Can my noble friend tell the House roughly how many children have to be sent to boarding school because of the commitments of their parents?
Benefits are clearly critical to carers and, indeed, to the people they care for. The Government are really aware of that. I urge the noble Baroness to tell anyone who has approached her about individual problems to get in touch with their MPs, who have hotlines to all these agencies.
My Lords, my noble friend indicated that this matter is under consideration. Would she please think of speeding up what is being considered, because there is a real urgency about this matter? Carers who sacrifice a great deal of their physical well-being on looking after a relative should not have to bear these very large costs that are often applied months and months before there is ever a chance of getting the money.
The noble Baroness is right; the report is overdue for publication. I pressed my officials before coming here about when it is likely to be reported and the answer was, “Very, very soon”.