PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Carers (8 February 2021)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to collect data on carers’ assessments and carers’ respite provision at a national level; and if he will make a statement.

Asked by:
Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat)

NHS Digital collect annual information from local authorities in England detailing support provided for both new and already known carers. This support can be the outcome of a carer assessment or a carer review. Carers are included if they were receiving ongoing support during the year, even if no review of those arrangements took place. Information is provided relating to the type of support offered to the carer - for example, direct support such as ‘direct payments’ or ‘Councils with Adult Social Services Responsibilities (CASSR) managed Personal Budget’, or if support was directly arranged by the local authority for the cared-for person. This includes respite services.

Those carers assessed during the year but provided no support are also counted. In addition, last November we commissioned the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services to run a survey with local authorities to capture data on the current status of day services nationally to understand and help overcome the challenges in reopening and extending day care opportunities to enable carers to access respite.

Answered by:
Helen Whately (Conservative)
26 February 2021