Mrs Elsie Blundell

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Barker, and to see the Minister, my constituency neighbour, in his place. I thank the hon. Member for Mid Sussex (Alison Bennett) for securing this crucial debate. The debt we owe to our country’s unpaid carers is immense. I thank those across Heywood and Middleton North who often balance their caring commitments with a career, family and other responsibilities and somehow manage to ensure that those they care for can live in comfort and dignity. The difference these people make to those they support can never be fully conveyed, but the onus is on us as parliamentarians to stand beside them as, day in, day out, they make someone else their priority. There are millions of people across the country who are doing so right now, and the number is growing as our population ages. Undoubtedly, every Member present will know a constituent, friend or family member with caring responsibilities. Being an unpaid carer, though commendable, can be deeply isolating and lonely. It is therefore crucial that when it gets too much, there is a community and a safety net that can provide comfort and support to our constituents. Earlier in the year, during Carers Week, I met with local carers, staff and volunteers from the Carers’ Hub Rochdale at Queen’s Park in Heywood. They were coming together to meet and support each other—they really are a lovely group of people. I thank Deana, Victoria, Grace, Karen, Sarah and others for their unwavering commitment to the hub and those who rely on it. At one of the group’s regular coffee and chat sessions, they traded stories that could make you laugh and cry, speaking candidly about their struggles, hopes and fears, the truth behind their lives and the loved ones they care for. There were so many similarities in their experiences that bound them together—a community of local heroes who just need a place to come together and take a breath. The hub’s support for carers goes even further, offering personalised one-to-one support, wellbeing assessments, support plans, community connections with local services and friendly community groups for the carer and those being cared for. That is alongside respite services, which provide the opportunity for a short break for a night or two, and social events with opportunities to make new skills, as well as online services, a helpline and a pen pal community. The carers I met back in the summer had some clear priorities for me to raise today, and I hope the Minister will touch on them when he responds to the debate. They felt that the earnings threshold is too rigid, creating cliff edges for working carers, and in many ways does not reflect more nuanced arrangements in relation to their caring responsibilities and their day jobs.