Carers (Identification and Support) Bill

House of Commons

Session 2010 - 11
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Other Bills before Parliament

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

Financial provision

7

Interpretation

8

Amendment to Local Authority Social Services Act 1970

9

Short title, commencement and extent

Bill 55

55/1

Carers (Identification and Support) Bill

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A

Bill

To

Require health bodies and general medical practitioners, and certain other

organisations, 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 general medical practitioners, 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

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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

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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 55

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Carers (Identification and Support) Bill

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(v)

arranging for the referral of patients, as appropriate, for the

provision of any other services under the National Health

Service Act 2006 or the National Health Service (Wales) Act

2006; 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 made by statutory instrument further provide for the strategies to

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.

(3)

Regulations made under subsection (2) are subject to annulment in pursuance

of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

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

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Act,—

(a)

any school within its area and under its control, and

(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.

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(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.

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 (a

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“community care assessment”) of the needs of a person for community care

services it must—

(a)

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

(b)

consider what support services are required to sustain that person in

their parenting role.

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(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

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.

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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

purposes of Part III of the Children Act 1989 or section 2 of the Chronically Sick

and Disabled Persons Act 1970 it must—

(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,

(b)

offer that person support services to ensure that that person has an

alternative source of support to that provided by the child.

Carers (Identification and Support) Bill

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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

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director of adults’ services.

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Financial provision

There shall be paid out of money provided by Parliament any increase attributable to

this Act in the sums payable out of money so provided by virtue of any other Act.

7

Interpretation

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(1)

In this Act—

“carer” has the same meaning as in section 1 of the Carers (Recognition

and Services) Act 1995 and section 1 of the Carers and Disabled

Children Act 2000;

“children’s services” means services that could be provided under section

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17(1) of the Children Act 1989;

“community care services” has the same meaning as in section 46(3) of the

National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990;

“general medical practitioner” means a person registered in the General

Practitioner Register kept by the General Medical Council;

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“general medical services” has the same meaning as in the National

Health Service Act 2006 and the National Health Service (Wales) Act

2006;

“local authority” means, in relation to England, a county council, district

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

county council or county borough council;

“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);

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“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 made by statutory instrument may make different provision for

different cases and may include such supplementary, incidental, consequential

40

and transitional provisions and savings as the Secretary of State (or the Welsh

Ministers for Wales) thinks fit.

(3)

Regulations made under subsection (2) are subject to annulment in pursuance

of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

Carers (Identification and Support) Bill

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8

Amendment to Local Authority Social Services Act 1970

In Schedule 1 to the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970 (social services

functions) at the end there shall be inserted—

“Carers (Identification and

Support) Act 2011

5

Sections 3, 4 and 5

Duties to disabled parents and

young carers.”

9

Short title, commencement and extent

(1)

This Act may be cited as the Carers (Identification and Support) Act 2011.

(2)

Apart from this section, this Act comes into force on such days as may be

10

appointed by order made by statutory instrument.

(3)

An order under subsection (2) is to be made—

(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

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purposes.

(5)

The Secretary of State may by order made by statutory instrument provide that

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

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subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of

Parliament.

(7)

This Act extends to England and Wales only.