Young carers in Shropshire 'must not fall through cracks'

Concerns were raised at a meeting that children as young as five years old were not being identified as in need of support due to having to look after an older relative.

Shropshire Council has now drawn up a new 'all age carers' strategy to include young carers, and an action plan for 2017 to 2021, which was discussed by the authority's health and social care scrutiny committee yesterday in Shirehall.

A report by health and wellbeing officer Val Cross said census figures suggested there are likely to be 650 young carers in Shropshire.

But information from the Children's Commissioner for England show only 198 young carers being supported in the 2015/16 financial year, with 55 referred for support. Twenty-eight of the 198 were between the age of five and nine.

Peter Nutting, councillor for Copthorne, Shrewsbury, and a member of the scrutiny committee, said: "I find these figures horrifying.

"But we have to make sure we should be horrified – how do you define what a young carer is, can it just mean making a cup of tea for mum when she comes in?"

Ms Cross said young carers were defined as those who had to do anything "over and above" what you would expect in normal family circumstances.

She said: "We know that there are many 'hidden' young carers who may feel that they are simply carrying out ordinary responsibilities as part of a family, or be caring for someone with stigmatised conditions such as drugs and alcohol and be reluctant to make their needs known."

She said identifying them, or getting them to identify themselves, was key and strategies included a "gentle" education package to go out to schools, working with pharmacies to better support those dealing with medication, and better communication with GP practices.

Councillor Madge Shineton, for Cleobury Mortimer, said at present there were too many different bodies and organisations doing different things.

She said: "To me this is disjointed, there are too many strands and certainly young people won't understand all the strands."

She asked how long it could take for a young carer going through the system to find the right people to get the right help.

Ms Cross said once a child was identified as a possible young carer, the response was in fact "very quick".

Councillor Lee Chapman, portfolio holder for adults, agreed the focus needed to be on communication and a "whole family" approach.

He told the committee: "You are absolutely right to express concerns about people falling through the gaps.

"It's vital that all parts of the system are not just assuming that someone else is doing it.

"Also I think we want to look at the support we are providing and make sure we are delivering," he added.

He said a report on how successful the action plan was would be drawn up and ready to scrutinise in 12 to 18 months.