Contribution
It is a real pleasure, as always, to serve under your chairship, Mrs Harris. I thank the hon. Member for Harlow (Chris Vince) for requesting time to debate this vital topic. I do not think he ever makes a contribution without mentioning Harlow, and well done to him. Indeed, I have probably never made a contribution without mentioning Strangford, but that is by the way. It is important to remember who we represent and speak on behalf of in this Chamber.
I commend the hon. Gentleman on his energy, his interest in this subject and his incredible speech, which was detailed and full of information we all need to consider. I am pleased to see the Minister in his place. In this debate, I suspect every one of us will be of the same mind, including the Minister. At the end of my speech, I will have a number of asks of him.
The situation in Northern Ireland is no different from that in Harlow or anywhere else. Members from various constituencies are here to talk about a group of people who are the backbone of our society, but who often remain invisible. Their endeavours are perhaps not seen or talked about, but that is not why they do these things: as the hon. Gentleman said, they do it for the love of their siblings, their mum or their dad—whoever it is they are caring for. There are literally thousands of young people in Northern Ireland who, instead of focusing on their exams or their social lives, provide vital care for their loved ones. This debate is a chance to tell their story.
Over my years as an elected representative, I have had many opportunities to speak to young carers and meet their families, and to understand their situations. Early in my time as an Assembly Member, I spoke to a young boy who looked after his mum in the West Winds estate in Newtownards. I remember the commitment that that young boy had to his mum and also to his siblings. His mum was a single parent, and she was housebound and, if I recall rightly, wheelchair-bound as well. That young boy gave great physical help to his mum, including by getting his siblings to school in the morning. Those are things the mum would have done, but he did them because she could not. It is very important that we remember that. The example of that young fella from way, way back always sticks in my mind.
The scale of responsibility is staggering. According to the latest figures, there are some 17,500 child and young adult carers in Northern Ireland, representing roughly 8% of all unpaid carers in our region back home. The 2021 census highlights a very stark age profile: we have at least 2,500 carers under the age of 15. I know that this is not how they see it, but those young shoulders have to support a physical and an emotional burden. When they move into early adulthood, those numbers grow: over 5% of our 15 to 19-year-olds and more than 8% of our 20 to 24-year-olds are providing regular unpaid care.
It is not just about the numbers. Although the stats are important to give the mathematical background, they do not fully explain the issues—it is about the intensity of that care. In Northern Ireland, more than 10% of young carers under 18 are providing over 50 hours of care every single week. I think of the intensity of that care and that young boy who I knew some years ago and whom I referred to—he is now an adult; he has married and moved on in his life. There is an intensity of care if someone is wheelchair bound, bed bound or unable to do things physically, and the duty falls on the shoulders of the daughter or the son to sometimes do things that are quite intimate, which is also a problem. Those 50 hours of care every single week are more than a full-time job, balanced on the shoulders of someone still in school or starting their career.
That commitment comes at an incredibly high price. Research shows that young carers are 1.5 times more likely to experience educational difficulties than their peers because the pressures on their young shoulders are enormous. They are also facing a poverty penalty—a point on which the Minister could respond. People will ask what that means; it means that roughly one in four unpaid carers in Northern Ireland live in poverty. For many of our young carers, it also means missing out on school trips and socialising with their friends, because when they get home from school they are looking after their mum or the other children and making their tea, looking after their health needs and giving them their medications.
Young carers are even missing out on basic essentials such as heating and food. One guy told me that they are often
“one white good appliance away from destitution.”
In other words, they are dependent on everything working in the house—the microwave, the toaster, the kettle and the lift up the stairs or into the shower—for those things that are otherwise impossible for someone who is severely disabled to do themselves. We know the value of this work. Unpaid carers save the Northern Ireland Executive, my Assembly, an estimated £5.8 billion every year. That is what those 17,500 young carers do every year, yet the support they receive does not ever reflect that contribution.
It is time for our Government to move beyond Trojan work and—I say this with great respect—patronising praise. My first ask of the Minister is that there must be financial recognition through an uplift to the carer’s allowance. I know that these things will not necessarily be within the Minister’s remit, but I would appreciate him pushing for them following the debate today, ever mindful of what is happening.