More support needed for unpaid carers, MP urges

The MP for Mid Sussex has urged the government to lend more support to unpaid carers.

Alison Bennett, also the Lib Dems spokesperson for care and carers, led a Westminster Hall debate on Thursday calling for better support for the estimated 5.8 million unpaid carers in the UK.

Sharing personal stories of constituents who "look after family members, friends and loved ones, often without help and at considerable personal cost", she said: "No one should be pushed into poverty caring for someone they love."

James Frith, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, said: "This government is acting now to ensure the right support at the right time."

Bennett said: "These people sacrifice sleep, their own health needs, career prospects and savings, and worry about what will happen if they can no longer cope."

She cited the research of leading charity Carers UK, which estimates that 1.2m unpaid carers live in poverty, including 400,000 in deep poverty.

"Its 2025 State of Caring survey found that 74% of respondents had felt stressed or anxious, while almost half had to cut back on essentials," said Bennett.

She added that without such "extraordinary" people "our entire health system would collapse" and that "tangible changes" needed to be made as quickly as possible.

Bennett described as "welcome recent developments" the government's Carers Action Plan, the announcement of a dedicated champion for unpaid carers, the review of carers' employment rights, and the work to reform the Carer's Allowance.

"But what matters is whether they lead to practical improvements in people's daily lives," she said.

"A new system must recognise that unpaid carers cannot be taken for granted and there must be dependable alternatives when they cannot provide care."

Speaking ahead of Carers' Rights Day next month, she added that unpaid carers "should not have to wait indefinitely for the support they need", and "their voices must help shape both the design of services and the decisions made about them and those they support".

Dr Neil Shastri Hurst, Shadow Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, said "much more detail of what the government's proposing is needed", as current details are "somewhat lacking".

Frith said work was being done to "make carers more visible, empower their voices in care planning, and to join up services to reduce the practical burdens they face".

He also stressed the "absolute need for respite" from their "relentless duties" and the importance of better funding to ensure carers "reach full potential and lead their own fulfilling lives".

"It will take some time to redress the patchiness of public services left by the last government, but we are making progress," he added.

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