Carents founder Dr Jackie Gray was one of the speakers at yesterday's Vulnerability Registration Service (VRS) Conference which brought together regulated industries, charities, policymakers and advocates all focused on one shared goal: making life easier for people in vulnerable situations.
It was a powerful opportunity to fly the flag for carents, those of us juggling work and life while caring for older parents, and to voice the very real frustrations carents share when trying to communicate with banks, utilities and other services on behalf of the people they love.
The carents experience
So many carents have shared the exhaustion of repeating the same difficult conversations over and over. Of being told they can't speak on behalf of their parent, even with a Power of Attorney in place. Of automated phone systems that time out before their older loved one can respond. Of staff who simply don't understand that not everyone has a smartphone or a memory that holds login details.
Almost every speaker referenced the costs – time, money, work and health – of these communication challenges. They are not unusual, nor unknown and, encouragingly, work is underway to change them.
What gave cause for hope
The conference confirmed that there is plenty of energy, commitment and regulatory pressure to do better. The keynote from Lord Chris Holmes was inspiring, his leadership on accessibility sets a compelling benchmark for what's possible when inclusion is taken seriously.
A particularly important piece of work shaping the conversation was Tell Us Twenty — a landmark April 2026 report. It maps, for the first time, the 20 "Tell Us Once" initiatives currently operating across the UK. There is a plethora of schemes designed so that people can share their support needs with multiple organisations through a single process, rather than having to explain themselves again and again. The report is honest about the current reality: these initiatives remain largely unconnected, use different definitions, and cannot share data with one another. As the authors put it, we currently have a "TUO archipelago" — scattered islands of effort that don't yet join up. But the report also sets out a clear path forward, calling for better bridges between existing schemes and a common language for describing people's needs.
For carents, this matters enormously. The very thing that can make the caring role so draining is the endless repetition, the inconsistency, or the luck of who picks up the phone. It is precisely what these initiatives are trying to fix.
Why the Vulnerability Registration Service (VRS) matters for carents
The VRS is one of those 20 initiatives identified in the report, sitting within the essential services category alongside Priority Service Registers and others. It currently recognises 31 different vulnerability tags and 27 of them are relevant to carents.
The VRS allows individuals to register their circumstances once, securely, and have that information shared with trusted organisations — banks, energy providers, insurers — so that neither carer nor cared-for has to keep explaining the situation from scratch. For carents, this could mean:
- A parent's communication needs (hearing loss, memory difficulties, digital exclusion) are flagged in advance, so the right support is in place before problems arise
- Your own needs are recognised, your sense of overwhelm, your loneliness and other impacts on their physical and mental health
- Organisations can tailor their approach to your needs, with compassion and training, rather than relying on luck and whoever happens to answer the phone
Hope for frustrated carents
The highlight of the day was the final performance of the Vicky McClure dementia choir - joyful, moving, and yes, it left a few in the audience with a tear. A reminder, if one were needed, of the very human reality behind all of this policy and progress.
If you've ever felt invisible, overwhelmed or like you're fighting every single system on behalf of someone you love, rest assured you are not alone. Your frustrations are shared by thousands. The people in that conference room yesterday know about them and are working to fix them.
Recognition. Compassion. Co-design. Training. These are the tools that make a difference and there are organisations trying to get this right.
Find out more about the VRS at vulnerabilityregistrationse
