The Commitments

The £255m commitments for this CSR, 2008-11, in addition to £22 million already committed:

Information and advice

Providing every carer with the opportunity to access comprehensive information when they need to. The information will be easily accessible for all groups of carers, and specific to their locality

New break provision

£150 million provided in a flexible way, which meets the personal needs of carers and the people they support
Pilots (£4m) will help to develop models of break provision that demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of breaks and help identify what constitutes high-quality provision based on carers’ needs

Expanded NHS services

Pilots to look at how the NHS can better support carers in their caring role through developing models of best practice and enabling more joined-up service provision between the NHS, local authorities and the third sector
Pilots to improve the support offered by GPs for carers
Piloting annual health checks for carers

Employment and skills

Up to £38 million to enable carers to combine paid employment and caring role or re-enter the job market, through encouraging flexible working opportunities and increased training provision

Emotional support

Improving the emotional support offered by central, local government and the third sector to carers

Young carers

Over £6 million to ensure young carers are protected from inappropriate caring and receive the broader support they need. Through:

strengthening support from universal and targeted services;
strengthening the quality and join-up of support around families so children are better protected from inappropriate caring.

Expert partners in care (Expert Carers Programme is renamed Caring with Confidence)

Training carers to strengthen them in their caring role and empower them in dealings with care professionals

Workforce

Training professionals across the board, from health to housing, to provide better services and support

Third sector

Ensure that third sector support for carers is available throughout the country to a larger proportion of carers

Information about carers

Provide vital data about carers to aid local and national commissioners and policy makers
Establishing a standard definition of carers across government

The longer term, 2011-18

Identified priorities from 2011 onwards are summarised below (see pp10-14):

Carers able to access specialist carers’ services in every community.
Consider extending flexibility in the way personal budgets and direct payments can be used
Where appropriate, carers offered a lead professional to help access services and ensure early intervention
Review benefits available to carers in the context of benefit reform and the review of care and support
Consider further increases to break provision taking account of evidence about quality and outcomes
Disseminate models of best practice on quality and innovative approaches to break provision from pilots
Disseminate models of best practice to primary care trusts (PCTs) on how to provide better support for carers
Develop a full training package for all GPs, dependent on the results of the pilots;
Consider providing carers across the country with annual health checks
Consider providing replacement care for carers to attend hospital appointments and screenings
Further discussions with GPs and other health professionals on focusing on the distinct needs of carers
Ensure protections for young carers are fully embedded in the light of research findings over next two years
Review legislation around information sharing, especially in cases where mental capacity is an issue
Review the national indicator set to ensure that carers’ experience of services is measured
Develop relationship between local authorities, the third sector and carer-led organisations can be developed to make better use these organisations’ expertise and provide carers with greater choice and control. As part of this, examine how best to utilise the Carers Grant to the benefit of carers