Sunday Politics and Young Carers Festival

Today, I was one of the guests of the day alongside presenter Peter Henley on the BBC Sunday Politics South show.

One of the topics discussed  was the welfare of young carers. I am sure we all agree that it must be incredibly tough for children to take on the role of carer when one of their parents falls ill and has a long term condition. It is not clear exactly how many young carers there are in the UK - the 2001 census put the figure at 175,000, but there are certainly many "hidden" carers and the figure could be as high as 700,000.

It is very important that as well as obtaining assistance with their caring role, as much as possible is done to ensure that the young person gets help and understanding at school and also is allowed some time to socialise with friends. I was therefore very interested to learn that a Young Carers Festival is organised each year by The Children's Society and YMCA Fairthorne Manor near to Southampton. The 2012 event has just taken place over this weekend and, with the Olympics on the horizon, this year's theme was "Champions for Change". The festivals have now been organised for 13 years and provide an opportunity for around 2,000 young carers in the UK to get some respite from their responsibilities at home and relax with friends and act like children and teenagers for a weekend. This is an excellent example of how help and support can be provided to these young people who themselves give so much.