Carers: In Sickness and in Health

Lord Bishop of Bath and Wells Excerpts

Wednesday 11th July 2012 Lords Chamber

[Earl Howe]

Once again, this area is very much centre stage for us. Support for carers is an extremely important matter, and the noble Baroness will see that we are addressing it in the White Paper, about which I will talk shortly.

[The Lord Bishop of Bath and Wells]

My Lords, in recognising the purpose of this report in relation to the health of carers, I ask the Government what action they are going to take, particularly with regard to the welfare and health of young people who may not formally be regarded as carers but who nevertheless undertake a vital role.

[Earl Howe]

The right reverend Prelate refers to an often unseen aspect of caring. My department and the Department for Education are encouraging children’s and adult services to work much more closely together to adopt whole-family approaches to identifying and supporting young carers. We are investing in the identification and sharing of tools, resources and good practice, and we have worked with key stakeholders to develop online training modules on young carers for GPs and school staff in particular.