|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
require
health bodies to identify patients who are carers or who have
a carer; |
|
|
to require identified carers
to be referred to sources of help and support and to |
|
|
make further provision in
relation to such arrangements; to make provision in |
|
|
relation to the responsibilities
of local authorities and schools for the needs of |
|
|
young carers and their families;
and for connected purposes. |
|
|
Be
it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty,
by and with the advice and |
|
|
consent of the Lords Spiritual
and Temporal, and Commons, in this present |
|
|
Parliament assembled,
and by the authority of the same, as follows:— |
|
|
1 |
Health
promotion of carers |
|
|
(1) |
In exercising their functions
Primary Care Trusts and Local Health Boards |
|
|
|
|
(a) |
promote and safeguard the
health and welfare of carers in England and |
|
|
|
5 |
(b) |
ensure that effective procedures
exist to identify patients who are |
|
|
|
|
(c) |
ensure that the general
medical services rendered to their patients who |
|
|
are carers include all necessary
and appropriate support and services |
|
|
|
10 |
(i) |
ensuring that carers’
needs are taken into account in relation to |
|
|
the allocation of appointments,
procedures for issuing |
|
|
prescriptions, and waiting
room arrangements; |
|
|
(ii) |
giving advice, where
appropriate, to a patient who is a carer, in |
|
|
particular about the
significance for the carer’s health of the |
|
15 |
provision of care to
a disabled or chronically ill person; |
|
|
(iii) |
offering to patients
who are carers, consultations and, where |
|
|
appropriate, physical
examinations for the purpose of |
|
|
identifying, or reducing
the risk of disease or injury; |
|
|
(iv) |
offering routine consultations
and, where appropriate, physical |
|
20 |
examinations, in accordance
with sub-paragraph (ii) to patients |
|
|
who are carers and whose
health is judged to be at risk because |
|
|
of their caring responsibilities; |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
(v) |
arranging
for the referral of patients, as appropriate, for the |
|
|
provision of any other
services under the National Health
|
|
|
Service
Act 2006 (c. 41) or the National
Health Service (Wales) |
|
|
|
|
(vi) |
giving advice, as appropriate,
to enable patients who are carers, |
|
5 |
to avail themselves of
services by a local social services |
|
|
authority and other local
support, including advocacy. |
|
|
(2) |
In relation to subsections
1(b) and 1(c), the Secretary of State may by |
|
|
regulations further provide
for the strategies to be developed by Primary Care |
|
|
Trusts and Local Health
Boards to identify and support patients who are |
|
10 |
|
|
2 |
Children's
services: duties with respect to young carers |
|
|
(1) |
A local authority must
ensure that, within 12 months of the passing of this |
|
|
|
|
(a) |
any school within its area
and under its control, and |
|
15 |
(b) |
any children’s services
authority under its control |
|
|
|
has
in place a policy on the provision of support for pupils who
are young |
|
|
|
|
(2) |
In discharging its duty
under subsection (1), a local authority must have regard |
|
|
to any guidance given from
time to time by the Secretary of State. |
|
20 |
3 |
Social
services: duties with respect to parents |
|
|
(1) |
In any case where a local
authority carries out an assessment under section |
|
|
47(1)(a) of the National
Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 (c. 19)
(a |
|
|
“community care assessment”)
of the needs of a person for community care |
|
|
|
25 |
(a) |
ascertain whether that person
has parenting responsibilities, and, if so, |
|
|
(b) |
consider what support services
are required to sustain him in his |
|
|
|
|
(2) |
Where a community care
assessment has established that an adult relies for |
|
|
support on the caring role
of a child, such that the child’s health, well-being or
|
|
30 |
development could be impaired,
it shall be the duty of the local authority to |
|
|
offer that adult support
services to ensure that the adult has an alternative |
|
|
source of support to that
provided by their child. |
|
|
4 |
Social
services: duties with respect to sibling carers |
|
|
In any case where a local
authority assesses the needs of a disabled child for the |
|
35 |
purposes of Part III of
the Children Act 1989 (c. 41)
or section 2 of the |
|
|
Chronically
Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 (c. 44) it must— |
|
|
(a) |
ascertain whether any person
with parental responsibility for the child |
|
|
relies for support on the
caring role of another child and, if so, |
|
|
(b) |
offer that person support
services to ensure that he has an alternative |
|
40 |
source of support to that
provided by the child. |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
5 |
General
duties to young carers and their families |
|
|
(1) |
It shall be a duty of
a local authority to ensure that, within 6 months of the |
|
|
coming into force of this
Act, a protocol is published which specifies how the |
|
|
authority’s children’s
and adults’ services will work collaboratively in the
|
|
|
assessment of need and
the provision of services for any member of a family |
|
5 |
ordinarily resident within
that authority’s area where both an adult member or |
|
|
members of that family
and a child or children within that family appear to that |
|
|
authority to be in need
of community care services or children’s services. |
|
|
(2) |
In discharging its duty
under subsection (1), the local authority must ensure |
|
|
that the protocol is agreed
between its director of children’s services and its |
|
10 |
director of adults’
services. |
|
|
|
|
There
shall be paid out of money provided by Parliament— |
|
|
(a) |
any
sums to be paid by the Secretary of State for or in connection
with the |
|
|
carrying
out of his functions under this Act; and |
|
15 |
(b) |
any
increase attributable to this Act in the sums which are payable
out of |
|
|
money
so provided under any other Act. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
“carer” has
the same meaning as in section 1 of the Carers
(Recognition |
|
20 |
and
Services) Act 1995 (c. 12) and section 1 the Carers
and Disabled |
|
|
Children
Act 2000 (c. 16); |
|
|
“children’s
services” means services that could be provided under
section |
|
|
17(1) of the Children
Act 1989 (c. 41); |
|
|
“community care
services” has the same meaning as in section 46(3) of
the |
|
25 |
National
Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 (c. 19); |
|
|
“general medical
services” has the same meaning as in the National
|
|
|
Health
Service Act 2006 (c. 41) and the National
Health Service (Wales) |
|
|
|
|
“local authority”
means the council of a non-metropolitan county, of a |
|
30 |
county borough or of a
metropolitan district or London borough, or the |
|
|
Common Council of the City
of London; |
|
|
“regulations”
means regulations made by statutory instrument by the |
|
|
Secretary of State (in
relation to England) or by the Welsh Ministers (in |
|
|
|
35 |
“young carer”
means a person under 18 years of age who carries out |
|
|
caring tasks and assumes
a level of responsibility for another person |
|
|
which would normally be
carried out by an adult. |
|
|
(2) |
Regulations may make different
provision for different cases and may include |
|
|
such supplementary, incidental,
consequential and transitional provisions and |
|
40 |
savings as the Secretary
of State (or the Welsh Ministers for Wales) thinks fit. |
|
|
8 |
Amendment
to Local Authority Social Services Act 1970 |
|
|
In Schedule 1 to the Local
Authority Social Services Act 1970 (c. 42) |
|
|
(enactments conferring
functions assigned to social services committees) at the |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
end there shall be inserted— |
|
|
| |
“Carers
(Identification and |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Duties to disabled
parents and |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
5 |
|
9 |
Short
title, commencement and extent |
|
|
(1) |
This Act may be cited as
the Carers (Identification and Support) Act 2007. |
|
|
(2) |
Apart from this section,
this Act comes into force on such days as may be |
|
|
appointed by order made
by statutory instrument. |
|
|
(3) |
An order under subsection
(2) is to be made— |
|
10 |
(a) |
in relation to England,
by the Secretary of State; and |
|
|
(b) |
in relation to Wales, by
the Welsh Ministers. |
|
|
(4) |
Different days may be
appointed for different provisions or for different |
|
|
|
|
(5) |
The Secretary of State
may by order made by statutory instrument provide that |
|
15 |
this Act shall have effect
in its application to the Isles of Scilly with such |
|
|
modifications as are specified
in the order. |
|
|
(6) |
A statutory instrument
containing an order under subsection (5) shall be |
|
|
subject to annulment in
pursuance of a resolution of either House of |
|
|
|
20 |
(7) |
This Act extends to England
and Wales only. |
|
|
| |
|
|
