The theme for Carers Week 2012 is ‘In sickness and in health” recognising the strain families are under as they see their services cut back. It calls for better financial and practical support for the diverse range of people who have caring responsibilities.

Research carried out in 2012 found that carers are at breaking point

• 47 per cent of unpaid carers said they were made ill by money worries
• 45 per cent of unpaid carers said that caring had pushed them into debt

Mark and Fiona have joined together to pay tribute to carers, and to urge that they receive more support in their caring roles.

Commenting, Mark Hunter said:

“Thousands of people in Cheadle sacrifice not only their time, but also their money and their health in order to care for a loved one. Together they save this country an incredible £119 billion every year. It’s vital that carers are offered regular breaks from caring and health checks so that they can be supported.

“I am taking part in Carers Week to show my respect and appreciation for our carers. I also want to let them know that there are services out there to help them. Caring can be so incredibly demanding. It’s important that carers know that they don’t have to struggle on alone.”

Fiona Phillips has personal experience of being a carer. She says:

“From personal experience, I know caring can demand a lot of your time and attention, which in some cases can put pressure on other areas in your life such as financial responsibilities and relationships. These problems can prove to be exhausting and mentally gruelling and can really take its toll on your health and wellbeing. I hope that Carers Week can again help to achieve change, and make a real difference to the lives of carers in this country.”

Helen Clarke, the Carers Week Manager says:

“I’m delighted that MPs are listening to carers’ concerns and supporting this year’s Carers Week. We must take action to support theUK’s 6.4 million carers. Many are paying the price of a care system in crisis – being forced to give up work to care and often pushed into ill-health, financial hardship and debt because of a lack of support to help them care.”

Carers Week is organised by a partnership of 8 national charities: Age UK, Carers Trust, Carers UK, Independent Age, Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie Cancer Care, MS Society, and Parkinson’s UK. For more information about local events and activities visit www.carersweek.org.

The Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill was announced in the Queen’s Speech on Wednesday. This is an issue which the Liberal Democrats in general, and Andrew George in particular, have campaigned on for many years. I can remember meeting with farmers shortly after I was first elected back in 2001, and hearing from them the difficulties they faced as suppliers for the biggest supermarkets. A commitment to introduce “a powerful independent regulator of Britain’s food market” featured in our last manifesto (in fact, Labour and the Conservative manifestos both included a similar pledge).

Following the Competition Commission’s report in 2008, which highlighted the danger of supermarkets abusing their power by transferring “excessive risk and unexpected costs” to farmers, growers and suppliers, the last Labour government did introduce a statutory Groceries Code of Practice. However, laws aren’t much use without the police and courts to pull up those that break them, and with no body charged with enforcing the Code there was nothing to stop retailers simply ignoring it if they wanted to.

That is why I am delighted that this Government is introducing the Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill, which was published last Friday. This will create an independent ombudsman to ensure that the Code is respected – and to sanction supermarkets if they break it. Those sanctions include naming and shaming offenders, and if that doesn’t prove effective then ministers can give the Adjudicator the power to levy fines.

The Adjudicator will also be able to hear complaints in complete confidence not only from suppliers but also from third party organisations such as the National Farmers Union or War on Want, for example. This means that suppliers don’t have to fear being singled out by supermarkets for putting their head above the parapet.

Supermarkets contribute a great deal to our economy, and bring huge benefits for customers. However, their sheer size and dominance should not be licence to treat suppliers unreasonably.

So, here it is in the Guardian, the paper that’s been so critical of the Coalition in general and the Lib Dems in particular, these past two years. The announcement that many of us have wanted to see for as long as we’ve been politically active. That women who take time out of the labour market to care for children or sick relatives will not be penalised in their old age.

This is an example of the Coalition delivering a major benefit to mainly women.  And although it’s Iain Duncan Smith who’s quoted in the article, make no mistake, it’s Liberal Democrat Pensions expert Steve Webb who’s put this together.This is the man who found a fault with the way some women’s pensions had been calculated in opposition and got the DWP to sort it, giving many women a pension boost of more than £1000 so he has a lot of previous form in getting justice for women pensioners.

The fact that women are penalised in old age for taking on caring roles that would cost the State a fortune if they didn’t has always been a horrendous injustice. Liberal Democrats have been banging on about changing it for decades. And do you know what? First chance of power we get, we sort it. How good is that?

We need to get out on people’s doorsteps and make sure people know that it’s the Liberal Democrats who are responsible for them paying less tax, for increasing their State Pension by £5.30 a week, for changing a fundamentally unfair Pensions system.

The reason we’re willing to take the pain that this Coalition brings us is so that we can deliver things like this. It’s two years today since we watched Nick Clegg enter Downing Street for the first time as Deputy Prime Minister. I wrote at the time that my emotions were lurching between horror, pride, fear and hope. They still are. This is a good day, though.

* Caron Lindsay is Wednesday editor at Lib Dem Voice and blogs at Caron’s Musings

I read the Daily Mail every day. It’s worth it because in amongst the inaccurate, scaremongering bile, there’s quite often a wee gem which shows off the Liberal Democrat influence in the Coalition.

Today, it carries an interview with David Cameron in which he tells how these pesky Liberal Democrats have stopped him doing things like getting rid of human rights legislation, eroding people’s employment rights and stopping him introducing a tax break for married couples.

While some Liberal Democrats may worry about some elements of the Coalition’s plans to increase the qualifying period for employment tribunals 2 years, it could all have been so much worse if Vince Cable had not stood so firm, as the Guardian reported last year.

The increasing disquiet of the Tory right is another sign to me at least that we are doing something right. If the Conservatives were governing alone, these people would be calling the shots as the Tory Eurosceptic right did during John Major’s Government from 1992-97.

While we might not get things all our own way, we can be grateful that neither do the Conservatives. David Cameron knows that and we have to get that message across to our voters.

* Caron Lindsay is Wednesday editor at Lib Dem Voice and blogs at Caron’s Musings

Royal Mail and the Post Office are two of our most recognisable and most trusted brands. For hundreds of years the post office has been at the heart of our communities – with a value that goes beyond mere economics to the social and the symbolic. Royal Mail, meanwhile, is a service that covers every part of the country and reaches every part of society. The public, quite rightly, is fiercely protective of both institutions.

Sadly previous governments left them both in a mess. Labour opened up the postal market, thereby exposing Royal Mail to the full force of competition. Ludicrously, however, the Regulator tied the company’s hands at the same time, preventing it from competing on an even footing. The widely recognised problem of ‘downstream access’ pricing, which allowed competitors to use Royal Mail for the final (most expensive) mile of delivery at a low charge for the service is a prime example.

It is now the Liberal Democrats in Government who are getting Royal Mail and the Post Office back on their feet and, as minister for postal affairs, I am continuing the work started by Ed Davey.

Royal Mail

Firstly, following the Postal Services Act that Ed took through Parliament last year we have separated Royal Mail from the Post Office to allow a vibrant future for each. The Act made provision for the sale of Royal Mail with a minimum 10% employee ownership, and the injection of capital it desperately needs to safeguard the universal postal service.

Secondly, we have freed the company of a huge deficit by taking on its pensions liabilities. This is good news for postmen and women – as demonstrated by the warm welcome the news received from the Communication Workers Union.

Thirdly, we have provided stronger protections for the universal service obligation which we have now enshrined in law. Ofcom, as the regulator, has a duty to protect that service. The rise in stamp prices from 46p to 60p for first class, and from 36p to 50p for second class (with concessions for vulnerable customers next Christmas), should be seen in this context. Stamp prices in this country have been remarkably low compared to the rest ofEurope; meanwhile, letter volumes have continued to decline as we all use email more and more. Our primary objective is to protect the universal service obligation, but in order to do so we have to allow Royal Mail the means to be commercially viable.

The Post Office

Firstly, we have committed that the Post Office is not for sale, and that there will be no further programme of post office closures. This is a vital vote of confidence for both the network and those who depend upon it.

Secondly, we are investing £1.34billion in modernising the network. This funding was secured at the spending review, and will see significant improvements at around 6,000 branches. The money comes with the critical condition that the Post Office continues to meet current access criteria that see 93% of the population live within a mile of their nearest branch.

Thirdly, we are looking at how government – both local and national – can work with the Post Office to our mutual advantage. By making the Post Office a genuine ‘front office of government’ we can save money for government and local councils, bring more customers into the post office, and make access to government and council services more convenient for people. Councillor Richard Kemp is working with Post Office Ltd to develop these ideas and twenty five councils are developing pilots which could help guide other councils. I encourage Lib Dem councillors and activists to look at whether it could benefit their area.

There is huge potential for the future of Royal Mail and the Post Office. The rise of the internet means the market has changed dramatically. It presents both threats and opportunities – parcel business is rising significantly as people increasingly buy and sell over the internet. A universal postal service and a post office network that stretches the length and breadth of the country will always have a vital role to play. We should be proud that Liberal Democrats in Government are now the ones responsible for securing their future. The steps we are taking will ensure that the Post Office and Royal Mail are still here, still trusted and instantly recognisable in years to come.

In today’s Guardian, Nick Clegg declares the Coalition isn’t about to lurch to the left or the right in the wake of the governing parties’ bruising election results: “We spent two years on rescue. Now it’s time for reform.” Here are the three lessons Nick says he’s drawing from last week…

1) The coalition must work harder to show that we are governing for the whole country

Both coalition parties got thumped in Scotland, Wales and the north of England. People are afraid for their jobs and their children’s prospects. In my own patch in Sheffield, I know that memories of the brutal recession of the 1980s are still vivid. We are not going to repeat the mistakes of the past. … Our task is to rebuild real economies in these neglected areas. That is why we are investing in our regional growth fund, in high-speed rail and in our manufacturing base. Putting the economy on a more sustainable footing will be hard work. But we have to do more.

2) The government needs to show more clearly that it is on the side of working families

The centrepiece of the budget was a £3.5bn tax cut for ordinary workers. But too much attention has focused on the reduction in the top rate of tax. An impression has formed that this was a budget for the rich, despite the fact that five times as much will be raised from the most affluent as they gain from the change in the 50p rate. We are making huge efforts on behalf of ordinary families – to lower tax and energy bills, increase the provision of free childcare and get more young people into work or training. It is vital for the government as a whole – and especially for the Lib Dems, who have championed these policies – to ensure they get this message across and deliver these policies in full.

3) We can only build a better economy with a better politics

The failings of our politics led directly to the failure of our economy. Power bled across from Westminster to the City and Fleet Street. Regulation was too lax. The political class turned a blind eye to the excesses of casino capitalism – and failed to stand up to vested interests in the City and in Fleet Street. The historic mission of liberals is to stand up for ordinary people against vested interests. Our radicalism is needed as much as ever. Reining in the banks. Reforming party funding to get the big money out of politics. Cleaning up the media: every Lib Dem can be proud of the part we played in setting up the judge-led Leveson inquiry. And, yes, injecting some democracy into the House of Lords.

Nick’s conclusion…

Mid-term can be a dangerous time for any government. Tactics can trump strategy. The long-term vision can be lost in the thicket of implementation. But the Lib Dems will be raising our sights, and pushing harder for reform. This coalition government will not be lurching to the left or to the right. The Lib Dems have anchored this government in the centre-ground, where it belongs – and where it will stay.

You can read Nick’s article in full here.

* Newshound sets the agenda, as you would expect from a Red Setter