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11.27 am
Mr. Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby): This morning, we have heard many congratulations. I, too, wish to congratulate all the organisations mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham, East (Mr. Heppell).
It would be remiss of me not to congratulate my hon. and very good Friend the Member for Stalybridge and Hyde (Mr. Pendry), not only on his good fortune in being selected in the private Members' Bill ballot but on introducing a Bill that is important to the people of Scarborough and Whitby. My hon. Friend has been very kind to me over many years. I would go so far as to suggest that he has been a sort of mentor to me in terms of learning about Parliament and the business of being a parliamentarian. I am honoured that he approached me to sponsor his Bill.
Scarborough and Whitby is a large part of the county of North Yorkshire. Until fairly recently--1974, in fact--it was part of a large, rural and mixed local government area. Following the 1974 reform, the previous Government saw fit to separate the City of York from the county of North Yorkshire, making it a unitary authority. I am glad to say that, in the important matter of carers, there is continued partnership between the new county of North Yorkshire and the new unitary authority of the city of York.
For all the statistics about which we have heard, the true figures are invisible because they have not been properly collected. In doing research for this debate, I tried to find statistics for my area. The most recent figures that I could find were compiled in 1994--they are very dated figures--when the Policy Studies Institute concluded that the work done by carers nationally amounted to the equivalent of £30 billion.
That staggering figure is more than the combined budgets of central and local government for health and social services. It suggests that in North Yorkshire and the City of York, with about 73,000 carers, the care and public service amount to the equivalent of about £400 million a year. If we brought the figures up to date, it would not be beyond any mathematician to show that nearly £500 million of work is being done in that area alone.
People do that work for love and out of a sense of duty and care for their immediate family. They have real dedication and commitment. I want to bring in a personal dimension. My hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham, East mentioned the fact that one in six households has a caring responsibility. That means that it is likely that one in six hon. Members has such a responsibility. I am not a carer, but I am one of those people who have to care for a carer. I have not heard that phrase this morning, but it is an important factor.
Many hon. Members have spoken of how the commitment and dedication to loved ones can burn out lives. Recent figures suggest that only about 18 per cent. of carers get access to respite care or even to assessments from local authorities. There is a huge hidden problem: it is the classic iceberg syndrome. Damage is being done not only to individuals but to the fabric of society. I can see that in the small villages and hamlets of rural North Yorkshire.
There is a terrible loss of potential. Carers lose the opportunity to play the fullest part in everyday life. The Bill gives them flexibility in determining the assistance that they can buy in to the home. I know, from my personal experience of trying to persuade my wife to take time off from her responsibilities for caring for her mother, and from people who visit me in my constituency surgery, that that is crucial.
Six months ago, a distraught family came to my Whitby surgery. They had thought that they could define the service that they needed to suit their circumstances in one of the most remote villages in my constituency, but when they tried to buy in the individuals whom they wanted to support their loved one, they were caught up in bureaucracy and red tape and the notion that the social services department knows better, when in fact the loved one would have been more comfortable with the specification that they had defined.
The Bill gives the carer the opportunity and the resources to define the support that they need. I am extremely pleased that, by virtue of clause 9, the Government and the Treasury have shown that they are willing to make the finances available for that.
I think back to the days before I was a Member of Parliament, and to a previous Administration and the debates that we had on the fine Bill introduced by my hon. Friend the Member for Croydon, North (Mr. Wicks). The difficulties always came down to the fact that the resources were not there. Resources are the crucial element. The all-party support this morning is tremendous. This is not a partisan issue.
Before entering Parliament, I was an engineer. In my maiden speech, I said that throughout my career I had been involved in solving problems, not creating them. It
is a great pleasure to be involved in legislation that continues that process. Many hon. Members have referred to the groundswell of opinion in favour of a policy whose time has come, and it is deeply regrettable that the financial resources were not there before.
When the Bill was published, I got hold of copy early and did the proper thing in trying to consult my colleagues in local government. I was referred to Mr. Andrew Cousins of the Association of Directors of Social Services. I did not know it this time last week, but he is the director of social services in Gloucestershire. I was unable to speak to him because, sadly, the past week has been taken up for him by the tragic and regrettable events of last Friday night in the surgery of the hon. Member for Cheltenham (Mr. Jones). I can imagine the tension and frustration of some carers who have come to my surgeries and I can understand how they can sometimes be on the point of boiling over.
I have also witnessed the problems of carers when the loved one is no longer there and the caring responsibility has gone. The carer's purpose in life has gone, and that is a big problem, especially in remoter areas where people can feel isolated and detached.
I pay great tribute to Scarborough and Ryedale carers resource centre, which is based in Pickering and does a tremendous job. It forms a network for the many carers in the area and ensures that carers receive key advice. However, as I have said, some 80 per cent. of carers in my constituency do not recognise that they are carers. My estimate is that at least 12,000 people in Scarborough and Whitby are in that situation--and they make up a large part of the social fabric of my constituency. If they are supported, it is through the partnership of North Yorkshire county council and City of York council, but at the point of delivery the support is provided by the voluntary sector and the mutual support of other carers.
Mrs. Sylvia Heal (Halesowen and Rowley Regis):
In the knowledge that I am repeating what has already been said, I wish to add my personal congratulations to my hon. Friend the Member for Stalybridge and Hyde (Mr. Pendry) on coming first in the ballot and on his excellent good sense and judgment in choosing this issue for his Bill. I am delighted to be able to contribute to the debate, having worked for so many years on carers' issues. It gives me particular pleasure because I was also involved in the development of the Carers (Recognition and Services) Act 1995, which was sponsored by my hon. Friend the Member for Croydon, North (Mr. Wicks), when I was working for the Carers National Association.
The Bill is welcomed by carers and disability organisations, as well as the many carers who are likely to benefit from it. However, many people will not immediately recognise how the Bill could improve the quality of their lives, simply because they do not recognises that they are carers.
Over the past 20 years, great steps have been taken in recognising the situation of people who care for relatives or friends at home. Carers have been recognised in policy statements, but have not always had their needs met with appropriate services and support. Like my hon. Friend the Member for Scarborough and Whitby (Mr. Quinn), I recall a carer saying, "Who cares for the carer?" This Bill will go a long way to providing some of the care and support that they need. It makes good moral and social, as well as economic, sense to support carers.
We have heard estimates that one in eight people in Britain are carers, which is some 6 million people. Of those, we estimate that 1.7 million could benefit from the Bill. Those figures are likely to be underestimates, because many people who care for members of their family are unknown to the statutory services and would not label themselves as carers.
Carers' needs are diverse. Their first concern is always the well-being of the person for whom they care. However, emotional support, relief from isolation, receipt of reliable services, information and recognition of their role are all important in supporting carers. From experience, including the knowledge and understanding I have gained from carers in my constituency, I know that this Bill provides the right legislative framework to provide the right support for carers. That is something for which carers have been fighting for many years, and it gives me great pleasure to be able to contribute to the process.
I also feel positive that the Bill takes forward the national strategy for carers, which was first announced by the Prime Minister in June 1998. I agree wholeheartedly with the Prime Minister that we "must do more" for carers. The Bill shows that that strategy is not simply a document gathering dust on a shelf and it is not simply a pile of words and aspirations. The Bill shows that we have a real commitment to turn those pledges into practice and to ensure that the strategy makes a real difference to carers' lives.
The Carers (Recognition and Services) Act 1995 was a good piece of legislation, but it has had its difficulties. Therefore, I am delighted that we are being given an opportunity to iron out those difficulties. The sorry evidence from the Carers National Association is that carers have been refused their own assessments, either because the person they care for refuses an assessment or has already been assessed. I welcome the fact, therefore, that the Bill will give carers a right to an assessment of their own needs even though the person for whom they are caring refuses an assessment.
My hon. Friend the Member for Stalybridge and Hyde has already referred to Sheila, the carer from Cardiff who joined us last Tuesday. She made a great impression on all those who heard her story of everyday life. Her daughter, who has mental health problems, refused an assessment, and that may have been based on her loss of trust in the professionals who were working with her. The consequences for Sheila include nights of broken sleep, worries about the next episode, the loss of a career she
loved and had trained for, and the strain of constant care. All of that has taken its toll on Sheila's health. Had Sheila had the benefit of the Bill, she would have been able to fight for something for herself.
Having worked on the development and implementation of the Carers (Recognition and Services) Act 1995, I know the importance and value of ensuring that groups of carers are not forgotten. I noted from the copy of the Bill that the new rights to assessments only cover adults over the age of 16 who care for adults. Surely it is not the intention of the Bill to exclude parent carers from that provision and I note that parent carers are included elsewhere in the Bill. I would certainly welcome further clarification on the thinking behind the drafting of the relevant clause. I know that that would be warmly welcomed by parents of disabled children and the organisations representing them, such as Contact A Family.
Secondly, I welcome the new rights that carers will be given to receive services. People like Harold and Daphne would be delighted to know that. Harold is extremely proud of the fact that he has been married to Daphne for the past 59 years. For the past 10, Harold has been quite severely physically disabled, and Daphne provides round-the-clock care. Harold gets extremely annoyed that Daphne, as his carer, cannot receive the simple services that would help her to care for him. They do not want personal care from an "outsider", as they call it, feeling that that would mean too much disruption. They want help with the housework and the gardening, and they cannot get it. It causes Daphne a lot of distress, on top of the caring that she already provides. It also means that she cannot spend quality time with her husband, something that they both miss. I hope that the Bill will give Daphne access to the help that she needs.
Thirdly, I welcome the proposed direct payments and voucher schemes. Again, I have heard many stories about how difficult it can be to have a service arranged. Carers have always said that they want flexibility and choice; they want more control over their lives, rather than someone controlling them. We have seen what a huge difference direct payments have made to disabled people's lives, and I am delighted that such flexibility is being extended to carers.
The Council for Disabled Children and Contact A Family welcome the proposal and see how it could be helpful. But they, too, have some concerns and hope that when practicable, there will be consultation with parents.
As someone who has campaigned for greater awareness of the contribution by young carers and for support for them, I am particularly pleased that direct payments will be available to young carers aged 16 and 17. While I do not wish any young person to have inappropriate caring responsibilities, I realise that many children and young people cope with considerable caring and household responsibilities to an extent that would daunt many adults.
The provisions in the Bill concerning payments for 16 and 17-year-old carers are clearly drawn, with safeguards in mind, to ensure that services are safe and that the young carer can manage the process. Local authorities, when considering offering direct payments to both groups of young people will, I am sure, take into account the principle enshrined in the Children Act 1989 that the child's welfare is paramount.
I believe that vouchers will also give far more flexibility to carers. I was struck by the case of Evelyn, who cares for her elderly father. She received the
horrifying news that her daughter had been diagnosed with cancer and was severely ill. She desperately needed to be with her daughter, but could not go because it did not fit in with her time allocated for breaks. In the end, Evelyn did get time off, but it was a long, hard fight. She should not have had to fight. Again, the stress took its toll on Evelyn and, no doubt, on her daughter. Vouchers might have given Evelyn the freedom to organise her breaks differently, which is why I warmly welcome the provision.
When we talk about breaks, I emphasise that we are talking about relatively short periods of time off from caring to do the things that most of us take for granted, such as going shopping, getting a haircut, seeing a film, reading the newspaper and having a bath or shower without being interrupted. One parent carer said, "Getting a haircut makes me feel human. It's the only thing I ask for." Such breaks are vital for carers to maintain their own health and well-being.
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