I’d like to focus my contribution to this debate on the role of young carers and the part that they play in keeping our health and social care system afloat and the support, or—very often, or too often, I would say—lack of support in terms of what’s there to help them. There are estimated to be over 11,000 carers who are children or young adults in Wales, although it’s likely to be an underestimate, clearly, as many of them wouldn’t be known to us. Many, of course, wouldn’t identify themselves as having caring responsibilities. Having those kinds of responsibilities puts a child at a disadvantage in terms of their educational opportunities. Young carers often miss out on opportunities that other children have to learn and to play.

Young carers, I’m told, are losing an average of 48 school days, either missed or cut short because of their caring role each year. The figures also suggest that around 68 per cent of young carers are bullied at school, and only half of young carers have a particular person in school who recognises that they are a carer and helps them. So, it’s perhaps not surprising that one in five carers will become NEETs when they leave school—one in five. Quite why caring isn’t considered employment, albeit unpaid employment—perhaps that’s maybe part of the problem here.

So, it’s a huge sacrifice. It’s a huge sacrifice that these children are making. Remember that, if they didn’t care, it’s the NHS and social care that would be picking up the pieces and picking up the tab. But the support we’re offering these children, I have to say, is nothing short of a disgrace. I’ve already highlighted that half of carers are not having a particular person at school who can help and support a carer. Clearly, there needs to be far greater support and working between local authorities and schools to put that support in place. But we’re starting from a low base here, of course. The information provided to young people just isn’t good enough. According to Carers Wales, the website of one local authority appears to exclude the carers of anyone under the age of 18 from accessing a carers needs assessment. At the very least that needs to be updated.

It isn’t just young people, of course, with caring responsibilities who are picking up the tab for our generation’s failure to protect them. There are also parents with caring responsibilities for children who had their support cut by social security changes. We’re all familiar with the bedroom tax, of course, and recently the particular case in west Wales is an example of this. But there are also 4,000 families with disabled children who have been affected by the decision to cut the Family Fund which, of course, has been described as providing a lifeline.

There are also parents who have children on the autistic spectrum who have persistently highlighted the lack of support and the fight that is required to get the support that they need. So, there’s clearly a great deal of improvement that’s needed in our social care and our education system if we’re to really support those who are giving so much in exchange for so little.

Carers Trust Wales, which called for the introduction of a young carers in school programme in Wales—one that can be a full integral part of the new curriculum. There are changes afoot in the curriculum, and clearly an opportunity there to address some of these areas. The programme would provide a step-by-step guide to identifying, engaging and supporting young carers. It would equip schools with effective practice and accredit the work schools do to support young carers. The programme would be based on the Young Carers in Schools programme in England, developed and run jointly by the Carers Trust and the Children’s Society there. The programme has been in place in England for well over a year now, and initial evaluations have shown the programme to be highly effective. For example, of the schools that participated, 94 per cent said they had identified more young carers in their school, 91 per cent had seen a positive impact on the achievement of young carers in their school, and nearly three quarters had noticed improved attendance among those young carers as well. So, there’s much that we can learn and look to replicate in Wales in that respect.

The Scottish Government as well has funded a third sector short breaks fund since 2010, with a focus on respitality—a combination of respite and hospitality. This can bring, of course, a number of benefits—clearly benefits for those providing care and respite for them, but also providing breaks during the off-season is cheaper, so it provides greater value for money, but also the additional income is provided there as well for tourist businesses at a quieter time of year. Now, I know that the Labour manifesto committed to investigating a national respite scheme. It didn’t appear in the programme for government, but I understand that plans are afoot, and it would be good to hear an update this afternoon.

For every £1 invested in support for carers, it brings a return on investment of £4, and £8 billion pounds is saved in Wales every year by the care carers provide. So, the statistics make their own case for investing in carers, and young carers particularly. I look forward to hearing what more the Government intends to do when they respond to this debate.