Affects of policy design: The case of young carers in the Care Act 2014 and the Children and Families Act 2014

Abstract

This article presents an analysis of policies on young carers in England, considering both the design but also the lived experience of policy subjects. Drawing on affect theory we can increase understanding of the reach of these policies into family life and the nature of English policy‐making focussed on this group. This analytic framework presents the opportunity to draw on the use of affect theory developed in other disciplines but less so in the discipline of social policy. The article argues, firstly, that normative messages through policy design are conveyed to families through affects. Secondly, it argues that hierarchies of subject positions established within policy design are reaching and impacting on young carers and their families through affective pressures. This article demonstrates that affect theory contributes to the analysis of social policies on young carers and also illuminates the impacts of policies in the context of limited formal implementation.

Records of personal assistance applications reveal young carers: Viewed from the rights of the child

“…Instead, in some of the cases, other professionals or the parents and children themselves recognised the children's vulnerable situations. Similar results have been found in the UK, as studies show that despite the legal duty for local authorities to identify, assess and support children who provide a caring role, a lot of young carers remain unknown and few young carers receive services that change their situation (Alexander, 2020; Kendall, 2021).…”

Does gender influence children's and young people's caring? A qualitative, systematic review and meta‐ethnography

“…Service providers should consider their gendered support needs, but also enable them to transition out of caring (Boyle, 2020; Clay et al, 2016). To this end, disabled and ill persons require adequate statutory support to avoid having to rely on youth caring (see also Alexander, 2020). A more fundamental societal response is necessary to promote equality, notably a balanced gender distribution in caring, especially among adults (Boyle, 2020).…”

Young adult carers—Transitioning to adulthood or to adult caring?

“…Brimblecombe et al (2020) recommended that reliance on the need for young people to provide unpaid care should be reduced, particularly as the role compounds existing inequalities. Alexander (2020) undertook an ethnographic study of the impact of carers policy on the lives of five young carers and their families in England. The author found the application of the Care Act 2014 was not leading to any significant reduction in children's caring responsibilities, particularly since a long period of austerity had diminished the services available (notably to disabled adults).…”