Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of ongoing covid-19 restrictions for care settings on (a) respite care home capacity and (b) patients and carers requiring respite care.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
No specific assessment has been made. However, we continue to monitor the delivery of the ‘Living with COVID-19’ plan. Updated guidance for the sector was published on 31 March 2022 to ensure there are sufficient protections for care recipients while safely removing restrictions as far as possible. We are investing up to £25 million to identify and test a range of new and existing interventions to support unpaid carers, which could include respite and breaks.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a recovery and respite plan for unpaid carers.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
There are no plans to publish a specific recovery and respite plan for unpaid carers in England. In ‘People at the Heart of Care’, published in December 2021, we set out plans to empower unpaid carers to live happy, healthy and fulfilling lives. This includes an investment of up to £25 million in the services provided to support unpaid carers. We expect this will identify and test a range of new and existing interventions to support unpaid carers, which could include respite and breaks and peer group and wellbeing support.
In addition, funding provided through the Better Care Fund (BCF) is used to support carers breaks and respite. The BCF Framework for 2022/23 will be published shortly and will request that all local BCF partnerships set out how funding is being used to support unpaid carers. On 13 May, we wrote to local authorities to reiterate the importance of respite support for carers and to understand any challenges in restoring full capacity.
Additionally, unpaid carers in low-income households will benefit from the Means-Tested Benefit Cost of Living Payment and those living in the same household as the disabled person for whom they care will benefit from the disability Cost of Living Payment. Families with a pensioner in the household will benefit from the Pensioner Cost of Living Payment.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish a recovery and respite plan for unpaid carers.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
We have no plans to publish a specific recovery and respite plan for carers. However, the white paper ‘People at the Heart of Care’ sets out the Government’s strategic approach to empower unpaid carers to live happy, healthy and fulfilling lives. We will invest up to £25 million to work with the sector on improving the services provided to support unpaid carers. We expect that this funding will identify and test new and existing initiatives, which could include respite and breaks, peer group and wellbeing support and how these could be combined to maximise the impact.
The Better Care Fund (BCF) will also be used to support carer breaks and respite services. The BCF Framework for 2022/23 will be published shortly and will ask that all local BCF partnerships set out how funding is used to support unpaid carers.
On 13 May 2022, I wrote to local authorities on the importance of respite support for carers and to understand any challenges in getting these services regaining full capacity.
Additionally, the Chancellor recently announced a package of support to help with the cost of living. Unpaid carers in low-income households will benefit from the Means-Tested Benefit Cost of Living Payment, and those living in the same household as the disabled person for whom they care will benefit from the disability Cost of Living Payment, while families with a pensioner in the household will benefit from the Pensioner Cost of Living Payment.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will publish a recovery and respite plan for unpaid carers.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
We have no plans to do so. The ‘People at the Heart of Care: adult social care reform’ white paper sets out how the Government will work with the sector to improve the services provided to support unpaid carers. Funding is also provided through the Better Care Fund (BCF) to support carer breaks and respite. The BCF Framework for 2022/23 will request that all local BCF partnerships set out how funding is being used to support unpaid carers.
Additionally, unpaid carers in low-income households will benefit from the Means-Tested Benefit Cost of Living Payment. Those living in the same household as the disabled person for whom they care will benefit from the disability Cost of Living Payment, while families with a pensioner in the household will benefit from the Pensioner Cost of Living Payment.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will (a) make and (b) publish a plan to reform support for (i) breaks, (ii) respite and care services, (iii) infection control, (iv) identification, (v) financial help, and (vi) support to manage work and care for unpaid carers.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
The white paper ‘People at the Heart of Care’ sets out how we will invest up to £25 million in the services provided to unpaid carers, which could include respite, breaks, peer group and wellbeing support. Local authorities are required to undertake a Carer’s Assessment for any carer who appears to have a need for support. If a carer is assessed as having eligible needs, the local authority has a legal duty to meet these needs on request from the carer.
Since February 2021, free personal protective equipment (PPE) for COVID-19 needs has been provided to unpaid carers who do not live with the person they care for. This is available for unpaid carers until March 2023. The Carer’s Allowance and income-related benefits, such as Universal Credit and Pension Credit, can also provide financial support to carers on low incomes. Legislation to introduce one week of unpaid leave for unpaid carers in work will be brought forward when Parliamentary time allows. In addition, all employees with 26 weeks continuous service have the statutory right to request flexible working which can assist unpaid carers to balance caring and work.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the level of need for respite breaks for kinship carers.
Answered by Will Quince
The government recognises the important role that kinship carers play in caring for children who are unable to live with their parents. We know that most children benefit from living with someone they already know and trust. Therefore, in recent years we have improved the support to these families.
The government issued statutory guidance in 2011 for local authorities about support for kinship carers. The guidance makes it clear that children and young people should receive the support that they and their carers need to safeguard and promote their welfare. The local authority should also have in place clear eligibility criteria in relation to the provision of support services. This can include providing short breaks (respite) for families where they need this.
The government has also extended funding for the Family and Friends helpline, run by the Family Rights Group, which offers kinship families support, advice and guidance. In 2021 the government added kinship carers to the priority groups that local authorities must include in their school admissions Fair Access Protocols to include children in kinship care arrangements, and this year the government are providing funding of £1 million for the organisation Kinship to deliver more peer to peer support groups to kinship carers across England.
The department is aware from feedback from carers that the provision of support is mixed, and the Independent Review of Social Care, published on 23 May 2022, sets out a compelling case for more support for these families. The department is now looking at the recommendations, including those in kinship care, which will inform an ambitious and detailed government response and implementation strategy, to be published before the end of 2022.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to encourage local authorities to increase their support for kinship carers in the context of the varying levels of support under different local authorities.
Answered by Will Quince
The government recognises the important role that kinship carers play in caring for children who are unable to live with their parents. We know that most children benefit from living with someone they already know and trust. Therefore, in recent years we have improved the support to these families.
The government issued statutory guidance in 2011 for local authorities about support for kinship carers. The guidance makes it clear that children and young people should receive the support that they and their carers need to safeguard and promote their welfare. The local authority should also have in place clear eligibility criteria in relation to the provision of support services. This can include providing short breaks (respite) for families where they need this.
The government has also extended funding for the Family and Friends helpline, run by the Family Rights Group, which offers kinship families support, advice and guidance. In 2021 the government added kinship carers to the priority groups that local authorities must include in their school admissions Fair Access Protocols to include children in kinship care arrangements, and this year the government are providing funding of £1 million for the organisation Kinship to deliver more peer to peer support groups to kinship carers across England.
The department is aware from feedback from carers that the provision of support is mixed, and the Independent Review of Social Care, published on 23 May 2022, sets out a compelling case for more support for these families. The department is now looking at the recommendations, including those in kinship care, which will inform an ambitious and detailed government response and implementation strategy, to be published before the end of 2022.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of support available to kinship carers.
Answered by Will Quince
The government recognises the important role that kinship carers play in caring for children who are unable to live with their parents. We know that most children benefit from living with someone they already know and trust. Therefore, in recent years we have improved the support to these families.
The government issued statutory guidance in 2011 for local authorities about support for kinship carers. The guidance makes it clear that children and young people should receive the support that they and their carers need to safeguard and promote their welfare. The local authority should also have in place clear eligibility criteria in relation to the provision of support services. This can include providing short breaks (respite) for families where they need this.
The government has also extended funding for the Family and Friends helpline, run by the Family Rights Group, which offers kinship families support, advice and guidance. In 2021 the government added kinship carers to the priority groups that local authorities must include in their school admissions Fair Access Protocols to include children in kinship care arrangements, and this year the government are providing funding of £1 million for the organisation Kinship to deliver more peer to peer support groups to kinship carers across England.
The department is aware from feedback from carers that the provision of support is mixed, and the Independent Review of Social Care, published on 23 May 2022, sets out a compelling case for more support for these families. The department is now looking at the recommendations, including those in kinship care, which will inform an ambitious and detailed government response and implementation strategy, to be published before the end of 2022.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure every disabled child, young person, and their families receive the social care support they need.
Answered by Will Quince
The department’s £18 million supported internship scheme will help more people into sustained paid employment. The department is also making better respite care available for those who care for children with special educational needs and disabilities, with councils invited to bid for an extra £30 million for the next three years to set up more than 10,000 additional short break and respite placements for vulnerable children.
Local authorities have access to £54.1 billion core spending power in the 2022/23 financial year to deliver their services, including for children and young people, this is £3.7 billion more than in the 2021/22 financial year.
As part of this, the government has boosted the social care grant, increasing it by £636 million, and so bringing it to a total of around £2.35 billion in the 2022/23 financial year. Local authorities will have access to a one-off Services Grant in the 2022/23 financial year which is worth over £800 million and can be used for all services, including children’s social care.
The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care is due to set out its final recommendations this spring, and the department will consider those relevant to early help to inform any next steps.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the finding in the report by the Disabled Children’s Partnership entitled Left Behind: 6 Months On, which found nearly 70 per cent of parent carers of disabled children have seen their physical health deteriorate as a result of lack of the right support, what steps he is taking to improve support for parent carers.
Answered by Will Quince
On 1 February 2022, the government launched its plan to level up the country so that every person can make the most of their abilities and succeed in life. For those children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), levelling up must be even more ambitious, which is why the department has recently announced an additional £45 million of investment over the next three years to support education settings, children and young people with SEND, and their families.
The department is also improving access to short breaks and respite care for those who care for children with SEND, with funding of £30 million being made available over the next three years to set up more than 10,000 additional respite and short breaks placements for disabled children.
We will also invest £82 million in a network of family hubs so more children, young people and their families can access wraparound support. These new projects will help to provide positive opportunities for disabled children and young people, whilst also supporting parents and carers with their caring responsibilities.
In addition to statutory services, the department is providing £27.3 million to the Family Fund in the 2021/22 financial year to support over 60,000 families on low incomes raising children and young people with disabilities or serious illnesses. Grants can be used for a range of purposes, including family breaks.
The department will continue to work to ensure the right support is in place for the parents and carers of disabled children.