Dear UCAS, 

In July 2016 you announced that by 2018 you would have adjusted the application form to allow Young Adult Carers to declare their circumstances formally.  In 2018 you announced this had been delayed for undergraduates, and would be implemented in Spring 2020. This still has not happened. 

A tick-box will allow Universities to identify and support Young Adult Carers, as well as considering this as part of their overall application. It ensures consistency between pupils at different schools who may receive differing advice regarding their university application. The data will also allow us to identify how many Young Adult Carers apply to, and attend, post 18 education. 

Many Universities and Colleges have been delaying implementing targeted support towards these undergraduates, until they have clear data about the Young Adult Carers that attend their institutions. This tick box will allow these support programmes to be implemented. It will also place a degree of pressure on those institutions who have not yet acted to support this group. 

Carers UK identify that there are at least 376,000 Young Adult Carers in the UK. This is not a small group, and they need to be identified and recognised during their University application process. 

Let's act to ensure that being a Young Adult Carer does not hold back individuals from fulfilling their potential. 

Best Wishes,

Mr Graham Mogridge