PEOPLE who juggle work with caring responsibilities are the focus of a £125,000 pilot scheme in Bury.

Nine areas of England, including Bury, have been chosen to take part in a £1.6 million government scheme supporting carers by promoting flexible working.

Council officials hope the funding will help around 200 carers in the borough.

Support could also include volunteers to ease the pressure of caring, an e-mail alerts system, and a pop-up centre to help carers set up in self-employment.

It is hoped the scheme will benefit some of the estimated 19,000 carers in the borough – 15,400 of whom are of working age – by co-ordinating formal and informal support.

A spokesman for Bury Council said: “We are delighted to be chosen as one of only nine areas across England, and the only one in Greater Manchester, to become a pilot area for this initiative.

“Carers do an invaluable job in society, but some of them are often faced with the dilemma of whether to give up work in order to concentrate on their caring responsibilities.

“This project is about seeing if small changes in the workplace could help carers to stay in work and still be able to look after their loved ones.

“We think that possibly up to 200 carers in Bury could be helped by this project. Our job now is to identify those working carers who could most benefit, and identifying suitable employers.”

The pilot is due to begin later this year and will run for two years.

Sheila Blackman, centre manager at Bury Carers Centre, said: “The first stage will be approaching employers and giving them information about carers and their rights.

“We should be supporting carers who want to remain in work to be able to stay in work.”

Of the 5.4 million carers in England, nearly 58 per cent are female with 12 per cent of those currently working full time alongside their caring responsibilities.

The Government claims giving these carers the support to manage their caring duties alongside paid work would save the UK economy a potential £1.3 billion a year.

Announcing the scheme Minister for Women and Equalities, Nicky Morgan said: “Carers who feel forced to leave their jobs are a real loss to the workforce and economy. We want to give people the peace of mind about their loved ones that helps them keep their jobs.”

Bury Council is asking anyone who wants more information or feels they could benefit to call Zene Shuttleworth on 0161 253 5272.