Mr Joshua Reynolds

Carers in my constituency have told me how they feel undervalued and invisible. They provide essential care to their loved ones, yet their contributions are rarely recognised. There are carers such as Harry—a resident in my constituency who provides care for his son—who feels that the work he does is taken for granted. Harry cares for his son because he wants to be there when his son needs him, but he is not given the recognition he deserves. He receives £81.90 a week in carer’s allowance, but when Harry’s hours were extended at work by just 30 minutes a week to allow one of his colleagues to get to work on time after they had finished the school run—something that Harry was of course happy to agree to—he had no idea that, despite informing the DWP and being told that it was all okay, he would be accidentally overpaid carer’s allowance. Then the threat of fines and prosecution came from the DWP. To say that it added unnecessary stress to Harry’s life and his son’s life is a really large understatement. The health and wellbeing of carers is a critical issue for us, and many carers experience physical and mental health issues due to the demands of their caring responsibilities. There are carers such as Margret in my constituency, who cares for her 25-year-old son with learning disabilities. With her caring responsibilities, she is no longer able to work. She found the balance between her paid job and her unpaid job too much to handle. Margret tells me how she rarely gets out of the House without her son. She has lost her network of friends and now feels isolated. Carers such as Margret struggle to access the respite care they need due to high costs and the lack of availability. The Liberal Democrats believe that every carer should have access to regular and high-quality respite care, and we want to introduce a statutory guarantee of regular respite breaks for unpaid carers, because carers are the backbone of our society. They provide essential support to their loved ones, often at great personal cost, and the Liberal Democrats want to ensure that they receive the support they need when they need it.