Mohammad Yasin

I thank Carers UK and all those fighting for the rights of carers—they are too often hidden in society, but some of them are here in the Public Gallery. I will speak about the impact of changes to the adoption and special guardianship support fund in Bedford, where children’s services are already under extreme pressure. At a recent children’s services overview and scrutiny committee, the council heard that more than two thirds of young carers in Bedford are not formally identified or supported, and the proportion who have high needs has more than tripled in the last three years. These are children who are taking on responsibilities such as cooking, cleaning, shopping, giving medicines and providing emotional and personal care, sometimes for hours each day before going to school. This is not a marginal issue; these children are carrying an adult burden while still at school. On top of that, Ofsted recently downgraded Bedford borough’s children’s services to “requires improvement”, warning that too many vulnerable children are being placed in unregistered and unregulated homes. While I acknowledge the financial pressure this Government have inherited and know that difficult spending decisions will have to be made at national and local level, it is deeply concerning that against this backdrop the Government have cut the fair access limit for therapeutic support under the ASGSF from £5,000 to £3,000 per child. Families caring for children who have already experienced trauma and loss will now have less access to the specialist therapy that can make the difference between stability and crisis. I urge the Minister to reconsider this cut or, at the very least, introduce transitional arrangements to ensure that families already in the system are not left without support.