Asked by
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to
ensure that carers get the support and breaks they need.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health
and Social Care () (Con)
My Lords, the love, commitment and sheer hard work of Britain’s
unpaid carers have saved lives and made a huge difference to the
country’s most vulnerable. The nation is hugely grateful. I
completely recognise the impact the pandemic has had on access to
support and breaks. Local authorities have an important
responsibility to assess carers’ needs, and I pay tribute to the
efforts of local authorities as we work together to reopen day
and respite services.
(Lab)
My Lords, I commend to the Minister Carers UK’s excellent 40-page
report produced for Carers Week. In it, we hear from carers
themselves, not just on the lack of essential breaks and respite
but on caring during the pandemic, their own health and their
worries about when key day care and other services vital to the
loved ones they care for, and suspended during lockdown for over
a year now, will be reinstated. If he reads the report carefully,
he will see the reality of everyday life for thousands of carers.
Funding given to councils during the pandemic has not been
anywhere near enough for the vital role they have been expected
to play, and the funding the Minister repeatedly refers to has
simply not reached carers. How will the Government address this
appalling situation and ensure that unpaid carers are given the
funding and support they need and deserve?
(Con)
My Lords, I too pay tribute to the Carers UK report. I read the
very moving personal testimonies in that report and for that
reason I took a call with Carers UK this morning in order to
understand the recommendations it has made. There is an enormous
amount to do. The practical role of the department is to work
with local authorities to ensure that day centres and care
services are reopened. There are massive infection control
issues, but we are working extremely hard with local authorities
to ensure that that reopening can happen quickly so that carers
get the support they need.
My Lords, I declare an interest as co-chair of the Archbishops’
commission on social care. Given that there are 750,000 young
carers in England and that some 2% of them regularly miss school
because of their caring responsibilities, can the Minister tell
us whether Her Majesty’s Government have any plans to identify
these children and offer them extra support, not least in the
wake of the added disruption to their education that has been
caused by the pandemic?
(Con)
My Lords, the testimony from the right reverend Prelate is
entirely right and is echoed in the Carers UK report. The point
he makes about identification is key. One of the good things that
came out of the pandemic is that we made progress on identifying
and putting together registers of carers. That was seen in the
delivery of the vaccination, when nearly 1.6 million of them
received the vaccination early as part of priority group 6. I
agree with the right reverend Prelate that more needs to be done
on data collection.
(Con)
[V]
My Lords, will my noble friend join me in commending the work of
unpaid carers in this country who have done so much to help
through the pandemic? Will he request that Her Majesty’s Treasury
and the Department for Work and Pensions consider increasing the
carer’s allowance, which pays anyone caring for somebody less
than £2 an hour for at least 35 hours a week of care? The
complexity of the current system, with overlapping benefits,
would certainly be advantaged by significant simplification. At
the moment, people need advice before they understand whether
they can claim carers benefit.
(Con)
My Lords, I completely agree with my noble friend on commending
the role of unpaid carers. We could not have got through this
pandemic in the way we did without them. The system is complex
and work is under way at the DWP to try to simplify it. As my
noble friend knows from her significant expertise, this is a
difficult task but we are very focused on it.
(Lab)
My Lords, I declare an interest as vice-president of Carers UK,
and in that capacity and further to his phone call this morning,
will the Minister agree to meet Carers UK and interested
colleagues in the House to discuss further the contents of this
important report? I know he understands the moral and ethical
case for supporting carers, as he has made that very clear on
many occasions, but I want to ask him about economic issues. If
carers reach breaking point—this report shows that many of them
are at that point—and they give up caring, any other form of care
costs vastly more, so will the economic contribution of carers be
taken into account when proposals for social care reform are
brought forward? Might we even hope that they could influence the
Treasury?
(Con)
My Lords, I can reassure the noble Baroness that economic
considerations absolutely will be borne in mind. It is a huge
challenge to take on the massive economic benefits of unpaid
carers, and I will be glad to meet Carers UK—I have in fact
already begun scheduling a follow-up meeting to this morning’s
call.
(LD)
[V]
Too often, the family carers of children with the most serious
and complex health needs are at the back of the queue for care
breaks, and many had no breaks during the pandemic at all.
Research by Together for Short Lives has found that cash-strapped
English local authorities fund just 1% of the care costs of
children’s hospices which provide these short breaks. Does the
Minister agree that the Government need to fill the £400 million
funding gap in social care for disabled children as a matter of
urgency, to ensure that these carers get the breaks they
desperately need?
(Con)
My Lords, as the noble Baroness knows, we have worked very
closely with hospices to fill the funding gap that hit them hard
during the pandemic, and I pay tribute to those who worked so
hard looking after younger vulnerable people. The pressure on
care breaks has been intense during the pandemic.
(Lab)
[V]
My Lords, 81% of carers are taking on more care since the start
of the pandemic and, as the Carers UK report says,
“Most striking is the lack of confidence that carers feel about
support in the future.”
Carers UK is calling for a new deal for carers, with an urgent
review of breaks provision by the Government, better respite
care, an uplift in universal credit and sufficient funds for
local authorities to provide support. The Minister has already
said he will meet Carers UK, which is very welcome. Will he also
be prepared to meet other interested parties to see what can be
implemented?
(Con)
The noble Baroness is undoubtedly right that carers have taken on
a hugely bigger burden. More carers have been involved in looking
after loved ones and families; those already working have worked
longer hours; and the kinds of work they have done has been
extended because some local authority provision has not been
possible during the lockdown and the pandemic. I recognise that
it is taking time to reopen many of those services, but I
reassure the noble Baroness that we are working hard, we
recognise the issue, and the issue of breaks in particular is one
that concerns us. I will be glad to meet anyone she recommends.
The Lord Speaker ()
I call the noble Lord, . No? In that
case, I call the noble Lord, Lord Dodds of Duncairn.
Lord Dodds of Duncairn (DUP)
My Lords, I too pay tribute to the millions of unpaid carers
across the country; they contribute and sacrifice so much on a
daily basis. We recognise the great demands and burdens that have
resulted because of the pandemic. I urge the Minister to think
what more can be done to provide these people with breaks. They
need them to counter social isolation and loneliness and for
their mental and physical well-being. I thank the Government for
what they are already doing. What more can be done?
(Con)
The noble Lord puts it very well. Breaks are key. Some 6.5
million carers work flat out throughout the year. It makes all
the difference to them if they can have moments of respite when
they can lift their heads, conduct their usual tasks and get a
little mental clarity. We are very focused on this issue, but I
am grateful to the noble Lord for raising it.
(Lab) [V]
My Lords, I also join colleagues in paying tribute to the
millions of unpaid carers. Even before the pandemic, they were
keeping the whole system going. The Minister has paid tribute to
their need for respite care. Can this be translated into
something tangible? How many weeks respite care can an unpaid
carer have? I know unpaid carers who are desperate to have just a
small break from their 24/7 commitment and work. How much time
should this be? Furthermore, local authorities are in desperate
financial difficulties. Surely, there should be some help for
them so that they can provide residential respite care and give
unpaid carers the chance to continue.
(Con)
My Lords, I cannot provide a direct answer to the noble Lord’s
reasonably broad question, which illustrates the very wide range
of care undertaken by Britain’s unpaid carers. As the noble Lord
rightly says, some are working 24/7, almost without respite, in
incredibly demanding and challenging circumstances, others are
dropping in to see a neighbour for an hour or two a day, and
there are many permutations in between. It is really important to
have local provision so that there is tailor-made support by
people who are close and in the community. I am afraid there are
not the kind of blanket measures that the noble Lord seeks, which
is why we work through charities and local authorities to provide
the support that people need.
