Here is an article written article for our MTG website from Julie Cooper MP concerning the needs of working family carers.

 “ Three out of every five people in Britain will at some time in their life become a carer. Many of these will be unpaid and will, as a result of their caring role, experiencehardship. Many will themselves become ill because of the pressures placed on them and for the majority social isolation is a fact of life. The big question for our time is: Who cares for carers? The reality is that support of any kind is in short supply. Carers need both financial and emotional support and they also need time to care. This so often entails finding an understanding employer. Each time I visit a company I always ask to see their carers’ policy. This request prompts some interesting answers and of course the majority of employers have no such policy. There are a handful of outstanding exceptions eg. British Gas but these are few and far between. Significant change is unlikely to happen without direct Government intervention. The current administration seems to have little sympathy with the lot of carers and I fear direct legislation to support working carers is unlikely to be introduced. This was demonstrated very clearly last year when the government refused to back my bill to remove the burden of hospital car parking charges for carers. Following my bill, hospital guidelines were amended to recommend free car parking for carers. No doubt in similar circumstances when pushed the government may recommend that employers take account of their employees caring responsibilities. Sadly ‘ recommend’ is just not good enough.”