A group of young adult carers have been introduced to The Princess Royal, at a special event dedicated to their experiences in education and employment.

Her Royal Highness is the Patron of Learning and Work Institute (L&W), the event organisers. She is also President of Carers Trust. Carers Trust are working with L&W to advocate for greater support for young adult unpaid carers from national policy makers and from further and higher education institutions. The event was hosted by a third patronage of The Princess Royal, City Lit.

Also in attendance at the event was Chris Vince MP, who is the chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Young Carers and Young Adult Carers, and who delivered a keynote speech setting out priorities for the APPG in this Parliament.

Young adult carers are young people aged 16-24 who provide unpaid care to someone, usually a family member, because of a long-term illness, disability or addiction. L&W estimates that these young people provide over £3.5 billion of unpaid care per year. Young adult carers are:

• Three times more likely to be NEET (not in education, employment or training) compared to other young people.
• Four times more likely to drop out of college and university than a student without caring responsibilities.
• 38% less likely to gain a university degree qualification than non-carers. This inequality is magnified for young people who provide high levels of care, with those who care for 35+ hours per week 86% less likely to gain a degree and 46% less likely to enter employment.

The 2021 Census identified 272,731 young adult carers aged 16-24 in England and Wales. Of these, around 37,000 young people provide over 50 hours of care each week.