MPs have just released a worrying report on the lives of young carers and young adult carers.

They discovered:

• 15000 children cared for family members for more than 50 hours every week.
• There are more than 1 million young carers in the UK.
• That caring often leads to them falling behind in school and harming their life opportunities.

Some young carers had to wait years to receive support and some children are being left alone to cope for 10 years. Later in life, young carers were also much less likely to go to university, be employed and more likely to self-harm.

The All Parliamentary Group have recommended there needs to be a National Carers Strategy They said that immediately the Government should create plans to identify young carers more quickly, increase access to support and reduce the numbers of young people providing inappropriate or excessive levels of care.

A group of young carers will go to 10 Downing Street this morning to give the government a letter from 1100 young carers asking for more help.

To read the full report go to: https://carers.org/all-party-parliamentary-group-appg-for-young-carers-and-young-adult-carers/appg-on-young-carers-and-young-adult-carers-inquiry-into-life-opportunities