Government unveils £255 million drive 'to improve lives of carers' » Communities » 24dash.com

A new £255 million drive to improve the lives of carers was unveiled by the Government today.

The 10-year plan will see £150 million invested in short breaks, effectively doubling the amount of respite care available over two years.

Carers will be helped to stay on at work through £38 million of new funding and annual health checks will be piloted to look after their physical and emotional health.

The views of more than 33,000 people were taken into account in forming the strategy, the Government said.

Young people who care for sick parents and relatives are also a focus, with £6 million set aside to prevent them from taking on an "inappropriate" level of responsibility.

GPs will also receive extra training to recognise the role carers play and the effects on their health. The use of direct payments will also be encouraged.

Health minister, Ivan Lewis, said: "In a society where an increasing number of us are caring for ageing parents or sick and disabled relatives, it is right that we recognise carers are at the heart of 21st century families and communities.

"In the next decade elder care will be the new childcare and it is essential our policies properly meet the scale of the challenge.

"An extra £150m for short breaks will double the amount of respite care available over two years, £6 million will be made available to support professionals to ensure no child has their childhood stolen through taking on inappropriate caring responsibilities and £38m will help carers who want to combine a job with their caring role.

"A further £61m will be aimed at enhancing support to voluntary organisations and ensuring NHS and social care professionals focus on the specific emotional and health needs of carers."

The new cross-Government strategy aims to look at more than health, taking in housing, benefits and education.

Children's Minister, Kevin Brennan, said: "Too often young carers take on caring roles that are too much for them, which can harm their education and broader outcomes.

"We need to do more to prevent this. We want to improve support to families with young carers so they are better protected and have the same opportunities to learn and achieve as other young people do. We also want to make sure that schools and other frontline services can better identify young carers and know how to support them."

Minister for Women and Equality, Harriet Harman, said: "Caring affects everyone.

"Most caring of older and disabled people is by family members.

"And as the number of people over 85 is set to double in the next 20 years this will be an issue for more and more families."

She said 70% of care in the family is by women.

"This is despite the fact that our new research shows that most people think men and women should share caring responsibilities equally."

Government figures show there are currently about 5.2 million carers in England and Wales. Almost half of them provide more than 20 hours' care a week and more than a million provide more than 50 hours' care a week.