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Require
health bodies and general medical practitioners, and certain other
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organisations, to identify
patients who are carers or who have a carer; to |
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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
general medical practitioners, Primary Care Trusts |
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and Local Health Boards shall— |
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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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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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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 or the National Health
Service (Wales) Act |
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(vi) |
giving advice, as appropriate,
to enable patients who are carers, |
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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 made by statutory
instrument further provide for the strategies to |
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be developed by general medical
practitioners, Primary Care Trusts and Local |
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Health Boards to identify
and support patients who are carers. |
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(3) |
Regulations made under subsection
(2) are subject to annulment in pursuance |
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of a resolution of either
House of Parliament. |
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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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(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 (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 that person in |
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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 or section
2 of the Chronically Sick |
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and
Disabled Persons Act 1970 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 that person has an |
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alternative 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 any increase
attributable to |
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this
Act in the sums payable out of money so provided by virtue of
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 and section 1 of the Carers
and Disabled |
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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; |
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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; |
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“general medical
practitioner” means a person registered in the General |
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Practitioner Register kept
by the General Medical Council; |
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“general medical
services” has the same meaning as in the National
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Health
Service Act 2006 and the National
Health Service (Wales) Act |
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“local authority”
means, in relation to England, a county council, district |
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council, London borough council,
the Greater London Authority or the |
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Common Council of the City
of London and, in relation to Wales, a |
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county council or county
borough council; |
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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 made by statutory
instrument may make different provision for |
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different cases and may include
such supplementary, incidental, consequential |
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and transitional provisions
and savings as the Secretary of State (or the Welsh |
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Ministers for Wales) thinks
fit. |
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(3) |
Regulations made under subsection
(2) are subject to annulment in pursuance |
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of a resolution of either
House of Parliament. |
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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 (social services |
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functions) at the end there
shall be inserted— |
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“Carers (Identification
and |
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5 |
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Duties to disabled
parents and |
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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 2011. |
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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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this Act shall have effect
in its application to the Isles of Scilly with such |
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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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(7) |
This Act extends to England
and Wales only. |
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