Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to increase support for unpaid carers.

The Carers Action Plan, announced in 2018, set out a cross-Government programme of work to support carers. We continue to implement and build on the commitments made at that time, including committing in our manifesto to extend the entitlement to leave for unpaid carers to one week.

We have also sought to support carers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We have provided funding to a range of charities including funding to extend the Carers UK’s helpline opening hours so unpaid carers are able to access trusted information and advice. This funding has been extended to March 2021. A further £500,000 was provided to the Carers Trust to provide support to unpaid carers experiencing loneliness during the pandemic

In addition, to help carers and those they care for, we have worked with the Social Care Institute for Excellence, to publish guidance to help providers make decisions on restarting day services. We have also enabled local authorities to use some of the money provided to them through the Infection Control Fund to help services reopen safely or be reconfigured to work in a COVID-19 secure way.