Agenda item

To receive the All Age Carers Strategy 2024-2029.

The Cabinet Member: Adult Social Care & Health Systems presented the joint report of the Director: Adult Social Care and Director: Children’s Safeguarding & Family Support.

The report introduced the final All Age Carers Strategy for Telford and Wrekin 2024-2029 which had previously been before Cabinet in draft form.  Following consultation, a series of amendments had been made which formed the final strategy.

The Council had a statutory duty under the Care Act 2014 to provide services to address carers needs for care and support. The Council also had a duty to provide information and advice, to promote wellbeing and, where possible, to prevent carers from needing support.

The main purpose of the 2024-2029 All Age Carers Strategy was to provide a clear framework to the provision of services to support carers of all ages:

· Identify as a carer

· Maintain their own health and wellbeing

· Plan for their future

· Participate in family and community life

It sought to address local issues and strengthen integration of health, social and voluntary services to improve the lives of carers and set out how this would be maintained and enhanced during the next five years.

The vision remained and continued to be that carers were recognised, thanked and valued by the wider community and statutory agencies.  Carers were essential in supporting the wider health and care system and preventing and reducing delays accessing services.

The Strategy set out that:

· 45% (8,214 people) said that they provide unpaid care for 19 hours or less per week

· 22% (3,913 people) provide unpaid care for between 20 and 49 hours per week

· 33% (5,899 people) provide unpaid care for over 50 hours per week

It was noted that one in ten carers provided unpaid care and that the time and energy of providing support at no cost to the Council should be recognised and valued.  Carers were often not in receipt of financial support or received a small amount of financial support through the carers allowance.  The Council provided support to carers of all ages in a number of ways which were set out in the report.   There had been a focus on young carers with 50 face to face engagement sessions taking place together with an online questionnaire and a summary and easy read version of the strategy.  This had highlighted the need to speak to people on a one-to-one basis in order to increase awareness of the strategy. 

Next steps were to formally launch the Carers Partnership Board and, once established, set out an action plan.  The key area of focus was an all-age approach which would empower carers and support their physical and mental health and wellbeing. 

The All Age Carers Strategy linked to the Telford and Wrekin Health and Wellbeing Strategy and in particular focused on health inequalities.  It also supported the implementation of the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care Strategy.

Cabinet Members welcomed the report and the work that had taken place with carers in relation to health and wellbeing, relationships and the need for more social activity and positive events.   It was important that care was not the only focus and that friendly, carer aware policies and flexible appointments for services were put in place.  People did not recognise that they were carers and raising awareness of the available advice and support was paramount.  Education was important for young carers and they should not be penalised.  The new strategy put support in place to enable carers to continue with their education and to ensure that there were no barriers for their future once their studies had finished.  There was a robust commitment to all carers that they were thanked and valued and the Council learn from those with lived experience as there was no better voice.

The Leader of the Opposition Group was supportive of the work that was being undertaken on the strategy and the moral and statutory obligations the Council had.  He welcomed the focus on young carers, particularly to minimise the impact on education.  It was important to manage what was measured and KPIs were an important tool, but he raised that there were no numbers set out in the action plan relating to people accessing short breaks.

RESOLVED – that:

a)    Telford and Wrekin All Age Carers Strategy 2024-2029 for publication be approved; and

b)   Delegated authority be granted to the Director of Adult Social Care in consultation with the Cabinet Member: Adult Social Care and Health Systems to implement a five-year action plan.