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156597

	registered interest
	date	19/11/2014
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Armed Forces: Young People
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2014 to Question 211635, what progress he has made on reviewing the cost-benefit analysis of the recruitment and training of minors; and when he plans to publish that report.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	215248
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/11/2014 answer text <p>The figures used in my right hon. Friend the Defence Secretary's letter of 1 August 2014 to the Defence Committee were taken from the final version of the cost-benefit analysis.</p><p>The report has been finalised and a copy is attached<ins class="ministerial">.</ins></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Broxtowe answering member printed Anna Soubry attachment 1 file name AFC CO's Supervisory Care Directive dated Sep 14.doc title Army Foundation College Supervisory Care Directive 2 file name 20140514-Junior Entry_CostBenefitAnalysis_CITGvs 8_OS (3)[2].doc title Army Junior Entry Training Cost Benefit Alalysis previous answer version 30263 answering member constituency Broxtowe answering member printed Anna Soubry answering member 3938 label Biography information for Anna Soubry 30492 answering member constituency Broxtowe answering member printed Anna Soubry attachment 1 file name 20140514-Junior Entry_CostBenefitAnalysis_CITGvs 8_OS (3).doc title Army Junior Entry Training Cost Benefit Alaysis 2 file name AFC CO's Supervisory Care Directive dated Sep 14.doc title Army Foundation College Supervisory Care Directive answering member 3938 label Biography information for Anna Soubry question first answered 27/11/2014 16:12:57 question first ministerially corrected 22/01/2015 10:42:29 answering member 3938 label Biography information for Anna Soubry
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1105553

	registered interest
	date	27/03/2019
	answering body	Department for Transport
	answering dept id	27
	answering dept short name	Transport
	answering dept sort name	Transport
	hansard heading	Offshore Industry: Helicopters
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Civil Aviation Authority team will take to engage with trade unions represented on the (a) Offshore Helicopter Safety Leadership and (b) Step Change in Safety groups when conducting its post-implementation review of offshore helicopter safety, CAP1145.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	237685
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/04/2019 answer text <p>The Offshore Helicopter Safety <del class="ministerial">Liaison</del> <ins class="ministerial">Leadership</ins> Group (OHSLG), which is co-chaired by the Civil Aviation Authority, includes representation from key organisations from across the industry, including helicopter operators, the oil and gas industry, the trade unions and ‘Step Change in Safety’. Trade unions will be able to engage with the review through the OHSLG.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 01/04/2019 14:24:16 question first ministerially corrected 03/04/2019 12:22:24 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman previous answer version 111140 answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

91677

	registered interest
	date	12/09/2014
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Home Care Services: Pay
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to tackle non-payment of the national minimum wage in the home care sector; and what assessment he has made of the accuracy of the estimate of the numbers not in receipt of the national minimum wage in paragraph 2.20 of the National Audit Office report, Adult social care in England: overview, HC 1102.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	209189
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/10/2014 answer text <p>The Government is committed to increasing compliance with minimum wage legislation and the effective enforcement of it. Everyone who is entitled to the minimum wage should receive it.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has collaborated with care sector representative bodies to improve understanding of compliance risks and design controls within payroll systems that prevent workers being underpaid the minimum wage, in order to improve compliance.</p><p> </p><p>Guidance on Gov.uk has been updated to make it as clear as possible that travel time and rest breaks between assignments must be paid at least the national minimum wage (NMW).</p><p> </p><p>In addition, the Government will continue to work with the sector to ensure that understanding improves. This will include the Department of Health’s statutory guidance as part of the overall guidance on market shaping and commissioning the final version of which will be published in Autumn 2014.</p><p> </p><p>We have considered the National Audit Office report and note that their estimates come from a self-reported survey of care workers. Examination of surveys of individuals (such as the Labour Force Survey) find that some people tend to report longer working hours and a lower hourly rate compared to those reported by employers who pay the minimum wage.</p><p> </p><p>The current best estimate of non-compliance is derived from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE)[1]. The Low Pay Commission[2] published the proportion of jobs held by those aged 22 and over, paid below the NMW by sector. Figures show that non-compliance is relatively low in social care (0.8%) compared with other sectors. This is generally in line with non-compliance in the whole economy.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>This estimate, as well as all estimates of non-compliance, has some limitations. However, there are no reasons to suppose that these limitations affect the social care sector more or less than the econom<ins class="ministerial">y</ins> <ins class="ministerial">as a whole.</ins></p><p> </p><p>[1] ASHE is a survey of employees completed by employers which we can use to look at workers earning at or below the NMW rate.</p><p>[2]<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/288841/The_National_Minimum_Wage_LPC_Report_2014.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/288841/The_National_Minimum_Wage_LPC_Report_2014.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 13/10/2014 14:26:37 question first ministerially corrected 13/10/2014 15:49:32 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson previous answer version 21455 answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

175823

	registered interest
	date	26/01/2015
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Offshore Industry: Safety
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many improvement notices were issued to oil and gas companies operating in the North Sea by the Health and Safety Executive in the period from 1 January 2014 to date; and in how many such cases the company has yet to comply with the improvement notice.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	221934
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/01/2015 answer text <p>Since January 2014<ins class="ministerial">, in relation to oil and gas extraction operations in the North Sea,</ins> <del class="ministerial">HSE has served 64</del><ins class="ministerial">36</ins> Improvement Notices <ins class="ministerial">have been served.</ins><del class="ministerial">relating to oil and gas extraction on the UK Continental Shelf.</del></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">Of these, </ins><del class="ministerial">The period for compliance has expired for 40</del><ins class="ministerial">21</ins><del class="ministerial"> of these</del> notices <del class="ministerial">and all</del> have been complied with. <ins class="ministerial">10 have not yet expired, and five</ins><del class="ministerial">Four</del> notices are subject to appeal and so are suspended until the appeal process is complete.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Forest of Dean answering member printed Mr Mark Harper question first answered 29/01/2015 14:32:34 question first ministerially corrected 25/03/2015 17:43:45 answering member 1520 label Biography information for Mr Mark Harper previous answer version 41785 answering member constituency Forest of Dean answering member printed Mr Mark Harper answering member 1520 label Biography information for Mr Mark Harper
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

388611

	registered interest
	date	08/07/2015
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	British Nationals Abroad: Homicide
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many British nationals were murdered abroad in each year since 2010; and in which countries those deaths took place.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	6146
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/07/2015 answer text <p>The Foreign and Commonwealth Office only captures information about cases that come to our attention, rather than holding definitive information on the total number of UK nationals who are victims of murder and manslaughter overseas.</p><p>The FCO has provided assistance to the following number of cases recorded as murder and manslaughter in each of the last five years:</p><p>2010 <del class="ministerial">46</del><ins class="ministerial">68</ins><br />2011 <del class="ministerial">70</del><ins class="ministerial">78</ins><br />2012 <del class="ministerial">59</del><ins class="ministerial">53</ins><br />2013 <del class="ministerial">76</del><ins class="ministerial">78</ins><br />2014 <del class="ministerial">89</del><ins class="ministerial">84</ins><br />2015 <del class="ministerial">67 (up to and including July 2015)</del><ins class="ministerial">88</ins>.</p><p>In January 2015, the FCO established a new dedicated team to lead on murder and manslaughter cases. These cases have occurred throughout the world in the past five years. Since January, deaths have occurred in Afghanistan, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, France, Ghana, India, Kenya, Mexico, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, South Africa, South Sudan, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Trinidad &amp; Tobago, Tunisia, USA, and Zambia.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood previous answer version 13825 answering member constituency Rochford and Southend East answering member printed James Duddridge answering member 1559 14118 answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood question first answered 14/07/2015 15:57:15 question first ministerially corrected 16/03/2016 10:24:42 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

895376

	registered interest
	date	01/05/2018
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Offshore Industry: Air Pollution
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many hydrocarbon releases from oil and gas installations on the UK continental shelf were recorded by the Health and Safety Executive in each year from 2000 to 2017.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	140076
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/05/2018 answer text <p>The Health and Safety Executive has recorded the following hydrocarbon releases (HCRs) by year:</p><p> </p><p>2000 264</p><p>2001 251</p><p>2002 242</p><p>2003 242</p><p>2004 273</p><p>2005 224</p><p>2006 190</p><p>2007 185</p><p>2008 147</p><p>2009 179</p><p>2010 186</p><p>2011 142</p><p>2012 105</p><p>2013 118</p><p>2014 94</p><p>2015 93</p><p>2016 101(p)</p><p>2017 103(p)</p><p> </p><p>Final figures for 2016 will be confirmed and published with the provisional figures for 2017 as part of the Health and Safety Executive’s annual <em>Offshore Statistics &amp; Regulatory Activity Report, </em>due to be published in July.</p><p> </p><p>Releases are categorised as “major”, “significant” and “minor”, depending on the potential consequences of the event, which is usually directly linked to the total quantity or rate of release.Overall reported hydrocarbon releases have approximately halved since 2010. The reporting process presents an opportunity for both the regulator and the industry to investigate and identify underlying causes and learn lessons.</p><p> </p><p>Although the offshore industry has seen the overall downward trend as an indicator of improved performance, HSE remains concerned that every release represents a deficiency in an operator’s process safety management, and an increased risk of harm to workers. There have also been a small number of large releases every year which could have resulted in a major accident.</p><p> </p><p>Consequently, the Director of HSE’s Energy Division wrote recently to challenge the offshore industry to identify and address any weaknesses in its leadership and safety culture, as well as its arrangements for safety system audits, which have allowed such releases to occur (see attachment entitled Letter from the Director, HSE Energy Division to the Oil and Gas Industry on Hydrocarbon Releases).</p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 10/05/2018 14:33:45 question first ministerially corrected 14/05/2018 16:39:39 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton attachment 1 file name Attachment to 140076 & 140715 - Letter from the Director, HSE Energy Division to the Oil and Gas Industry on Hydrocarbon Releases.doc title Letter from HSE Director previous answer version 57122 answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

349269

	registered interest
	date	09/06/2015
	answering body	Department of Health
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health
	answering dept sort name	Health
	hansard heading	Children: Day Care
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to ensure that looked after children have access to specialist mental health support.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	1610
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/06/2015 answer text <p>The Department of Health and the Department for Education jointly published <em>Promoting the health and well-being of looked-after children: Statutory guidance for local authorities, clinical commissioning groups and NHS England</em> on 17 March 2015. This includes guidance for clinical commissioning groups, local authorities and NHS England to ensure that Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and other services provide targeted and dedicated support to looked-after children according to need.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North East Bedfordshire answering member printed Alistair Burt question first answered 16/06/2015 14:23:04 answering member 1201 label Biography information for Alistair Burt
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

422263

	registered interest
	date	19/10/2015
	answering body	Department of Health
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health
	answering dept sort name	Health
	hansard heading	Carers
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for its policy of the Carers Trust report on local authority support for carers, published on 16 September 2015; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	12329
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2015 answer text <p>The Government recognises the valuable contribution made by carers, many of whom spend a significant proportion of their life providing support to family members or friends.</p><br /><p>That is why we continue to support implementation of the improved rights for carers enshrined in the Care Act 2014. The Department has provided £104 million of funding to local authorities for these rights in 2015/16, which include an extended right to assessment and, for the first time, a duty on local authorities to meet carers’ eligible needs for support.</p><br /><p>To support implementation of the reform programme, we have established a joint Programme Management Office between the Department, Local Government Association and Association of Directors of Adults Social Services (ADASS). This unprecedented partnership is driving collaborative working with the sector, influencing the local implementation of these changes to support a consistent and coherent approach. This approach was recognised by the National Audit Office as best practice and should be adopted by other programmes.</p><br /><p>The programme includes a series of stocktakes of Local Authority readiness and the latest, from June 2015, demonstrates an overall positive picture on implementation:</p><br /><p>- Councils’ confidence in their ability to deliver the Care Act Reforms in 2015/16 remains high, with 99% very or fairly confident.</p><p>- 89% of councils say that they are ‘on track’ with their implementation. The remaining 11% report themselves as only slightly behind.</p><br /><p>We have also produced a suite of implementation support documents around the new carers’ rights, one of which is <em>The Economic Case for Investment in Carers</em>, a short factsheet for local authorities to use in considering whether to put in place a policy of charging carers, setting out the evidence that charging would be a false economy. This expands on the position set out in the Care Act statutory guidance, which at paragraph 8.50 states that:</p><br /><p>“Local authorities are not required to charge a carer for support and indeed in many cases it would be a false economy to do so. When deciding whether to charge, and in determining what an appropriate charge is, a local authority should consider how it wishes to express the way it values carers within its local community as partners in care, and recognise the significant contribution carers make.”</p><br /><p>The Care Act replicates the previous position where charging carers was permissible. It would not have been appropriate to impose a blanket ban on charging for carers services, because in some cases small charges are necessary to the viability of services. However, the Care Act provides additional protection to carers by making it clear that local authorities cannot charge carers for services provided to the person being cared for. This means that carers may only be charged for services provided directly to them.</p><br /><p>Most local authorities do not routinely charge carers in recognition of the valuable contribution carers make to their local communities, and the Carers Trust report confirms that this is still the case. We will continue to make the case against routine charging of carers and to monitor the situation closely through the implementation monitoring process set out above.</p><br /><p>We have no plans to create a new duty around NHS identification of carers. The Care Act requires NHS bodies and local authorities to co-operate with each other in the exercise of their respective functions relevant to care and support, including those relating to carers, so we would expect local authorities and NHS bodies to cooperate in identifying and signposting carers. The Department is working with ADASS and NHS England to produce a “local pathway” for carer identification and support that will set this out in more detail.</p><br /><p>The Department has also provided over £2 million in recent years to the professional bodies such as the Royal College of General Practitioners and the Royal College of Nursing, as well as Carers UK and the Carers Trust, to develop initiatives to raise awareness of carers among healthcare professionals and to help identify and support carers.</p><br /><p>The Department is also leading on the development of a new National Carers’ Strategy that will be looking at the best of international practice and examine what more we can do to support existing carers and the new carers.</p> answering member constituency North East Bedfordshire answering member printed Alistair Burt grouped question UIN 12327 12328 question first answered 27/10/2015 13:04:03 answering member 1201 label Biography information for Alistair Burt
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

422265

	registered interest
	date	19/10/2015
	answering body	Department of Health
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health
	answering dept sort name	Health
	hansard heading	Carers
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to assess whether unpaid carers are receiving their new rights to support as introduced by the Care Act 2014.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	12327
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2015 answer text <p>The Government recognises the valuable contribution made by carers, many of whom spend a significant proportion of their life providing support to family members or friends.</p><br /><p>That is why we continue to support implementation of the improved rights for carers enshrined in the Care Act 2014. The Department has provided £104 million of funding to local authorities for these rights in 2015/16, which include an extended right to assessment and, for the first time, a duty on local authorities to meet carers’ eligible needs for support.</p><br /><p>To support implementation of the reform programme, we have established a joint Programme Management Office between the Department, Local Government Association and Association of Directors of Adults Social Services (ADASS). This unprecedented partnership is driving collaborative working with the sector, influencing the local implementation of these changes to support a consistent and coherent approach. This approach was recognised by the National Audit Office as best practice and should be adopted by other programmes.</p><br /><p>The programme includes a series of stocktakes of Local Authority readiness and the latest, from June 2015, demonstrates an overall positive picture on implementation:</p><br /><p>- Councils’ confidence in their ability to deliver the Care Act Reforms in 2015/16 remains high, with 99% very or fairly confident.</p><p>- 89% of councils say that they are ‘on track’ with their implementation. The remaining 11% report themselves as only slightly behind.</p><br /><p>We have also produced a suite of implementation support documents around the new carers’ rights, one of which is <em>The Economic Case for Investment in Carers</em>, a short factsheet for local authorities to use in considering whether to put in place a policy of charging carers, setting out the evidence that charging would be a false economy. This expands on the position set out in the Care Act statutory guidance, which at paragraph 8.50 states that:</p><br /><p>“Local authorities are not required to charge a carer for support and indeed in many cases it would be a false economy to do so. When deciding whether to charge, and in determining what an appropriate charge is, a local authority should consider how it wishes to express the way it values carers within its local community as partners in care, and recognise the significant contribution carers make.”</p><br /><p>The Care Act replicates the previous position where charging carers was permissible. It would not have been appropriate to impose a blanket ban on charging for carers services, because in some cases small charges are necessary to the viability of services. However, the Care Act provides additional protection to carers by making it clear that local authorities cannot charge carers for services provided to the person being cared for. This means that carers may only be charged for services provided directly to them.</p><br /><p>Most local authorities do not routinely charge carers in recognition of the valuable contribution carers make to their local communities, and the Carers Trust report confirms that this is still the case. We will continue to make the case against routine charging of carers and to monitor the situation closely through the implementation monitoring process set out above.</p><br /><p>We have no plans to create a new duty around NHS identification of carers. The Care Act requires NHS bodies and local authorities to co-operate with each other in the exercise of their respective functions relevant to care and support, including those relating to carers, so we would expect local authorities and NHS bodies to cooperate in identifying and signposting carers. The Department is working with ADASS and NHS England to produce a “local pathway” for carer identification and support that will set this out in more detail.</p><br /><p>The Department has also provided over £2 million in recent years to the professional bodies such as the Royal College of General Practitioners and the Royal College of Nursing, as well as Carers UK and the Carers Trust, to develop initiatives to raise awareness of carers among healthcare professionals and to help identify and support carers.</p><br /><p>The Department is also leading on the development of a new National Carers’ Strategy that will be looking at the best of international practice and examine what more we can do to support existing carers and the new carers.</p> answering member constituency North East Bedfordshire answering member printed Alistair Burt grouped question UIN 12328 12329 question first answered 27/10/2015 13:04:03 answering member 1201 label Biography information for Alistair Burt
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

422266

	registered interest
	date	19/10/2015
	answering body	Department of Health
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health
	answering dept sort name	Health
	hansard heading	Carers
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will create a new duty on NHS primary care providers to identify unpaid carers.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	12328
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2015 answer text <p>The Government recognises the valuable contribution made by carers, many of whom spend a significant proportion of their life providing support to family members or friends.</p><br /><p>That is why we continue to support implementation of the improved rights for carers enshrined in the Care Act 2014. The Department has provided £104 million of funding to local authorities for these rights in 2015/16, which include an extended right to assessment and, for the first time, a duty on local authorities to meet carers’ eligible needs for support.</p><br /><p>To support implementation of the reform programme, we have established a joint Programme Management Office between the Department, Local Government Association and Association of Directors of Adults Social Services (ADASS). This unprecedented partnership is driving collaborative working with the sector, influencing the local implementation of these changes to support a consistent and coherent approach. This approach was recognised by the National Audit Office as best practice and should be adopted by other programmes.</p><br /><p>The programme includes a series of stocktakes of Local Authority readiness and the latest, from June 2015, demonstrates an overall positive picture on implementation:</p><br /><p>- Councils’ confidence in their ability to deliver the Care Act Reforms in 2015/16 remains high, with 99% very or fairly confident.</p><p>- 89% of councils say that they are ‘on track’ with their implementation. The remaining 11% report themselves as only slightly behind.</p><br /><p>We have also produced a suite of implementation support documents around the new carers’ rights, one of which is <em>The Economic Case for Investment in Carers</em>, a short factsheet for local authorities to use in considering whether to put in place a policy of charging carers, setting out the evidence that charging would be a false economy. This expands on the position set out in the Care Act statutory guidance, which at paragraph 8.50 states that:</p><br /><p>“Local authorities are not required to charge a carer for support and indeed in many cases it would be a false economy to do so. When deciding whether to charge, and in determining what an appropriate charge is, a local authority should consider how it wishes to express the way it values carers within its local community as partners in care, and recognise the significant contribution carers make.”</p><br /><p>The Care Act replicates the previous position where charging carers was permissible. It would not have been appropriate to impose a blanket ban on charging for carers services, because in some cases small charges are necessary to the viability of services. However, the Care Act provides additional protection to carers by making it clear that local authorities cannot charge carers for services provided to the person being cared for. This means that carers may only be charged for services provided directly to them.</p><br /><p>Most local authorities do not routinely charge carers in recognition of the valuable contribution carers make to their local communities, and the Carers Trust report confirms that this is still the case. We will continue to make the case against routine charging of carers and to monitor the situation closely through the implementation monitoring process set out above.</p><br /><p>We have no plans to create a new duty around NHS identification of carers. The Care Act requires NHS bodies and local authorities to co-operate with each other in the exercise of their respective functions relevant to care and support, including those relating to carers, so we would expect local authorities and NHS bodies to cooperate in identifying and signposting carers. The Department is working with ADASS and NHS England to produce a “local pathway” for carer identification and support that will set this out in more detail.</p><br /><p>The Department has also provided over £2 million in recent years to the professional bodies such as the Royal College of General Practitioners and the Royal College of Nursing, as well as Carers UK and the Carers Trust, to develop initiatives to raise awareness of carers among healthcare professionals and to help identify and support carers.</p><br /><p>The Department is also leading on the development of a new National Carers’ Strategy that will be looking at the best of international practice and examine what more we can do to support existing carers and the new carers.</p> answering member constituency North East Bedfordshire answering member printed Alistair Burt grouped question UIN 12327 12329 question first answered 27/10/2015 13:04:03 answering member 1201 label Biography information for Alistair Burt
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham