Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to (a) encourage social care providers to identify employees who are also unpaid carers within their workforce and provide support and (b) make that activity part of his workforce strategy.

The Government is supporting the Carer’s Leave Bill. The Bill proposes that leave will be available to all qualifying employees, including those working in care who also have unpaid caring responsibilities. It will be unpaid and available to take in increments of half days or individual days, up to a week, to be taken over a 12-month period.