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 potential effect of the introduction of a legal framework for a Discharge to Assess model on the wellbeing of unpaid carers in (a) Wirral and (b) 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, approximately 320,000-650,000 patients a year will be discharged home requiring minimal support from health and/or social care. The crucial role and rights of unpaid carers will be explicitly included in new guidance on discharge.