Valuing People: family matters ten years on

It is ten years since Valuing People promised a ‘new deal’ for family carers. Valuing People was explicitly concerned to ensure a cultural shift in the way services worked with and conceptualised the role of family carers. It included specific objectives for involving families in local partnership boards, providing better support for them in their caring role and investing in family leadership nationally, regionally and locally. This article considers why there was a need for a more family-focused approach to support. It then discusses the advances over the last decade towards meeting the objectives of Valuing People. It concludes that despite the positive policy developments it would be dangerous to be complacent; there is still a need to continue investing in families and people with learning disabilities to ensure that the gains of the past decade are not lost.