Carers Bill gets Government Backing - in Principle

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 10th Feb 2004

New legislation to strengthen support for carers has received Government support in principle, at the Bill's second reading in Parliament last Friday. The Bill, being sponsored by Paul Burstow MP for Sutton and Cheam, seeks to improve the rights and opportunities of Sutton's 16,000 carers' - many of whom fail to recognise themselves as carers and claim the support owed to them.

The Bill, entitled the Carers (Equal Opportunities) Bill, was unopposed at Friday's debate and will now go to Committee stage. The Government indicated that they were in support of the general intentions of the Bill, but were reserving their final support until they could see what changes would be made at Committee stage.

In the debate Paul Burstow MP revealed that 3 in 5 people will at some point end up as a carer of a person with a long-term medical condition or disability. By 2037 there will be 9.6 million carers in this country, saving the taxpayer £92.7 billion in care costs.

Sutton carers save the local economy £143 million a year, with 1 in 5 providing 50 hours or more of care a week.

Mr Burstow praised work done by the local authority to address the needs of Sutton's carers since 1986, when it was one of the first local authorities in the country to draw up a carers' strategy, which has recently been revised and updated. He also commended the work of Sutton's Carers Centre which has improved the quality of carers' lives throughout the last decade.

Commenting on the Bill, Mr Burstow said:

"This Bill can make a vital difference to the health and well-being of carers, particularly among the young and old who are vulnerable in their own right. In terms of educational opportunities, the fact that 9,000 children between the ages of 5 and 15 provide 50 hours of care or more a week"