§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what plans he has to respond to the recommendations made in the report by the Carers National Association, "Still Battling—the Carers Act" one year on;. [3080]
(2) if he will ensure the implementation of all the provisions of the Carers (Recognition and Services) Act 1995. [3186]
§ Mr. BoatengWe strongly support the principles of the Carers (Recognition and Services) Act. We welcome Carers National' Association's report which considers the impact of the Act, in particular carers' take-up of rights under the Act and the approach taken by local authorities to implementing its provisions. The report also notes the value of the Department's guidance on implementation, which was issued to authorities in February 1996.
We have regular and close contact with the Association through which we wish to explore and to clarify a number of the points raised in the report.
As part of our programme of research into community care outcomes, we are looking at the impact of the Act. In the more immediate future, a Social Services Inspectorate inspection on care support is in preparation. Taking forward earlier work, this will concentrate on how local authorities are implementing the Act.