Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Integration and Innovation: Working together to improve health and social care for all White Paper, what assessment he has made of the number of unpaid carers who would be affected each year by the introduction of a legal framework for a Discharge to Assess model (a) in Wirral and (b) in England.

Unpaid carers play a vital role in the care of those for whom they provide care. In 2019-2020, Wirral local authority supported or assessed 970 unpaid carers. There were approximately 7.7 million adult unpaid carers aged sixteen and over in England in 2020. Under the Discharge to Assess model, people who are clinically ready are supported to return to their place of residence, where possible, where an assessment of longer-term needs takes place following recovery. Under this model, approximately 320,000 to 650,000 patients will be discharged home annually requiring minimal support from health and/or social care. All persons leaving hospital should receive a holistic welfare check to determine the level of support they need and should receive information about who they can contact if their condition changes. The crucial role of unpaid carers will be explicitly included in new guidance on hospital discharge.