Statement from Councillor Diogo Rodrigues, Leader of the Conservative Opposition on Somerset Council
I am extremely concerned by Somerset Councils proposal to cut £185,000 by ceasing Young Carers Clubs and Young Carers in Schools provision.
Earlier this year Liberal Democrat-run Somerset Council published its Young Carers Strategy for 2026-28. That strategy was informed by consultation with young carers themselves and says its vision is for all young carers in Somerset to be identified, valued and supported at the earliest opportunity.
One of just seven priorities in that strategy, Priority 7, is specifically ‘Support in Schools via the Young Carers in Schools Programme’. It commits the council to supporting schools to adopt the programme, training staff to identify and support young carers, ensuring every school has a designated young carers lead, and integrating their needs into attendance and wellbeing work.
Yet now the council is proposing to cease Young Carers Clubs and Young Carers in Schools provision to save £185,000.
Why consult young carers, publish a strategy setting out what they need, make Young Carers in Schools one of your key priorities, and then within the same year propose cutting that very provision?
It cuts across other priorities too. Priority 1 is about early identification and access, including identifying young carers through frontline services and having a young carer champion in every school. Priority 3 says the council should further develop dedicated young carer activity groups and provide positive activities and social opportunities.
The strategy’s own conclusion talks about strengthening identification and building responsive services. The Executive needs to explain how removing Young Carers in Schools and Young Carers Clubs is consistent with that ambition.
The council’s own figures show there is still more work to do. Its more recent estimate suggests around 1,150 young carers in Somerset, while only 572 had been identified and assessed by Somerset Council in 2025. That means there are hundreds of young carers we still need to identify and support. Schools are one of the obvious places where those children can be identified, and cutting a programme designed to do exactly that risks making the job harder.
The saving is £185,000. Against the council’s own estimate of around 1,150 young carers, that works out at roughly £161 per young carer per year, just over £3 a week. These are children and young people taking on caring responsibilities within their families. This is early help and prevention, exactly the type of support Somerset Council should be protecting if they want to stop problems escalating into more serious and expensive intervention later.
We know that the Liberal Democrats at Somerset Council have not managed our money well, including spending over £20million on expensive consultants during a financial emergency. You cannot splash millions on expensive consultants and then balance the books on the backs of young carers.
The Executive needs to look again at this budget cut, explain how it is compatible with the strategy they published only months ago, and listen again to the young carers it consulted before making this decision.
