The 7,000 very young children working as carers being let down in Britain today
- A report by the cross-party group of Lords and MPs has demonstrated the true scale of the impact that caring responsibilities have on young lives, including some children as young as five.
- Findings show that there are 127,176 carers under the age of 18 and 229,690 young adult carers between the ages of 16 and 25 in the UK.
- According to the latest census, almost 39,000 school pupils are young carers, which makes up 0.5% of the school population.
- The 2021 census reported that 7,389 children aged 5-7 were providing unpaid care, and of these, 1,746 were providing 50 or more hours of care a week.
- Carers Trust is calling on every school, college and university to appoint a young carers’ champion to lead on supporting those who need additional help and understanding.
- For more, please visit the Yahoo News website.
One in ten young people too sick to work full-time
- More than 1.1 million of Britain’s 16-34 years old say they have long-term health conditions that “limits” how much they can work, with two in five citing mental health as an issue.
- The Health Foundation says the work-limiting health condition is a chronic condition lasting longer than 12 months that affects the kind or amount of work an individual can do.
- The conditions include depression, anxiety, phobias, panic disorders, heart problems and other chronic or progressive illnesses.
- Dr Jennifer Dixon reported that the millions of people either not working or undertaking limited work because of ill health was “a significant problem” and “The impact of poor health on individuals and their families, whether they are in work or not, is considerable,”
- For more, please visit the Yahoo News website.
Stalkers using smart technology to track victims, PSNI says
- Police have warned how smart technology has been used by stalkers to monitor their victims.
- Detective Superintendent Lindsay Fisher spoke at an event in Belfast on stalking Laws in NI.
- Det Supt Fisher warned that smart controls for home heating, baby monitors and CCTV cameras can be used by perpetrators, and that social media and smart technology provide new ways for stalkers to target their victims.
- She reported that 95% of stalking victims are women, and that “Almost all of our cases have a domestic or known-person element to them.”
- Stalking Protections Orders (SPOs) came into effect in NI in October to give police further police powers to tackle stalking behaviours.
- It came after the Protection from Stalking Act NI 2022, legislation which means convictions for the most serious offences can carry a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.
- Since the legislation was introduced in April last year, police have arrested around 230 alleged stalkers and charged more than 100 people.
- For more, please visit the BBC News website.
