stakeholders, including young carers and young adult carers.
The APPG holds regular meetings in Parliament with an ambitious agenda of work and seeks to make the very strongest collective case to Central Government as we seek to achieve the best support, services and outcomes for young carers and young adult carers.
The current officers of the APPG are:
- Chair: Paul Blomfield MP
- Vice-Chair: Duncan Baker MP
- Vice-Chair: Ed Davey MP
- Vice-Chair: Lord Young of Cookham
In addition to the officers, there are additional MPs and Peers who are members of the APPG (asked to be on the group's mailing list). These are:
Afzal Khan MP
Alistair Carmichael MP
Andrew Gwynne MP
Andrew Lewer MP
Andrew Western MP
Ashley Dalton MP
Barbara Keeley MP
Baroness Brinton
Baroness Lister of Burtersett CBE
Baroness Pitkeathley OBE
Baroness Walmsley
Caroline Dinenage MP
Chris Stephens MP
Christina Rees MP
Christine Jardine MP
Colum Eastwood MP
Dame Rosie Winterton MP
Fabian Hamilton MP
Fleur Anderson MP
Florence Eshalomi MP
George Howarth MP
Gill Furniss MP
John McDonnell MP
Kate Osborne MP
Liz Twist MP
Lord Young
Martyn Day MP
Mary Kelly Foy MP
Mohammed Yasin MP
Paulette Hamilton MP
Sally-Ann Hart MP
Sarah Atherton MP
Sarah Green MP
Sir Oliver Heald MP
Virendra Sharma MP
Wendy Chamberlain MP
Future APPG meetings/events
Where possible, all APPG meetings will take place from 4pm onwards so that young carers and young adult carers will be able to feed into them and attend if they would like to. If you wish to attend, please e-mail appg@carers.org
There are currently no meetings planned due to the dissolution of Parliament. The APPG will be reconstituted after the General Election taking place on Thursday 4th July 2024.
Parliamentarians can join the APPG at any time by emailing appg@carers.org.
To join the list of observers or for any enquiries please contact: appg@carers.org.
The chair can be contacted by e-mailing pippa.sparke@parliament.uk
You can also find out about the work of the APPG via Twitter: @APPGYCandYAC
APPG members
Active members of the APPG are defined as those who have asked to be on the group's mailing list. You can see the full list of active members here.
APPG projects and reports
The APPG helps to improve support and raise awareness for young carers and young adult carers by producing specific projects and reports. Find the projects and reports here.
Disclaimer
This is not an official website of the House of Commons or the House of Lords. It has not been approved by either House or its committees. All-Party Parliamentary Groups are informal groups of Members of both Houses with a common interest in particular issues. The views expressed in these webpages are those of the group