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Carers (Identification and Support) Bill


 

Carers (Identification and Support) Bill

 

 
 

Contents

1   

Health promotion of carers

2   

Children's services: duties with respect to young carers

3   

Social services: duties with respect to parents

4   

Social services: duties with respect to sibling carers

5   

General duties to young carers and their families

6   

Expenses

7   

Interpretation

8   

Amendment to Local Authority Social Services Act 1970

9   

Short title, commencement and extent

 

Bill 92                                                                                                 

54/2

 
 

Carers (Identification and Support) Bill

1

 

A

Bill

To

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

shall—

(a)   

promote and safeguard the health and welfare of carers in England and

Wales;

5

(b)   

ensure that effective procedures exist to identify patients who are

carers;

(c)   

ensure that the general medical services rendered to their patients who

are carers include all necessary and appropriate support and services

including—

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;

 
Bill 92 54/2
 
 

Carers (Identification and Support) Bill

2

 

(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)

Act 2006 (c. 42); and

(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

carers.

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

Act,—

(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

carers.

(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

services it must—

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(a)   

ascertain whether that person has parenting responsibilities, and, if so,

(b)   

consider what support services are required to sustain him in his

parenting role.

(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.

 
 

Carers (Identification and Support) Bill

3

 

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.

6       

Expenses

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.

7       

Interpretation

(1)   

In this 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)

Act 2006 (c. 42);

“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

relation to Wales);

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

 
 

Carers (Identification and Support) Bill

4

 

end there shall be inserted—

 

“Carers (Identification and

   
 

Support) Act 2007

   
 

Sections 3, 4 and 5

Duties to disabled parents and

 
   

young carers.”

 

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

purposes.

(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

Parliament.

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(7)   

This Act extends to England and Wales only.

 
 

 
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