Questions to the Mayor of London – answered at on 28 June 2021.
Young carers’ responsibilities can often have consequences for the rest of their lives, in mental and physical health problems, lost earnings, and constrained choices. What are you doing to support their wellbeing and future?
We know that loneliness and isolation can and will affect some young Londoners disproportionately in normal times but COVID-19 has increased this dramatically for groups such as young carers. The Recovery Board’s New Deal for Young People mission will target support at those young people in most need including young carers. Already, over a thousand young carers have been supported by my Young Londoners Fund. Projects such as Hidden Champions, delivered by LB Waltham Forest, are ensuring that young carers have support in place, so they have higher aspirations, motivation and prospects to pursue education, training or employment.
Young carers are active in my Peer Outreach Workers (POW) team, which works to ensure that young people can influence policy making and programme delivery at the GLA and wider. The POW team presented at a Carer’s Trust spring event for young adult carers on Young Carers Action Day and future partnership work is being planned with the Carers Trust.