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Disabled Persons (Independent Living) Bill [HL]

My Lords, I am grateful to be able to speak in the gap. Like others, I wish the noble Lord, Lord Ashley, well with this important Bill, which is dear to his heart and to so many disabled people. Dame Jane Campbell has already been mentioned by the noble Baroness, Lady Wilkins. It is important to remember that, when she campaigned for direct payments, she had experience both of being someone with severe disability and of having been a carer, having cared for her first husband during his terminal illness. I will focus on carers in this brief time. The Bill sets out two very important principles. The first relates to the requirement to consult carers on strategy and on defining the duties of local authorities. The other is in recognising the fluctuating requirements of people with disability. Things are not fixed. They get worse and sometimes they get better. Carers are not all adults. Many are children. It is estimated that 175,000 children and young people in the UK help to care for a sick or disabled member of the family and there may be many more than that. Some of these youngsters provide a great deal of care. It has been estimated that 18,000 children aged between five and 15 provide 20 hours of care a week. Nearly 9,000 provide at least 50 hours—more than seven hours a day. Most of these young carers are looking after a relative with a health problem or disability. Very often, the relative is a single parent because, sadly, the partner has not been able to stay the course and has left. But the child, who loves the parent however disabled that parent is, of course will carry on and want to provide care. Nearly a quarter of these young carers have no support other than that offered by the young carers’ project run by Barnardo's. Young carers are aged between three and 18 with an average age of 12. It seems astounding that so many children in primary school are taking on the role of carer. Almost half these young carers report mental health problems and that they are emotionally affected by caring. I have seen some of these carers when they come to apply to university. They are quite inspirational in what they have had to do and how they have managed to achieve against all odds because they have been motivated enough to want a career in the health service. These carers take on a huge amount of work. Those providing emotional support often do not know what they will be coming home to. Sadly, sometimes children come home and find that their parent has died while they have been at school. The trauma of that cannot be underestimated. They shop, they help pay the bills and they have to open doors to strangers. Other children are told not to open doors to strangers, but these children have to because otherwise nothing would happen in their homes. The Bill sets minimum standards which will be crucially important. I hope that, in the consultation with carers, it will be remembered that these children and young people are also carers and deserve to be consulted just as much as adult carers. I also hope that the fluctuating requirements outlined in the Bill will be respected as I hope this Bill will be implemented into practice.