Somerset Council scraps planned cuts to young carers support
Somerset Council has scrapped proposed cuts to young carers' support, including 10 youth clubs and a school project, securing funding for another year.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Somerset Council has scrapped plans to cut funding for young carers' support services and youth clubs. The proposals were among options considered as the council tries to save money and avoid effective bankruptcy.
Under the plans, funding for all 10 carer youth clubs in the county could have stopped from April. A project in schools that helps identify and support young carers was also put at risk. The council's top team threw out the proposals yesterday.
Daisy is one of 700 young carers in Somerset, looking after a loved one at home. Her family said Daisy helps with washing, dressing and showering, and does her hair. A weekly carers' youth club has been a sanctuary. Daisy said it was good to meet other people because it was like someone understood what being a carer meant, and she could talk to them about it. She said she could not really talk to her friends because they did not know.
Her family said all teenagers are vulnerable, but young carers are far more vulnerable. They were worried that without someone checking in and somewhere she knew she would be understood, her mental health and everything could drop again.
School staff also warned the loss of support would be devastating. They said they already support many young carers and numbers are only going to rise. Days out with other young carers would not have been possible without the funding.
After the reversal, the council accepted the process had caused distress. A council representative said there were no easy savings left, so everything had to be looked at equally, and apologised for the process people had been put through.
Funding is now secured for another year. Young carers and their families say they feel relief and hope they have made the case for support to continue for many more years.
On screen
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Key Claims
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| Claim |  |
|---|---|
| Only on one channel | |
| Plans to cut funding for young carers support services in Somerset, including carer youth clubs and a schools project, were scrapped. | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
BBC ONE West led on the local human impact in Somerset, using Daisy's experience to show what the proposed cuts would have meant for young carers and their families. The report struck a sympathetic tone and ended on relief after the council reversed the plans. It also noted the council's apology and the wider budget pressure, including the aim of avoiding effective bankruptcy.
- “A weekly carers' youth club has been a sanctuary.”
- “But yesterday, the council's top team threw out the proposals, one of a number it was looking at, to stop it from effectively going bankrupt.”
- “So a sigh of relief today for young carers and their families as funding is secured for another year and they hope they've made the case for many more to come.”
Broadcast Timeline
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