Whichever political party forms the next Government following the General Election in 2024 should, as a matter of urgency, co-produce a new National Carers Strategy with unpaid carers and national and local carers’ organisations.
Carers UK have long called for the UK Government to develop and publish a comprehensive and funded National Carers Strategy.
The first National Carers Strategy was published in 1999, while the last Carers Strategy was published back in 2008, over 16 years ago. There has not been a dedicated cross-Government approach to supporting carers since the Carers Action Plan 2018-20 ended in 2020.
Any future National Carers Strategy should clearly set out Government’s future commitments to supporting carers and identify specific actions that focus on delivering tangible progress and additional support for carers, their families, and those they care for.
We want it to be led by the Prime Minister and with buy in across Government, as was the case with previous Carers Strategies. It should take account and learn from existing strategies that exist in the devolved nations, and in other countries.
It is very easy to forget about unpaid carers despite the enormous contribution they make - a new National Strategy would ensure they stay on the Government’s agenda and that more targeted support can be developed.”
