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