Cash boost to improve carers' lives
Updated on 10 June 2008
The Government is to spend £255 million on a ten-year plan to improve the lives of carers.
It will see £150 million spent on short breaks, effectively doubling the amount of respite care available over two years.
Another £38 million will be spent on helping carers stay on at work, 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.
A further £61 million 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.
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."
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."
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.
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