Like many colleagues here today, I too have made my pledge to do what I can to support and to promote the work of carers during Carers Week 2018. So, I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate today. As has been said, there are 370,000 carers in Wales, and that constitutes 12 per cent of the population, which is the highest proportion anywhere in the UK. We know that carers providing support saves the state the equivalent of over £8 billion per year. That's a staggering amount, highlighting the debt that we owe carers. It is only right that we recognise this by ensuring that we meet the needs of carers themselves.

I am glad that this duty is enshrined in the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014. I will be supporting the amendment in the name of the leader of the house that reflects this. I'm also glad that the role of carers and, most importantly, the need to continue to support and invest in their unpaid and all-too-often-unrecognised work is included in 'A Healthier Wales'. In achieving the important goals contained in the Welsh Government's long-term plan for health and social care, we must be careful that there are no unintended consequences placing more on the shoulders of carers. We must also remember that becoming a carer is something that can happen to just about any one of us. As Carers Wales reminds us, every day, 6,000 people become carers. Carers Week, which importantly coincides with 2018 Empathy Day, is the chance for us to put carers centre stage and make sure that we can respond to what can be a daunting and isolating experience.

I want to turn now to address the specific challenges faced by young carers. This is an area where I do have some professional experience. As a secondary school teacher, I was involved in providing pastoral care and support to young carers, and I know all too well the impact that their responsibilities can have upon their academic studies, their social lives, their confidence and their well-being. All too often, the challenge for teachers is actually identifying those who are carers, because children can come to you or be sent to you for a range of different issues, but it's only when you investigate and you strip away the layers of problems that you find underneath that they are actually caring for a relative. They don't classify themselves as carers; they just think that they're doing what needs to be done to help to support their families.

So, I'm pleased that the Welsh Government has worked closely with Carers Trust Wales on the development of a step-by-step guide for schools on young carers. It has been designed to help identify and support carers in educational settings as early as possible. I also look forward to the thematic review Estyn will undertake into how young carers are identified and supported at school and in colleges that Ministers have announced.

In my own county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, every secondary school has a designated young carers champion, and the process has started to introduce similar roles into primary schools too, ensuring that every child and young person who is a carer has an easily identified person to whom they can go for support and advice. And that really is so important. I'm fortunate—