Carers Week is an annual opportunity to raise awareness about caring, to raise the profile of caring, to help people to recognise themselves as a carer and get the help and support they need. This year more than ever, with a General Election looming, it provided a vital opportunity to raise the profile of caring in the same week when all the manifestos were launched. The week has many facets, local events, national coverage, a key report commissioned by Carers UK and our seven supporter charities (Age UK, Carers Trust, ME Association, MNDA, Oxfam, Rethink Mental Illness and the Lewy Body Society) launched to the media, employers events, nation specific events and charity specific events – there is a lot going on! Let me give you a flavour of some of it.
Local events:
- Lanarkshire Carers hosting a Walking Football event– a chance to join in and meet other carers.
- Wigan Council and Wigan Borough Carers hosting an unpaid carers music festival with entertainment and refreshments
- The Isles of Scilly Council held a cream tea event. Last year they attempted to get to every inhabited island throughout the week. Hats off to them.
- A music entertainment and a party going on in Edinburgh.
- A free hot drink and a cake being offered for carers by Norman Industries in Wales.
- Liverpool - Hug in a Mug all week for carers; goodies and treats in a mug.
Employers’ involvement:
Employers got involved with Carers Week in a whole raft of ways we proactively encourage exemplar employers who recognise and value their working carers to celebrate the fact and raise the profile of them internally.
Carers UK’s very own employers forum, Employers for Carers, focussed on supporting members with presentations outlining the Carer Confident accreditation to Sky, Siemens, Tate, University of Bristol, Deliveroo and BT – amongst others.
Carers Scotland’s employer recognition scheme, Carer Positive, celebrated its 10th anniversary with an online event attended by representatives from many of the Carer Positive accredited employers.
Carers UK held a Share and Learn session focused on caring in employment. 27 carers joined a session in which we shared research findings on working carers and highlighted the rights of working carers.
Amazingly 56 cyclists headed off from the Phoenix Group London office on Thursday to take part in a London to Brighton/Paris fundraiser. Phoenix also launched a brand new strategic partnership with Carers UK.
Carers UK events/initiatives
Carers came together to share their experiences and views – made harder this year with the General Election we were creative in how we reached those who may be decision makers come the 4th July!
I was delighted to chair a webinar on unpaid carers attended by a wide range of representatives across five different parties of Prospective Parliamentary Candidates. Dorothy Cook, carer and one of our members, also shared her personal experience.
14 carers attended an online Share and Learn session with the UK Covid Inquiry who were encouraging carers to share their experiences as part of their 'Every Story Matters' initiative.
Carers UK collaboration with legal rights charity Access Social Care and the Carer Services team was announced. “AccessAva” will provide template letters for carers to challenge decisions on behalf of the people they care for.
Nations events:
We have been influencing at events in Stormont, the Senedd and in Holyrood where of course parliaments are still sitting.
In Northern Ireland, the team launched our new Carers’ Rights Charter at a packed event in Stormont. The event included speeches from a range of local carers, the Health Minister and more, with MLAs from across Assembly parties joining to hear more about the Charter and sign our pledge board.
We worked with Sioned Williams MS, member of the Plaid Cymru Shadow Cabinet, to publish a Statement of Opinion in the Senedd. Members of the Senedd from multiple parties have already signed up to this statement, publicly endorsing the importance of Carers Week and the findings of the Carers Week 2024 research report.
Scotland’s First Minister made a personal video of support for Carers Week and alongside the presiding officer, party leaders and MSPs he joined Carers Week partner organisations to pledge support for putting carers on the map.
Media:
We launched our Carers Week report sharing news that staggeringly almost two thirds of current and former unpaid carers had no choice but to take up the role due to the lack of other options available receiving national press – including the Independent and the Daily Mail.
Responding to a YouGov Omnibus poll of nearly 6,500 members of the public, 62% of current and former unpaid carers said they had no choice - the equivalent to 10 million adult unpaid carers
Carer Week also featured in a wide range of places from Songs of Praise, women’s Magazines (My Weekly), local radio outlets and ITV as part of a Dear Deidre carers special.
Manifesto launches:
On day one of Carers Week, the Liberal Democrats launched their manifesto, followed by the Conservative, Greens and Labour manifestos later in the week. It cannot be stressed enough just how important it is that the next government prioritises unpaid carers and uses Carers UK’s manifesto as its blueprint.
Finally, but perhaps from our perspective most profoundly, because it is one of the most extraordinary and selfless acts of generosity - was our Patrons, Veteran Radio 2 DJ, Johnnie Walker and his wife Tiggy talking candidly for the first time about his terminal illness. They discussed the joy they have shared with each other and Johnnies end-of-life reflections in the media because it was Carers Week in order to raise the profile of caring – how it can hit anyone of us, in any way, at any moment in time, whoever we are. You can read Tiggy’s Dorset Magazine column, listen to their BBC Radio 2 interview with Jeremy Vine and podcast Walker and Walker here.
In essence it has been a quite extraordinary week – I want to thank everyone who took part, our supporter charities, employers, and local organisations but mostly I’d like to thank every carer who day in, day out, face the relentlessness of caring – I hope this week at least we have gone some way towards making you feel you are recognised, valued and supported. But I know there is much more to do and we will continue to fight to put carers on the map 365 days of the year.