Somerset Council’s Executive is due to consider a new package of savings for 2027/28, including a proposal to save £185,000 by ceasing Young Carers Clubs and Young Carers in Schools provision. The proposal comes only months after the council published its Young Carers Strategy 2026-28, which identifies support through the Young Carers in Schools programme as one of its seven strategic priorities
“Cutting support for young carers is deeply concerning. These are children and young people taking on significant caring responsibilities at home, and services like Young Carers Clubs and Young Carers in Schools are exactly the kind of early help and prevention that can stop problems becoming more serious later, not just socially and for the family, but financially for the council.
Somerset Council’s own strategy, published only this year, says young carers should be identified and supported at the earliest opportunity, and makes the Young Carers in Schools programme one of its seven priorities. It is therefore very difficult to understand why the council is now proposing to cut that provision to save £185,000.
I have serious concerns about the way the Liberal Democrat administration has managed Somerset’s finances - you cannot spend millions on consultants during a financial emergency and then ask young carers to carry the cost.
The council should look again at this proposal and protect the support young carers rely on.”
