Carers (Hansard, 15 June 2004)

§ Helen Jones
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of carers of working age who gave up jobs to care for a sick or disabled relative in each of the last five years. [178199]

§ Dr. Ladyman
The Government have made no estimate of the number of carers of working age who have given up work to provide care.

§ Mr. Tynan
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in(a) the UK and (b) Scotland are carers; and what the estimated cost of paid carers being substituted for the care they provide would be. [178596]

§ Dr. Ladyman
The number of people providing unpaid care in England as recorded in the 2001 Census 891W is 4.9 million. The Government have made no estimate of the cost of paid carers being substituted for the care they provide.
Matters relating to Scotland and Wales are matters for the devolved administration. While the institutions in Northern Ireland are dissolved, responsibility rests with the Northern Ireland Office.

§ Mr. Tynan
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of carers in(a) the UK and (b) Scotland have access to respite care. [178599]

§ Dr. Ladyman
The information on the proportion of carers in England that have access to short breaks is not held centrally. Local authority data showed that the 2002–03 Carers' Grant provided 2,140,632 breaks for 143,231 carers, with 31,082 carers benefiting from the services provided directly to them.
Matters relating to Scotland and Wales are matters for the Devolved Administration. While the institutions in Northern Ireland are dissolved, responsibility rests with the Northern Ireland Office.