§ Ms ShipleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what initiatives the Government are undertaking to address problems faced by young carers. [66059]
§ Mr. HuttonThe National Strategy for Carers, announced by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister last June, has been looking in depth at the needs of young carers, including, among other issues, at what action is already being taken through schools and how that can be enhanced. A United Kingdom consultative conference was held on 19 November 1998 to discuss how the needs of all carers might be better met and among the delegates present were representatives of young carers organisations. Through our national priorities guidance for health and social services authorities, we are also asking general practitioners, primary care teams and social services authorities to identify carers. We are also testing a new data collection system, the Referrals, Assessments and Packages of Care, in social services departments. Under this system, social services authorities will collect information about the assessments undertaken and carers identified. The data will be broken down by broad age group, including for young people under 18.