Councils implementation of Care Act 'inadequate', Shadow Minister warns

Under new rules which came into force this April as part of the 2014 Care Act, local authorities now have a duty to provide services to carers that prevent, reduce or delay them developing a need for support.

Referring to the change, Ms Keeley said: “We know that councils are under increasing financial pressure with funding cuts of over £4.6 billion already made to social care budgets.

“When the Government creates new duties to carers for councils, it must also provide councils with the funding needed to provide a sustainable social care system. This is essential to enable councils to meet their duties to carers and to the people they care for.” 

Carers Trust, the largest charity for unpaid carers, has also raised concerns that carers are at risk of ‘burning out’ and has urged Councils across England to adopt a new preventative strategy.

A  new reportpublished today by Carers Trust found that few local authorities have outlined how they are protecting carers’ health and preventing them developing a need for support.

Just 17 (13%) of the 132 local authorities the charity contacted stated that they are working to identify carers and of the 23 councils that mentioned having a prevention strategy in place, few provided details on the support they are providing specifically to help carers.

Dr Moira Fraser, Director of Policy and Research for Carers Trust, said:

“The Care Act brought in a vital duty to ensure carers are supported before they reach breaking point, not when they already have. Local authorities need to make it clear what their strategies are to ensure that carers are not left struggling because they haven’t been identified and properly supported.”  

The findings came to light after Carers Trust made a Freedom of Information request to 147 local councils asking how they are meeting their new duties to protect carers introduced by the Care Act. The charity received responses from 132 councils.

Responding to the report’s findings, Ms Keeley added: “We want carers to know the different kinds of help and support that are available to them as soon as possible, not at the point when they have already burnt out and are desperate for help.”

“Despite the Care Act coming into force in April 2015 the report tells us that only 27% of councils responding mentioned a prevention strategy.

“Only 8% of councils said that they had a strategy in place to meet the new duty to carers. This does not represent adequate progress. Carers are individuals with their own specific needs and prevention strategies need to be put in place to ensure that all carers are given the right advice and support.”

There are currently 5.4 million carers in England, with this number set to rise as the population increases and people live longer.