Hywel Francis obituary

Former MP for Aberavon who promoted the rights of carers and organisations that would help south Wales to remember its past

Hywel Francis, who has died aged 74 from cancer, served as Labour MP for Aberavon, south Wales, from 2001 until he stood down in 2015. He chaired the Welsh affairs committee and human rights joint committee, and his particular achievement was the Carers Equal Opportunities Act (2004).

This he brought in as a private member's bill, with Lord (Jack) Ashley of Stoke sponsoring it through the Lords. It required local authorities to ensure access to education, training, work and leisure opportunities for unpaid personal carers of elderly, ill and disabled relatives, neighbours and friends. Hywel and his wife Mair had cared for a son, Sam, who had Down's syndrome and died at the age of 16 in 1997 of a longstanding heart condition.

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