Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-03-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to increase the availability of respite care and support for family carers.
Alistair Burt
The Short and Long Term (SALT) Care data collection for 2014-15 show the number of cared-for people receiving respite or other forms of carer support;
(a) England – 55,735
(b) Birmingham local authority area – 635
(c) Swindon local authority area – 160
The data include other forms of support as well as emergency respite places; a precise figure for emergency respite places is not available. We are working with councils to improve data in this area for future iterations of the SALT Care data collection.
The Government recognises the invaluable contribution made by unpaid carers and the importance of supporting them in their caring roles. That is why we continue to support implementation of the improved rights for carers enshrined in the Care Act 2014. This includes a right to an assessment on the appearance of needs for support. These assessments cover carers’ wellbeing and what support they may need in their caring role.
The Department has provided £104 million of funding to local authorities for these improved carers’ rights in 2015/16. We have also made an additional £400 million available to the National Health Service between 2011 and 2015 to provide carers with breaks from their caring responsibilities to sustain them in their caring role. The equivalent annual allocation of £130 million for carers breaks is now included in the Better Care Fund.
The Department is also leading the development of a new cross-Government National Carers Strategy that will look at what more we can do to support existing carers and future carers.
