My Lords, I am delighted to be able to congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Falkner, on her excellent maiden speech which I think is a foretaste of her skills and passion. It was a moving address which demonstrates her commitment to the many causes that I know she will espouse. She will be an energetic, knowledgeable and expert Member of this House. She has much experience in campaigning. At one stage, in the area where I live, she gained the highest ethnic minority vote in London for the Liberal Democrats. I look forward very much to hearing many more of her contributions.

Turning to the important Bill which we are considering today, I add my congratulations to Hywel Francis MP and to the noble Lord, Lord Ashley, and my thanks to Carers UK and others for their help on the Bill, which promotes greater consistency and a more integrated approach in helping to enhance the rights of carers and to introduce them into new areas of work and opportunities in life.

For the first time the Bill recognises that carers' information must include not only health, social services and benefits but also housing information and information on education and training opportunities. It will help us to appreciate, perhaps most importantly, the impact of the end of the caring role. For many, especially older people and those caring for them, that will be at the time of the death of the cared for person. Carers have to get over the bereavement that that entails and to rebuild their lives. Most carers of older people are older people themselves, even if they are the children of the cared for person. The peak age for caring is between 45 and 60. Many give up work to care when they are at or close to retirement age.

We take carers very much for granted. The noble Baroness, Lady Pitkeathley, reminds us of that and has done much work in this field, for which we are all grateful. However, what we do not take into account is their isolation and poverty—particularly the impact on their pension rights, especially if they give up final salary schemes—and their ill health, both mental and physical. In giving carers further choices and opportunities, the Bill will help those who are older to battle with the discriminatory attitudes they often face in education and training as well as in the labour market.

We must recognise that if the Bill can help to overcome some of those difficulties it will be of huge benefit to the economy generally, as well as to carers individually, and at no extra cost. Although the Bill is somewhat more relaxed than in its original form when it had very much clearer directions, I accept that it provides opportunities to take forward planning and other measures and strengthen and promote them, provided all those who support the Bill work together, which I am sure they will.

Research by Caring Costs found that 80 per cent of carers would like to return to work. That is an enormous potential boost to our economy. However, for individual carers, a purposeful, practical plan for the next phase of their life will help translate despair for many into hope for the future. Surely, we owe that to carers. That is why I strongly support the Bill.