Gordon Brown travelled to Leeds to discuss issues relating to caring in the latest Citizen’s Jury.
Read the transcript for the film below:
Gordon Brown:
Can I say I count it a real privilege to be here this afternoon, to be able to talk about something that really concerns me, but to talk about caring and what concerns not just you here but concerns the whole country. And the first thing I want to do is to pay tribute to all the carers in the whole of the United Kingdom. There are six million people who care for relatives or friends or neighbours. There are young people caring for elderly people. There are elderly people caring for young people. There are many double carers, people caring for both younger and elderly people. There are people caring for people with particular conditions that are difficult that need very specialist care indeed. And every one of you who is a carer is a hero. Our society could not exist without you. Britain could not be the place it is without the goodness of so many people represented here today but all carers throughout the United Kingdom. And I believe that we are a government that wants to recognise the huge contribution that carers make, want to show respect for the tremendous work that you do, want to celebrate the contribution you make to British society and to the communities and to the people around you, and at the same time want to make the changes that are necessary so that carers can have fuller lives and those who are cared for can feel that we are doing the best that we can do to give people the freedom and the choices that they have a right to expect in the modern world.
And I know that when politicians come and have sessions to talk about things, there’s a tendency to think that we’re here, we make a speech and then we go away. I’m genuinely here to listen, and so is Alan Johnson, who’s the secretary of state for health, Ivan Lewis, who’s the minister for social care, and, of course, we have Barbara Keeley, who does so much as the vice chairman of the all-party parliamentary committee on carers. And we are here to listen. And we will take into account everything that you say. I’m hoping to come round the tables and talk to all of you, as is Alan and Ivan and Barbara, so that we can learn from what your experiences are and what you have to tell us and the changes that you want to see and the policies you want to recommend, as we formulate our new strategy and our new policy for carers for the whole country.
And we recognise that for the six million people who are carers and for those who are cared for that the world is changing and is more complex and more difficult, because, rightly, our aspirations about what people cared for expect are greater. We know more about people’s capabilities and what they can achieve if given the support and care. We also know that the old extended family is not exactly what it was before and so much of the burden falls on individuals. We also know that people want to live in their own homes and some of the old policies of institutions are less relevant because people want the care and they want it in their homes, and people want a more personalised service, and we want to help make that possible. So the policies that we have to look at for the future are going to be better and different and I hope much improved than what has been the position in the past. We’ve got to be frank. We have not always recognised as we should both the needs of carers and those who are cared for, and we have to do better in the future. So in the time of this commission, as you discuss all the possible policies, we want to look at how we can improve respite care, what we can do to make sure that the carers’ allowance is better, what we can do about pensions, what we can do about support and training and care, what we can do for those people who are caring for people with dementia or people who are caring for very young people who’ve got special needs, what we can do for those people who are young carers, who need also their education, what we want to do and can help people with the right to request flexible working when they are carers themselves and have to combine a job and caring. And I hope that we can look at all these issues over the next few weeks, and in the next few hours we’re able to push some policies forward that we can examine when we come to our final report.
So this is not an abstract exercise and it’s not simply us coming to Leeds for one day and then forgetting about it. This is us trying to formulate a policy that will make a difference for millions of people in the years to come. And you have got such an important part to play because your views and what you say and your aspirations for the future and what you detect as the right needs can shape this new policy for the months and years to come. And not only do I want therefore to thank you for being heroes as carers and for what you do to support caring in our country, but I want to invite you to play your part in making the changes that are necessary for the future. I want to give more recognition and to celebrate and value the work of carers. And I want to make sure that we are on the side of carers when they have all the difficult things to do. And I want to make sure also that carers can have a life of their own, and we respect every carer and trying to ensure that there are rights there that make sure that that independent life is available as well. And most of all I want to show how by us supporting carers, we can make for a stronger community in our country, where each of us can use our talents and all of our talents can contribute to the wellbeing of the whole country. Thank you very much.
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