Prime Minister's Speech: Young carers must be included in 'moral mission’ to support young people

Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, gave a speech today in which he outlined the Government's ambitions to support the one million young people who are currently not in employment, education, or training. 

Carers Trust's Policy and Public Affairs Manager, Ramzi Suleiman, responded to the Prime Minister's statement:

"The Prime Minister spoke about a "moral mission" to support young people who are not in employment, education, or training. He also spoke about the need to invest in apprenticeships. We share the Government's ambitions for growth.

There are a group of young people who are often overlooked but need the attention of policy makers. Our recent report, Hidden Cost of Unpaid Care, found that there are approximately 70,000 non-working unpaid carers aged 16-24 who could have been working with the right support.

Supporting them into work could see an economic boost of between £700m and £1.1 billion.

One welfare reform which would support young adult carers is changing Carer's Allowance. Current Carer's Allowance rules stops thousands of young adult carers from learning.

The 21-hour rule forces young adults to choose between caring and learning, with many having to choose to continue to care instead of progressing in education. Changes to the education system means the 21 hour rule is becoming untenable.

The unique needs of young adult carers must be taken into account when designing employment programmes for young people so they have the same life chances as their peers."