What we do in Parliament

 

Our vision

Carers UK’s vision is to create a society that requires carers to be treated equally in all aspects of their lives. Sadly, that isn’t currently the case. 

We are determined to deliver our vision, where carers are recognised, valued and supported. 

That’s why we work hard to actively promote the interests of carers, and their voices, to Government and politicians from across Parliament. 

 

All Party Parliamentary Group on Carers 

Carers UK provides the secretariat for the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Carers.

The APPG is Chaired by Caroline Dinenage MP, and Co-Chaired by Baroness Jill Pitkeathley. The group’s aim is to ensure that the millions of people in the UK, who provide unpaid care for ill, older or disabled loved ones, get the recognition and support they need.  

The Group brings together Parliamentarians from across the political spectrum, alongside policy and practice experts, to raise awareness, to share knowledge, and improve understanding of the needs of unpaid carers in parliament. 

The APPG works on a cross-party basis and provides a forum for Parliamentarians and expert stakeholders to discuss what can be done across the NHS, social care, employment policy, and the social security system to improve the lives of carers. 

Officers (elected March 2024) 

• Chair: Dame Caroline Dinenage MP 
• Co-Chair: Baroness Jill Pitkeathley OBE 
• Officer: Wendy Chamberlain MP
• Officer: John McDonnell MP
• Secretariat: Carers UK 

Parliamentary briefings 

If you are a politician who wants to help raise the profile of issues affecting unpaid carers, we can support you with detailed and expert policy briefings on upcoming debates. We can also work with you to proactively raise these issues. Please find our previous briefings here. 

General Election 2019: our manifesto for carers 

The General Election took place on 12 December 2019, and ahead of polling day, Carers UK called on all political parties, and all Parliamentary Candidates, to commit to improving the lives of the UK’s 6.5 million unpaid carers over the next five years. We published our ‘manifesto for carers’ setting out the top priorities unpaid carers want to see delivered by the next Government. You can read our ‘manifesto for carers 2019’ in full, here. 

We wanted the most carer friendly parliament, so we asked you to share our manifesto with parliamentary candidates and tell them that caring matters to voters. The response we received from members and supporters was fantastic. Over 1,300 people completed the action, meaning we were able to contact 2,250 candidates. Thank you to everyone who took part. 

 

Contact us 

Please contact us if you would like to find out more about our public affairs work, or how we can support you to better represent the needs of unpaid carers in your constituency.  

 

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Carers has published a new report calling for a new and ambitious National Carers Strategy to be developed by the next Government, as a matter of priority after the upcoming General Election on 4 July.

Carers UK, who provide the secretariat for the group, have published the report on its behalf.

Chaired by Dame Caroline Dinenage MP and Co-Chaired by Baroness Jill Pitkeathley, the Group says that the development of a new National Carers Strategy by the next Government would better recognise the significant challenges that millions of unpaid carers are facing, and help to improve their health and wellbeing, finances, and access to care and support.

The APPG on Carers launched a survey earlier this year to gather views from current and former unpaid carers, as well as organisations who support them, on what the objectives of a future National Carers Strategy should be - if such a strategy were to be developed by Government.

The survey closed on 7 March 2024. Thank you to the 5,032 people who responded. 

For more information, please contact policy@carersuk.org.