Baroness Tyler of Enfield
Main Page: Baroness Tyler of Enfield (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
The noble Lord’s point is well made. There is nothing more heartbreaking than when a school does not know that a child is a young carer and makes them stay for detention, for example, because they were late on account of their caring responsibilities. It cannot continue, and I am pleased to inform the House that this issue is being taken very seriously. It is crucial that young carers are known, but, most importantly, that all the relevant agencies work together at a local level to share their knowledge of the young person, very much along the lines of the family group conferencing model that is working so well in children’s social care. It is a huge issue. Many young carers, as we know, do not want to divulge that they are indeed carers because they are worried that it might result in the family being split up. There is a lot of work to do in raising confidence, but everyone working together is the way forward.
Baroness Tyler of Enfield (LD)
In the recent survey by Carers UK, which has already been referred to, some 51% of unpaid carers said that they need more support from the NHS—a figure that has risen in recent years. Under the Care Act 2014, it is the responsibility of local authorities to provide an assessment of carers’ needs. Can the Minister therefore say what proportion of unpaid carers have received such an assessment, what sort of support they have received and what has happened to expenditure on unpaid carer support in the last three years? If she does not have those figures to hand, can she write to me?
Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
I thank the noble Baroness. I do not have the precise figures to hand, but the more work we do in this area, the more we are exposing what needs to be done. The fact is that the confidence of carers is quite low, and we need to make sure that all the support comes together to wrap around them. All the evidence that is gathered by the different agencies on the ground is exceptionally welcome and will inform the routes forward. I will get the precise information she has asked for to her after this discussion.