Carer’s Leave

She thanked Wendy Chamberlain for securing the debate and highlighted the plight of unpaid carers like Fe who face financial hardship due to caring responsibilities. She proposed increasing the carer’s allowance by £20 a week, raising the earnings threshold to £183 per week, and introducing statutory respite care.

Asked whether the Government must recognise that carer’s leave must be paid in order to make a true difference, reflecting on an amendment debated in the House of Lords.

As chair of the all-party parliamentary group on carers, she noted that some employers are already offering paid leave for carers and highlighted its benefits for retention of workers. Thanks the Minister for considering paid carer’s leave and highlights its potential benefits for low-income workers and women.

The hon. Gentleman highlights that many young and adult carers do not recognize themselves as carers, suggesting the actual number of carers could be higher than reported.

In Wales, over 310,000 people identify as unpaid carers—more than 10.5% of the population—and many do not realise they qualify for support. The MP emphasised that Wales faces unique challenges with unpaid carers due to an ageing population, poorer health outcomes, and rising complex care needs.

Carer’s allowance is £81.90 per week, the lowest amount for a benefit of its kind, and tens of thousands of carers are being asked to repay thousands of pounds each year due to errors by the DWP.

Called on the minister to leave time for winding up the debate.

The hon. Member emphasizes the importance of providing carers with breaks and peer support opportunities, reflecting on her previous work in the NHS supporting carers.

He pointed out that there are approximately 5.7 million unpaid carers in the UK, representing around 9% of the population, and highlighted the significant financial impact on carers who have to give up work or reduce hours due to caring responsibilities.

Acknowledged the importance of carer's leave and discussed ongoing efforts to improve access to flexible working through the Employment Rights Bill, highlighting an increase in the earnings limit from £151 a week to £196 a week for carer’s allowance. Supports the idea of exploring paid carer’s leave, acknowledges ongoing work on reviewing the Act's implementation, and notes that research is being conducted to inform future policy decisions.

My constituent cares for her 95-year-old mother and has lost her winter fuel allowance and respite care. The hon. Friend supports the introduction of paid carer’s leave to help carers manage their responsibilities. She supported Alison Bennett's proposal for an amnesty on overpayments of carer’s allowance and agreed that most carers have no idea they were overpaid due to a failure in communication between government departments.