Carers (Hansard, 22 February 1999)

§ Ms Kelly
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will estimate the number of carers who are currently pursuing (i) part-time and (ii) full-time courses of further or higher education in(a) Bolton, (b) the North West and (c) England; [70793]

(2) what is his estimate of the number of carers in (a) Bolton, (b) the North West and (c) England; [70791]

(3) what is his estimate of the number of carers over the age of 25 years in (a) Bolton, (b) the North West and (c) England. [70792]

§ Mr. Hutton
There are an estimated 4.9 million carers in England, of whom 4.6 million are over the age of 25 years. Of these, around 900,000 (800,000 of whom are aged over 25) are in the North West. This information comes from the General Household Survey for 1995 and cannot be used reliably to estimate the numbers of carers in individual cities or local authority areas. The General Household Survey also suggests that around 2 per cent. of carers are in full-time education in England. The numbers in the survey are too small to allow estimates to be made for the North West or for Bolton. There is no information on part-time students in the General Household Survey.

§ Ms Kelly
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of the factors which prevent those carers who wish to enter further or higher education from so doing; [70801]
(2) what plans he has to enable carers to pay for substitute care when pursuing a course of further or higher education. [70800]

§ Mr. Hutton
Carers may be prevented from entering further or higher education by the extent of their caring responsibilities, particularly if they are providing care for a large number of hours each week. Other factors which may have an effect include the availability of substitute care and the effects of caring on the carer's own health and wellbeing. Our National Strategy for Carers, "Caring about Carers", copies of which are in the Library, sets out proposals to meet carers' needs better than in the past. The availability of substitute care, to give carers a break from their caring responsibilities, will be enhanced by additional funding of £140 million over the next three years for England.

§ Mr. Page
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if the extra moneys for carers announced on 8 February 1999,Official Report, columns 21–33, will be paid (a) through local authorities, (b) direct to carers or (c) by other means. [70894]

§ Mr. Hutton
The additional £140 million to help carers to have a break from their caring responsibilities will be paid as a special grant and included in allocations to local authorities. The draft special grant report will be published shortly.

§ Mr. Page
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much per carer for years(a) 1999–2000, (b) 2000–01 and (c) 2001–02 will be provided by the £140 million additional 132W funding for England announced on 8 February 1999, Official Report, columns 21–33, (a) in England, (b) in south-west Hertfordshire and (c) in Hertfordshire. [70895]

§ Mr. Hutton
Local authorities, together with their health authority partners, will be responsible for assessing the needs of carers in their area for services to allow them to have a break from their caring responsibilities, for establishing whether current services meet carers' needs and for extending the range of services provided where this appears necessary. They will also be responsible for deciding who is eligible to receive services. In assessing how to use the additional funding, local authorities will take account of their current expenditure on respite care.