Prime Minister announces Carer Commission

Carers Northern Ireland has welcomed Gordon Brown's announcement of a new Standing Commission on Carers.

Carers Northern Ireland Director, Helen Ferguson, says:
 
"How we support carers is one of the great challenges facing our society. As the population ages and more people are living with disabilities, most of us will at some point need to provide care to a family member, friend or neighbour. Currently, too, many carers are risking their own health, income and future prospects, despite fulfilling this crucial role in society.
 
We are therefore delighted that Gordon Brown has given carers such a high profile and that he has set up this new Commission. The Prime Minister’s meeting with Carers UK member, Jill Pay, and her family in February this year has obviously had a lasting impact on him. Carers around the country will be encouraged that their concerns are being listened to.
 
The Commission will have a vital role to play in the coming years. We need to evaluate new evidence and new policies to support carers.  We need to find long-term solutions to prevent poor health, poverty and social isolation.  Society is changing, yet many of our policies for carers were designed in the 1970s.  A Standing Commission is the best way to bring in new ideas and devise new solutions.
 
One of the key areas that the Commission must look at is financial support to carers. The benefits system currently does not support carers to work and condemns many to poverty. We need a radical overhaul of the benefits system and the ways in which we support carers to remain in work.
 
Read an extract from Gordon Brown's speech about carers more...