PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
CARERS WEEK (9 April 2003)

That this House notes that the ninth annual Carers Week is being held from 9th to 15th June; notes also that it is now estimated that three in five people in the UK become carers at some time in their lives and that carers annually save the Exchequer over ú57 billion, the equivalent of the cost of the NHS; welcomes this year's Carers Week theme of opportunities; further notes that four million of the UK's seven million carers work full-time or part-time, often juggling their different roles with considerable difficulty and that many other carers also wish to take up employment or learning opportunities; believes that carers deserve the support and services that will enable them to have access to such opportunities, that the main barriers for many carers include lack of flexibility in the workplace, that many day-care services are available only for limited periods of the day, that there is a lack of funding for replacement and short-term breaks, that there is an absence of evening and weekend services in a supposed 24-hour society and that childcare services frequently do not cater for disabled children; and calls for these issues to be addressed by policy-makers at all levels.

Sponsored by:
Dr Desmond Turner (Labour)