§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how he intends to insure that carers are aware of their rights under the Carers Recognition and Services Act 1995. [2872]
§ Mr. BoatengThe Department's Guidance and Practice Guide on implementing the Act require social services departments to ensure that their published information on community care tells carers about their rights under the Act.
Information should be available to carers when they need it; it should be accessible to all members of the community and easy to understand. It should also be part of routine assessment practice and, specifically, authorities are expected to inform carers who appear to be eligible under the Act of their right to request an assessment.
As part of our programme of research on community care, we are considering the impact of the Act. An inspection by the Social Services Inspectorate is also in preparation, which will look at how local authorities are implementing the Act.