Stephen O’Brien – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen O’Brien on 2014-06-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what resources his Department has allocated to help carers of dementia patients.

Norman Lamb

Carers are central to the Government’s reform of social care and support, with significant improvements in the Care Act which extends carers’ rights to an assessment which will be based on the appearance of a need for support. For the first time, local authorities will be required to meet carers’ eligible needs for support. The Act also creates a new statutory principle to promote an individual’s well-being, including health and emotional well-being, which will apply equally to carers.

We have provided £400 million to the National Health Service over four years from 2011 for carers to have breaks from their caring responsibilities. In the 2013 Spending Review, we announced the £3.8 billion Better Care Fund, which includes £130 million funding for carers’ breaks for 2015-16.