North East pledge launches to transform support for unpaid carers
Organisations and professionals across the North East and North Cumbria are backing a new pledge to improve support for unpaid carers.
The Commitment to Unpaid Carers is a pledge developed by unpaid carers and carer support organisations, aimed driving collective action across the health and social care system
More than 100 professionals and organisations are expected to sign the Commitment, with early signatories including North East Mayor Kim McGuinness, North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board, David Smith MP and Ian Lavery MP.
Point North, the community foundation for County Durham, Tees Valley the wider North East, is among the organisations that have signed the Commitment and is also contributing to the launch event, helping to support its delivery.
Key decision-makers and professional bodies will come together on Wednesday 10 June to mark the launch of the Commitment and formally begin putting pledges into action.
In the North East, carers make up 10.1% of the population, with an estimated 286,000 individuals providing unpaid care across the two regions. Unpaid carers contribute more than £184 billion to the UK economy each year.
Yet thousands have expressed their concerns about the pressures within adult social care systems and the lack of support available for carers.
The Commitment to Unpaid Carers aims to bring together hundreds of professionals and organisations across the North East and North Cumbria to improve support for carers.
It focuses on four key aims:
- Raising awareness and recognition of carers
- Securing funding that reflects carers’ needs and reduces inequalities
- Embedding carers’ involvement in co-production within policy and strategy
- Streamlining support across the system
Attendees will hear directly from unpaid carers about their experiences of caring and the challenges they face.
Organisations attending the event will be invited to make pledges to strengthen support for carers and help address funding pressures.
Those behind the Commitment hope the launch will inspire similar action across other regions of the UK.
Luke Bramhall, CEO of Newcastle Carers said: “We’ve played an instrumental role in developing the Commitment to Unpaid Carers, and it’s been something the region has needed for a long time.
“Carers are the backbone of our society, and for too long many have struggled to access the support they need. We need the unity of organisations and professionals to properly commit to supporting carers of all ages.
“Many organisations are already doing vital work to help unpaid carers, and our launch event on Wednesday 10 June will bring together partners and professional bodies from different sectors to strengthen that commitment and truly offer their support to carers.
“Our ultimate aim is to drive meaningful change across our region and demonstrate what can be achieved on a national scale.”
Michelle Cooper, CEO at Point North said: “Unpaid carers are doing the quiet, constant work that keeps our communities going, often without recognition or support. That responsibility is made heavier by the realities many people face in our region, from poverty and insecure housing to the strain of balancing caring with the need to earn a living.
“As a place-based grantmaker, we see how powerful it is when organisations come together around a shared purpose. This Commitment is about turning that shared understanding into coordinated action that makes life better for carers across the North East and North Cumbria.”
The Commitment to Unpaid Carers pledge will bring together professionals and organisations from the North East and North Cumbria to turn a shared ambition into practical action for carer support.