The following amendments have been selected: amendment 1 in the name of Rebecca Evans, and amendment 2 in the name of Rhun ap Iorwerth. 

Item 8 on the agenda is this afternoon's Welsh Conservative debate on young adult carers and I call on Janet Finch-Saunders to move that motion.

Motion NDM7050 Darren Millar

To propose that the National Assembly for Wales:

1. Notes that there are more than 21,000 young adult carers in Wales aged 14-25 who provide assistance and support for families and friends.

2. Is deeply concerned that young adult carers have significantly lower educational attainment than their peers and that they are three times more likely to be not in education, employment or training (NEET).

3. Calls on the Welsh Government to urgently address the support needs of young adult carers, as well as barriers to education, training and employment they face, including:

a) early identification of young carers to help them with accessible support and reduce the likelihood of young people disengaging from education;

b) bringing forward national introduction of the young carers’ ID card alongside a duty for local authorities to implement the card;

c) increasing awareness of local authorities of their duties under the Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act 2014 to promote the wellbeing of carers who need support; and

d) helping young carers to access post-16 education, including through the introduction of a concessionary travel scheme.

Motion moved.

Diolch. Deputy Presiding Officer, it is a privilege, on behalf of the Welsh Conservative group, to open today's debate, standing up to protect our children and further rights to support our younger carers.

The motion being debated today is an extension of our former work here, with the introduction of the Social Services and Well-Being (Wales) Act 2014, the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018 and the Donaldson review. However, our motion goes even further, proposing that the more than 21,000 young adult carers in Wales are not only officially recognised for their sacrifices, hard work and invaluable care of family and friends, but are given the practical support that they need in order to look after their own health and needs and to flourish in other areas of their lives. This includes providing financial support to young caring students and we have no hesitation in endorsing a policy brought forward earlier by this group that would see young caring students and apprentices with £60 per week. This Conservative recommendation has been repeatedly ignored and I wish to reiterate my support, and this group's, for this measure.

As a result of further research into the realities of young carers' lives, more so than ever we are aware of the immense and complex difficulties facing our young carers. Crucially, our research and engagement with young caring organisations, such as Carers Trust Wales and the Prince's Trust, has illustrated that young carers do require further frameworks of support, and that each instance of caring and supporting a family member or other loved one is rather unique.

Young adult carers range from 14 to 16-year-olds in schools—although, I have to say I heard recently of a young carer of eight years old—trying to manage their GCSE commitments and maturity into adolescence, to 18-year-olds in sixth form; 20-year-olds in university and 24 and 25-year-olds trying to adapt to the demands of adult and work life. Whilst I fully recognise that this path can vary depending on the individual, it is widely corroborated that young adult carers are far less likely to be in education, employment or other training. In fact, according to young carers in Wales, young adult carers are three times more likely to be or have been classified as not in education, employment or training. This has been supported by the Audit Commission, which, as early as 2010, concluded that young carers between ages 16 and 18 were twice more likely to have been NEET for over six months. And, according to the research from Carers Trust Wales, ‘Time to be Heard Wales’, the most common qualification among the survey respondents was a grade D at GCSE. Yet, Deputy Presiding Officer, these educational barriers and challenges have been identified at earlier stages in school life. 

In 2014, the University of Nottingham concluded in their report, ‘Time to be Heard: A Call for Recognition and Support for Young Adult Carers’, that one quarter of young carers reported experiences of bullying and abuse in school purely because of their caring role and responsibilities. Given the myriad of ways in which one can act as a carer, classmates may find the situation of a carer’s parents or sibling actually laughable—we know of instances of that—subjecting them to humiliation and, in fact, deep embarrassment.

Similarly, schoolchildren may abuse and bully a young carer if they find they are attending to a disability of another, or because of their poor academic performance, financial troubles, emotional maturity and personality characteristics that seem at odds with other members of the class. Young adult carers should not be stigmatised and subject to bullying, and, in addressing the concerning statistics on academic and educational performance, the Welsh Government must acknowledge the social and emotional dimensions that influence these trends and endeavour to encourage schools and further education institutions to develop practical ways of supporting this vulnerable and disadvantaged group.

As indicated by research from the Department for Education, the most vulnerable carers are those who are unsupported and whose responsibilities are disproportionate to their own age and maturity. As recommended by Estyn, the first task for educational sites should be to identify those students that do have caring responsibilities and to go further by compiling a record of the total number of young carers who are undertaking various educational programmes and qualifications whilst juggling these caring responsibilities in the home. To reiterate, what distinguishes a young carer are that their responsibilities persist over time and that their input is elemental to maintaining the health or well-being of a family member, or indeed a friend.

Now, in order to support students in the most appropriate way, these carers do need to be identified as early as possible. For this reason, as Conservatives, we are proposing that the Welsh Government do introduce ID cards for carers. This will benefit them by preventing them from repeating their circumstances, which find them so disaggregated from normal life in school or other forms of education, and help them to enhance communication with educational and other health professionals that they find they have no choice other than to interact with.

The success of this guidance is epitomised by Coleg Gwent, which has developed a strategy to specifically support young carers from pre-entry to post-completion. That is to say that prospective and current students with caring responsibilities at Coleg Gwent have access to impartial and tailored support in order to maximise their learning experience and achievement. So, I would, wouldn’t I, given what’s been said here, call on the Government to use the success of Coleg Gwent as an example to further educational institutions so that young carers are not only given an opportunity to improve their lives and achieve success—. We could go on, actually, talking about the negatives, but when you find good practice in an area, my request is that we look into that further, and you as a Government, so as to roll that out across Wales so that not one carer is found wanting of that additional support.

The second critical point is that local authorities across Wales must learn to recognise that the introduction of these cards must be compulsory and that all relevant parties, such as health and educational professions, properly understand the ID cards and their implications. This should be achieved by the launching of an effective campaign before the ID cards are to be introduced. Teachers and healthcare workers—to name others as well—should be aware and understand the card.

Now, without these cards being mandatory and some statutory duty placed on them, we do have evidence to suggest that these cards will not be fully rolled out across all local authorities. Why should we see one authority be very good, and then another authority not bothering to do this? So, really, for uniformity and consistency, it is imperative that there is a statutory duty applied to this. Without these cards being mandatory, there is a risk of regional variation causing unfairness, and the benefits of these cards being missed out if local authorities simply choose not to endorse them.

Indeed, it is also essential that local authorities uphold their responsibilities under the extended Social Services and Well-Being (Wales) Act 2014. We’re now in 2019, so why not work with that legislation and make it meaningful? They need to improve their communication with the public about what this Act entails and how it might benefit our young carers. Local authorities across Wales need to ensure that carers are able to access a timely carer's assessment so that they can support them with the challenges they face by providing them with information and advice and signpost them in the direction of the areas they need to go. Given that over 50 per cent of young adult carers suffer with mental health problems—that’s a huge statistic—it is essential that well-being support is included. Furthermore, as previously mentioned,  the key area for improvement concerns education, employment and training, as this is where young carers are demonstrating significant underperformance compared to non-carers.

We talk, don't we, a lot in Government and local authorities, and a lot of areas where public services are delivered, about equality across the piste. This is a classic example. You cannot have a situation where 50 per cent of young carers have got mental health needs and that those are simply going unaddressed. This is an area that can improve their sense of fulfilment and self-esteem by achieving success and having the opportunity to progress in their chosen area of work. By adopting these frameworks in educational settings, it is hoped that the number of premature departures from university by these group should actually decrease.

Integral to these programmes should be the introduction of a concessionary fares scheme, to again overcome the financial barriers that young carers may face in actually getting out there to attend further education. According to the Learning and Work Institute, 24 per cent of young adult carers believe that financial constraints is what is actually preventing them from attending further education. Currently, the concessionary fares scheme only provides free public transport to those aged 60 and above, service veterans and disabled people, yet this does not take into consideration how vital young carers are in our society, and how their contribution in conjunction with other carers saves our economy here in Wales £8.1 billion a year.

So, today, Deputy Minister and deputy Llywydd, I call on the Welsh Government to support the recommendations proposed today to continue prioritising the needs of our young adult carers, to ensure they do receive the care and support that they need to continue their honourable role and have the best chance to cultivate a successful and fulfilling life. I for one am, and I know that Members on these benches are, looking forward to the forthcoming Carers Week. We have many third-party agencies working really hard to highlight the issues I have done so here today. It is now for Welsh Government to actually accept their own responsibilities as regards this. Please support our motions here today. Thank you.

I have selected the two amendments to the motion, and I call on the Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services to move amendment 1 formally.

Amendment 1—Rebecca Evans

In point 3b, delete 'alongside a duty for local authorities to implement the card' and replace with 'and working with local authorities to implement the card'.

Amendment 1 moved.

Formally.

Thank you very much. I call on Dai Lloyd to move amendment 2, tabled in the name of Rhun ap Iorwerth. Dai.

Amendment 2—Rhun ap Iorwerth

Insert as new sub-point at end of point 3:

'ensuring that respite care provision improves so that young carers can have a break.'

Amendment 2 moved.

Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'm very pleased to be able to contribute to this debate on young adult carers, and I move the amendment on the importance of respite care for young carers.

Of course, Janet Finch-Saunders has described the landscape for young carers very well. I won't expand on that. But I'm also contributing this afternoon as the Chair of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, because the committee is currently undertaking an inquiry into the impact of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 in relation to carers. The committee has completed its evidence gathering and is in the stages of drafting the report with a view to publishing before the summer recess, so we don't want to pre-empt any of the committee’s findings in this debate.

However, as part of the inquiry earlier this year, on Young Carers Awareness Day—which was on 31 January this year—the committee devoted a day to young carers to hear their views on how well the Act is working for them. We spoke to a group of young carers aged between 10 and 22 from across Wales, and in this short contribution, I will outline some of the key issues heard by the committee that face young carers in Wales today.

Many young carers have significant responsibilities, both for the person with an illness or disability, and for other family members. This can include providing emotional support as well as help with health needs, mobility and domestic tasks. In some cases, this can occupy a considerable amount of time, which affects young carers' education as well as their social lives and their leisure opportunities. The impact of caring on children and young people is substantial, and young carers face worse prospects than their peers, for example in terms of jobs and accessing higher education.

The number of young carers is increasing, as is the complexity of their needs. Young carer support schemes play a vital role in facilitating leisure activities and opportunities for young carers to meet and share their experiences and to support each other. They support young carers who, on average, provide between 15 and 20 hours per week of care.

The approach of local authorities to the assessment of the needs of young carers under the Act is also variable. Some young carers have not had their own needs assessed, while others have been assessed without being aware of it. Young carers' needs should be assessed in the family context, and not in isolation. Evidence from third sector bodies suggests that the steps that are taken to prioritise young carers have declined during the last five years.

School can be an important source of support for young carers. Getting good support in school can often depend on the commitment of an individual teacher, and awareness of young carers and the support that they need is often poor across the school as a whole. Many young carers do not feel supported at school, and not all young carers are aware of the support available to them in this setting. Some young carers are reluctant to identify themselves at school for fear of facing stigma or bullying, especially if they are caring for a person with mental health issues. Young carers say that it's important to have someone at school who they feel that they can trust and who understands the challenges that they face as young people who have caring duties for other people.

I very much look forward to bringing this important report forward to the Assembly later this year. Thank you very much.

I'm sure that this is going to be a good-tempered debate in which all of us will be exploring different ways to support members of the population in whom we all take a particular interest. We often praise nurses and teachers and care workers and steel workers, even, but our unpaid carers, especially our young carers, I think, deserve special attention from us as Assembly Members.

I very much welcome Dai Lloyd's amendment. We're going to support that, and I look forward to reading the report in due course.

But I have to say that I really am disappointed with the Government amendment. I know that it doesn't look like much of a change at first glance, but what I see is just another example of something that this Government does time and time again, and that is use its powers to 'expect' rather than to 'achieve'. I did a quick skim through the Record of Proceedings and saw that Ministers had used the word 'expect' 36 times during scrutiny sessions in 2019, and I'm bound to have missed a few. But, you're the Government. You don't have to expect; you can insist. I find it hugely frustrating, both personally and on behalf of constituents, to know that Government, when there is complete agreement on a policy on all sides in the Chamber, can do something but chooses not to. So, obviously, I'm delighted that the Carers Trust are helping advise Government, but that is not a commitment to implement the introduction of an ID card consistently across Wales. You can promote this ID card through network partners and social media as much as you like, but if you leave this to the discretion of councils and the RSG, then your expectations will not be met.

So, Deputy Minister, I'm going to go further than Janet Finch-Saunders today and invite you to withdraw your amendment and use your power to create the duty we call for in our motion, and do this this one thing for young carers. I think you can do it without resorting to major legislation. We are already sceptical about flagship statutes that turn out to give hurt and delight not: all those dashed expectations of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act, and possibly now the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act, based on what we heard today. Should we be celebrating our rights-led legislation, of which we've been proud, if it offers no attainable remedies for our constituents? I'm afraid that the social services Act has let down carers, including young carers, when they were very much in the mind of us all when we passed that legislation.

So, let's turn to the positives. The information on the internet about other countries and how they recognise and support their young carers is surprisingly small and aggregated with information about carers as a whole. Of course, it has not been possible for me to delve into the Government sites of every country on the planet, all in different languages, but it does suggest that, perhaps, we in the UK and particularly in Wales recognise our debt to young carers more than in other parts of the world, even if we aren't meeting their needs. At least we're trying. 

The awareness raising through GP surgeries, inviting visitors to ask themselves whether they are carers, is a very visible campaign. I think that the Carers Trust and the various local organisations like Bridgend Carers in my region—sadly threatened by this baffling funding withdrawal by the local authority—deserve recognition for the work they do, not just in raising awareness but caring for carers. But it's young carers we're focusing on in this debate and I hope that the Deputy Minister will be able to tell us something about the current work that Welsh Government is doing to help children and young people self-identify as carers.

I just want to wrap up here with a reminder of our own young carers futures grant. It was a policy that Welsh Conservatives developed after speaking directly to young adult carers in Carmarthenshire YAC and Carers Trust. All of us are looking for ways to kick down barriers that get in the way of young people building their best future and, in a nutshell, this grant would replace any carer’s allowance lost to young people in full-time post-16 education or training. I know there are other support mechanisms, university and hardship funds, the adult dependent grant for older carers, but there's nothing that a young adult carer could have as of right—an enforceable right. That brings me back to the point I was making earlier about the ID card. I think the futures grant is a good policy, supporting aspiration, obviously, for young carers, but promoting women’s equality—think how many young adult carers are young women. I hope that the Welsh Government will just look past the blue rosette on this occasion and give this idea serious consideration.

Finally, I just want a quick shout out for Bridgend College, who have a college champion for student carers and, critically, are responsible for staff training. I'm sure we'll all be aware, to a degree, of the mixed levels of awareness within the education profession about how they can identify young carers and then support them, so I think there's a big shout of for Bridgend College to show how it can be done. So it's not just Coleg Gwent; they're doing it in South Wales West as well. Thank you very much.

This is indeed an important debate. The Welsh Labour Government greatly values the vital role that young adult carers play in supporting those they care for, and this is reflected in the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, which provides for enhanced rights for all carers in Wales. The Act gave carers for the first time the same rights as they people whom they care for. Carers no longer needed to demonstrate that they provide significant care in order to have their needs assessed and receive the support available to them. Local authorities now have a statutory duty to proactively inform carers of their right to be assessed, and on completion of that assessment, must put in place arrangements to meet the needs identified and put a statutory care plan in place. Where this does not happen, it should.

It reflects the principle that carers, if effectively supported, provide a preventative service in their own right, enabling people who are frail, vulnerable or who have long-term conditions to stay living at home longer as members of their local communities. Implementation of the Act is still at a relatively early stage, and the Welsh Government in its actions fully recognises that more needs to be done to ensure that carers are aware of their rights. As has been stated, a ministerial advisory group has been established to drive forward proactive implementation of the Act and to oversee the three national priorities identified by Welsh Government to improve the lives of carers.

And in order to support the delivery of the Wales enhanced carers rights under the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act, the Welsh Labour Government has provided nearly £1.1 million annually to local health boards to work collaboratively with partners to deliver against those national priorities. A targeted portion of this funding is ring-fenced specifically to support young carers. And in recognition, in November 2018, the Welsh Labour Government announced an additional £50 million of funding to support carers and adults with care needs. This new additional funding will bolster progress on delivering those national priorities and will allow third sector organisations to investigate ways to improve the quality and appropriateness of respite support for carers of all ages in Wales. This is absolutely critical.

Carers have also been brought into the remit of the Welsh Government's £60 million integrated care fund. The ICF can now be used to fund innovative work that supports a more integrated and more collaborative approach for carers and their loved ones, and that is a recognition. So, as a nation with an industrial heritage and the greater ill health that is associated with such a legacy, we know that Wales has the highest proportion of carers in the UK, more than in any one region of England at 12 per cent, and the highest proportion of older carers and of carers providing more than 50 hours of care a week. So, with that increase in the older population, we are likely to see more older people in a caring role, with the number of carers over 85 predicted to double in the next 20 years.

The Welsh Labour Government is committed to improving the lives of carers of all ages, and wants to support carers so that they can have a life outside of those caring responsibilities. And I know from my own constituency of Islwyn that Caerphilly County Borough Council has sought to proactively tackle the emergency needs of carers via a range of innovative measures, including advice on dealing with emergencies, and an emergency card scheme together with the carers time-out service, enabling carers to better access time to actually be able to attend their own appointments for their own health needs.

However, there is recognition across the Chamber that still much more is needed to be done in such a critical and important arena, especially for the young people of Wales. And as such, I will be supporting the forthcoming Carers Week in Islwyn, and that Carers Week is an annual proactive campaign, as we know, to raise awareness of caring, highlight the challenges carers face, and recognise the contribution they make to families and communities throughout the UK. With the right information, caring is possible, but it is tough, and if it's not properly supported, it will be even tougher if you're a child. So, I take this opportunity to urge all Members present to highlight the work of young carers during Carers Week in June across their constituencies and regions.

To conclude, Deputy Llywydd, I know that the Welsh Government will continue to advance the rights of young carers, and I look forward, very much, to hearing what further strategic actions we can take in this critical regard. Thank you.

Carers play a vital role in our society. Whether it be financially or socially, the contribution made by carers simply cannot be overstated. Not only are more people caring, but they are caring for longer, and the number of people needing care and those needing care for longer periods of time has increased significantly in Wales. It is imperative, therefore, that we recognise the extent to which our economy relies on unpaid care provided by families and friends. If just a small proportion of the people providing care were no longer able to do so, the cost burden would be substantial.

For young adult carers, the struggle of trying to juggle the responsibility of caring for a loved one with their education, careers and friendship can have a lasting impact on their future. Our debate this afternoon is about supporting young carers so that they are able to continue to do the vital work. They're valued so highly. One must care for carers here. There are more than 22,000 young carers, as Janet earlier said, aged between 14 and 25 in Wales. The pressure faced by these young people due to their caring duties can have a negative impact on their own physical health, mental health, education and employment opportunities in future.

I wish to concentrate my remarks this afternoon on the barriers young carers face in education. Without support, they can struggle to attend school and make good educational progress. Around one in 20 young carers miss school because of their caring responsibilities. They have significantly lower educational attainment at GCSE level, and also in higher education, and are more likely than the national average not to be in education, employment or training between the ages of 16 and 19—that is called NEET in educational terms.

It is totally unacceptable, Deputy Presiding Officer, that the life chances of these young people should be reduced simply because they have to care for sick relatives in this part of the world. If they do manage to make it to college and university, over half report experiencing difficulties because of their caring role, and they consider dropping out from there. Colleges and universities need to do more to recognise and support the needs of young carers. The Carers Trust highlighted the lack of formal mechanisms to identify or count carers in school or in further and higher education. There are some notable exceptions. Coleg Gwent, which was mentioned earlier, for example, has a strategy to identify young carers at the earliest point, so that a tailor-made support service can be provided to them. I hope all institutions in Wales can follow their example. We, on this side of the Chamber, have made a number of proposals to assist young carers. It is a noble job to look after others. But 74 per cent of carers in Wales have already mentioned that they suffer mental illness as a result of this caring in their later age.

I wish to address, in my closing remarks this afternoon, that one aspect of this support is the right to flexible, high-quality respite. They need to look after themselves. Looking after a family member or a friend is highly rewarding but also extremely demanding. A break, even if just for a few days, can boost your energy level and enthusiasm. Just knowing that you are able to escape for a break is a great incentive, particularly when you're confident that the person you care for will be well-looked after in your absence. This would have a huge impact on the health and well-being of young carers. Carers are doing more than ever to support others. It is our moral duty to ensure they get the support and recognition they need and deserve. 

Deputy Presiding Officer, my wife had a stroke last year. She just survived. She was that close to death. The NHS did a wonderful job. I do a little bit, I'm not saying I do a lot. I care for her. In the morning, I make sure that she gets up from the bed and I make a cup of tea and make sure she's up during the day. She can walk around and do everything but she's still got some mental problems at the moment. I put a little note on the plug, 'Make sure you turn the heater off', 'Make sure you turn the light off'. These minor things. It is the job of a carer. I feel satisfaction. I've been married for more than 36 years. For loved ones, you feel pleasure doing it. But what I'm thinking is, when you're older, who's going to look after you? It's that sort of thing. From those of a young age to others, it's a noble job. It's our moral duty to make sure that this Chamber recognises the need for carers to be looked after in our culture and our society. We must set an example to the world that we are best in the world. Thank you.

Can I just say, following Oscar, that I thought he summed up there the feeling that carers have for the person they care for? It's an act of deep love but it's a demanding act as well. I think it's good that we remember the context in which these activities are performed.

Can I start with an observation? This is the second week the First Minister has sat through the Conservative debate. We debated e-sports last week, and we're debating young adult carers this week. I think it's fair to say that, traditionally, First Ministers have not always taken the learning opportunity of sitting through a Conservative debate. But I do believe it does show that the minority parties do bring some genuinely non-partisan subjects to the Chamber that need attention and need us all to work together. So, I'm very pleased to see that the Government are taking this debate very seriously. 

There are a number of things that I was going to mention that have already been raised, but I would perhaps take further those remarks that were just made to talk about the need for multi-agency working. The various carers charities emphasise this. We've heard the sometimes lack of support that young carers get at school, then their median grade achieved at GCSE is often a D. That indicates that they were very close to getting a higher grade. I think that's something to be very mindful of. And then when they go into FE, they often there don't get support, they're not always receiving the carers assessment to which they're entitled from the local authority, and people are just not putting the picture together. And that's what we need to resolve. 

But the political parties need to do the same. One of the great barriers we have at the moment is how young carers access further and higher education. It can end their right to the carers allowance if they're pursuing more than 21 hours' study. We've heard that our proposal is to try to meet that with a grant that we could control, a young carers futures grant. That would come at a considerable expense, and it is a priority that we feel very committed to. I think we need to send a message also to the UK Government that the way carers receive their various allowances, but particularly the carers allowance, needs to be looked at. It's also the case that part-time employment and even voluntary employment, sometimes, which is so needed for carers to get those social connections, the sense of well-being and a life beyond just caring—it's very, very important that we sustain that. 

We've heard a little bit this afternoon about the importance of young carers' health and well-being. How great is that, when you're in early adulthood? You are forming new relationships, you are looking for new opportunities—all these things are happening. And I think we would all say that that period of youth, in our late teens and 20s, is a very, very precious time. I don't think there's anything greater than being young, and I say that as someone who is about to attain his fifty-seventh birthday. But, you know, you don't get your youth twice either. But there are also many challenges, in terms of your experience to deal with complicated and difficult situations, your general lack of income—as you get older, you get more money and the need to spend it sometimes declines, whereas when you're younger, those demands are very intense. So, I think we need to be aware of these health and well-being issues and we need to connect up, really, the work that the Welsh Government can do, the genuine pressure we need to put on the UK Government in terms of what we see that our young carers need, and how, at the moment, perhaps, adjustment to some of the welfare and benefit regulations needs to be fully considered. 

So, I do hope the working group that's looking at how young carers may be financially supported comes forward very soon and that you will reflect on our suggestion, but I do think there is a need to send a clear message from this Assembly that all parties must work together to achieve these objectives, because young carers are doing a tremendous job for us and we should be really grateful for their high-quality citizenship and the love they show those they care for. 

Thank you to the Tory group for bringing the motion, which I support, although I do find it astounding that, in 2019, we have so many young carers. I met an 18-year-old carer at the weekend who is looking after her ill mother and disabled sister. She's got no life of her own. She deserves a medal, she deserves support, but more than that, she deserves that life of her own, and the authorities are depriving her of that. The Government has made noises here about supporting initiatives against modern slavery, but then allow this to happen to thousands of our country's children. Had the girl I met the other day been trafficked here and held in domestic slavery, attempts would rightly be made to rescue her, so why isn't she and her family being given the support they need to free her and thousands of others?

Labour say that they're the party of the NHS and the vulnerable, yet we have a health and social care system that increases inequality. Children of wealthy families won't have their education or career hampered by having to care for a family member. Their life chances will continue to increase, while the child from a poor family will be held back—not by the fact they have a family member who needs care, but by the state withholding help that it could, if it wanted to, provide and that it's actually there to provide. That's what our welfare system was supposed to be there for, so that children wouldn't be working and taking the lion's share of the responsibility for caring for a sick relative. 

Young carers are working for nothing, not even the minimum wage. Now, some people defend the situation by saying that young people are keen to help in the care of loved ones. That's very true and it's absolutely laudable and lovely that children and young people want to help their sick family members, but just because they want to do that doesn't mean to say that we should let them—that we should let them sacrifice their lives, their young lives, to do a job that the social care system should be doing. 

There are plenty of things that we don't allow young people to do for their own protection, and we age-restrict it. In 2019 it's absurd that we have children who have to give care. We're a modern nation; so much has been discovered in the last 50 years and life has been transformed. We can cure all sorts of illnesses that couldn't be cured 50 years ago, all sorts of technological advancements, and yet we still have children who are forced to care because the state isn't providing the support they need.

So, I really do support the Tory motion, but I do so with a heavy heart, and a massive wish that this motion wasn't necessary. So, I'll be supporting the Plaid amendment but not the amendment by Labour, because it is typical of a Government that takes its citizens for granted, siding with Labour councillors and council officers over the people they're supposed to serve. This Government doesn't force local councils to do much. The least they can do is to insist they implement a young carers ID card. Even this Government should be able to do that, surely. Thank you.  

Thank you very much. Can I now call on the Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services, Julie Morgan? 

Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. I welcome the opportunity to reiterate the Welsh Government's support for young adult carers to ensure that young adult carers have every opportunity to reach their potential in life. 

I think this is a very important debate. There is a lot of agreement on the whole in the Chamber, and the Government very much supports the spirit of the motion. As Suzy Davies said, this is a well-tempered debate, and I think Oscar's description of a carer's role summed it all up—a noble job. 

Wales has the highest proportion of carers under the age of 18 of all the UK nations. According to the 2011 census, there are 29,155 young people under the age of 25 in Wales who are caring for others for at least an hour a week. And, of course, all of these will not need support, but those who have substantial responsibilities do need much better recognition. In our Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, as other speakers have mentioned today, we introduced new rights and duties for local authorities to promote the well-being of carers who need support. 

The motion rightly points to concerns about young adults' well-being and about their prospects to reach their full potential. So, let me tackle what the motion asks from the Welsh Government one by one. It asks for early identification, accessible support and preventing disengagement from education. In Wales we do not currently collect national data on the educational attainment of young carers, so it's not possible to say whether or not young carers have significantly lower educational attainment than their peers, as the motion suggests. But that said, we fully recognise the need for young carers to be identified and supported in education to achieve their best outcomes. Work is under way in partnership with Carers Trust Wales to support schools to identify and better support their young carers.  

Similarly, we don't recognise the suggestion that young carers are three times more likely to be not in education, employment or training, as the motion states, and I think these may be figures from England. In Wales we have a successful approach to reducing the number of young children who are NEET through our youth engagement and progression framework, and since its launch, the number of school leavers not entering education, employment or training in Wales has more than halved. However, we do absolutely acknowledge that young carers are much more at risk of becoming NEET, and we are very keen to support them and avoid this happening.

The motion also mentions bringing forward young carers ID cards, together with a duty on local authorities to implement the card, and I referred to the Government's amendment. We are already making very good progress on the new national model of a young carers ID card, and I hope to announce their phased introduction before the end of the year. Last week, I sent a letter to all of the leaders of local authorities about the card, and have already had some very positive responses. We expect absolutely full engagement with our plans. There's absolutely no evidence to suggest we need to impose a duty. The important work of developing the detail of how the ID card is implemented cannot be legislated for. [Interruption.] Yes, of course.  

Thank you very much. You've just said that there's no evidence that we need to impose a duty, which I will take at face value. Have you got evidence—? What is the evidence that every single council will adopt whichever version of the ID card you bring forward? 

The information that we have is that every council will adopt it, and will want to adopt it. And we're starting off on that assumption, because I do think it is better for us to work together in partnership with local authorities, and I have every confidence that they will do it. And in any case, the important work of developing the detail of how the ID card is implemented cannot really be legislated for. Just to give you one example, one young carer told us recently that he takes his disabled brother to the swimming pool and has been told off for being the wrong age for the slides. If he had a wristband, rather than a card, he could signal his need to accompany his brother. This kind of nuance could not possibly be covered in a legal duty. Were we to delay introducing the planned ID card so as to introduce legislation, I think young carers would feel very let down, because there has been considerable engagement with young carers about the ID card. But I will say that if, at any point in the future, there is evidence that there is a need to have legislation, we will certainly review the decision that we made today. But, at the moment, I don't see any reason to have legislation.

The motion also asks the Welsh Government to increase awareness and promote the well-being of carers. As the Minister, I will ensure we monitor the effectiveness of the Social Services and Well-Being (Wales) Act 2014. We have supported the third sector to improve awareness by awarding funding of over £1.7 million from our sustainable social services grant scheme to Carers Wales and to the Carers Trust Wales, and we continue to fund the Young Carers Network.

The motion also asks for help for young carers in accessing post-16 education, including through a concessionary travel scheme. So, as we look at the future of the existing youth discounted card scheme and the wider plans we have for fares and integrated ticketing across the network, we will, of course, look at the needs of young carers very carefully.

Then, to consider Rhun's amendment, we agree that respite is very important, so that young carers can have a break from caring, and we hope that we will look at respite perhaps in many different ways to those we have done in the past, but the Government certainly supports this amendment.

So, I want to reiterate that this is a very important debate. No-one in our community should be left behind, and young adult carers are an inspiration to the rest of us. I think nearly everybody who spoke today did really inspire us with what they said about young carers, because they are leading and showing us how to care for our families and our communities. So, I applaud them, and I'm very pleased to state my support for Carers Week, as others have done, in the second week of June, and we want to celebrate all carers here in Wales.

In November 2017, we published our three national priorities: supporting life alongside caring—it's so important for young adult carers that they have a life of their own; identifying and recognising carers, which I hope the carers ID card will help bring about; and providing information, advice and assistance to carers. Deputy Presiding Officer, we are making inroads to delivering on these priorities, but we do have a long way to go. I know we can't be complacent, and I think the debate today has helped us realise what we have to do. Thank you.

Thank you very much. I call on Mark Isherwood to reply to the debate.

Diolch. Shadow Minister Janet Finch-Saunders opened this debate highlighting the need to recognise and support young adult carers in Wales, to recognise independent reports, to recognise progressive Welsh Conservative recommendations for delivering social justice to young carers in Wales. As she said, young adult carers should not be disadvantaged, stigmatised or subjected to bullying. She said that there are more than 21,000 young adult carers in Wales aged 14 to 25, providing assistance and support for families and friends. The Minister actually referred to a higher figure of 29,000 providing care of an hour or more.

The Carers Trust 'Time to be Heard Wales' research referred to found that young adult carers miss or cut short an average of 48 school days a year because of their caring role. They were four times more likely to drop out of college or university than students who were not caring. They rarely receive the assessment of their needs they're entitled to, and they experience higher rates of bullying.

Dai Lloyd moved an amendment highlighting the importance of respite care for young carers, which we will, of course, be supporting. Suzy Davies expressed her disappointment with the Labour Welsh Government amendment. As she said, they don't have to expect local authorities to introduce ID cards across Wales; they can insist. They can do something but choose not to. As Rhianon Passmore said, when things that should happen under the social services and well-being Act don't, they should. Mohammad Asghar referred to the contribution made by young carers, and that cannot be overstated. He talked about more caring being provided and caring longer. The life chances of young carers should not be reduced, and our moral duty is to care for our young carers. As David Melding said, one of the great barriers is how young carers access further and higher education. As Michelle Brown said, young carers deserve a life of their own. The Deputy Minister, Julie Morgan, stated that young adult carers should have every opportunity to reach their potential in life, and, as she said, no-one in our communities should be left behind.

Well, it's now seven years since Flintshire became the first county in Wales to launch an ID card scheme for young carers or children in care to help them explain their situation and ensure that they received proper recognition and quick access to the support services they needed. This was developed by young carers who were either part of Barnardo's Cymru young carers service in Flintshire or supported by children's social services there. As I then said at a meeting in the Senedd seven years ago, it's the first scheme in Wales to help these young people receive the recognition and prompt access to services that they need. The children's commissioner told us he hoped that other local authorities would pick this up and that he was working with the Welsh Government to deliver a national identity card on this basis. Seven years later, it is wrong that this has not happened. I hope you will take heed of our recommendation.

Thank you. The proposal is to agree the motion without amendment. Does any Member object? [Objection.] Therefore, we defer voting under this item until voting time. 

Voting deferred until voting time.

I intend to move to voting time unless three Members wish for the bell to be rung. No.