Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of making caring a protected characteristic on carers in (a) rural communities and (b) West Dorset.

The Government is committed to ensuring that families have the support that they need.

People with caring responsibilities are afforded protections under the Equality Act 2010 by provisions relating to age and disability discrimination.

The act also protects people from direct discrimination “by association”, meaning that individuals with caring responsibilities for someone who is a child, elderly, or disabled has protection from unlawful discrimination due to their association with someone with a recognised protected characteristic.