Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support local councils in developing improved support for carers across (a) Hull West and Hessle constituency and (b) the UK; and if he will make a statement.

The Government is committed to supporting local areas to better plan and prioritise public services for the benefit of their local populations. This includes supporting carers, and to do so in a way that supports their own health and wellbeing and other life chances, and continue to support the improved rights for carers enshrined in the Care Act 2014. This includes legal rights to an assessment of, and support for, their needs where eligible.

Carers in England will be a fundamental part of our upcoming Green Paper on care and support for older people. Ahead of the Green Paper’s publication, the Department will also shortly be publishing an action plan on carers, setting out a cross-Government programme of targeted work to support carers over the next two years.

In addition to the £2 billion at Spring Budget 2017, we have announced a further £150 million for 2018/19, giving councils access to up to £9.4 billion more dedicated funding for adult social care in total over three years.