Agenda item

Purpose of report: Policy Development and Review

Surrey’s Young Carers Strategy “Making It Real for Young Carers” is a three year plan. It sets out how the Council, NHS and other partners will work together to improve support for young carers. The process is coordinated by Adult Social Care but young carers have been central to the development of the strategy. This report summarises the key issues for Adult Social Care and describes how plans involving young carers will drive implementation, including new young carers assessment tools.

Witnesses:

John Bangs, Commissioning Manager (Carers), Adult Social Care

Geoff Parks, Deputy Manager, Surrey Young Carers

Steve Cosser, Cabinet Associate for Adult Social Care

Declarations of Interest: None

Key points raised during the discussion:

1.    The Commissioning Manager (CM) provided the Committee with a brief introduction to the report highlighting the new Care Act duty where the Council has to identify and support young carers. Members were advised that estimates suggested there could be in excess of 14,000 young carers living in Surrey and that a comprehensive, interagency strategy was required in order to identify and then support this cohort. The Cabinet Associate for Adult Social Care highlighted that the Cabinet were acutely aware of the challenges faced by young carers, that his priority was to raise the profile of young carers and that action had been taken by the Cabinet to support the strategy including setting up an event to celebrate young carers and spread the word to other agencies.

2.    The Deputy Manager of Surrey Young Carers (DMSYC) provided the Committee with an insight into the challenges that young carers face including a case study as well as a video which contextualised these challenges. It was highlighted that Surrey is ahead of the curve in supporting young carers but that further measures were required to ensure that the needs and concerns of young carers in Surrey are met.

Marisa Heath left the meeting at 11.25 am.

3.    Members drew attention to young children (under-14 years old) who are required to act as carers in some capacity and asked whether these young carers and the care they provided should be given more recognition in the report. The DMSYC advised that early identification was helping to increase the number of referrals for very young carers. It was agreed, however, that the identifying young carers earlier normally led to better outcomes.

4.    The Committee also asked whether it was possible to ensure that young carers had the same opportunity to attend university or gain further qualifications as other school leavers. The DMSYC highlighted that it was crucial for young carers to feel that the right care package was in place for their dependent to give them the confidence to take the time away from home to pursue further education. Members were advised, however, that the increased support available is allowing increasing numbers of young carers to gain further qualifications and give them the same opportunities as their peers.

5.    Members asked whether schools are stepping in to recognise and support young carers. The DMSYC indicated that 25% of schools have proven to be very good at doing this but that more training needs to be provided to make young carers more visible and to ensure that schools throughout Surrey have the facility to identify and support young carers. The role of trust and practical adaptations such as use of mobile phones were also emphasised to give young carers the confidence to talk to teachers, care workers and other staff of statutory agencies that they come into contact with so that the support they require can be given. The Cabinet Associate for Adult Social Care agreed that the recognition and support of young carers within schools but advised the Committee that the Cabinet Member for Schools and Learning was taking steps to add strategic leadership and ensure that all schools in Surrey were identifying and supporting young carers successfully.

6.    The Committee asked for information on those schools which were less effective at recognising and support young carers and whether local committees could lend support to those schools to help them improve their identification of and support for young carers. The Cabinet Associate for Adult Social Care indicated that relevant information from the audit of schools on this area would be shared with the Committee.

7.    The Committee asked whether there was a special provision in the Care Act for Young Carers specifically. The CM highlighted that the mention of whole family approaches and preventative measures in the Care Act strengthened and clarified the Councils’ obligations to Young Carers. This compliments obligations also being introduced to the Children Act which give local authorities new duties to identify and assess young carers. Members were further advised that early intervention reduces costs while the multiagency approach also helps to share the responsibility of supporting young carers across a number of bodies.

8.    Members requested further information on the role played by GPs and whether they were contributing to the identification and support of young carers. The CM highlighted that a small number of referrals had come from GP and that NHS England was commissioning a guide to young carers to improve this further. CCGS will be working with Action for Carers to disseminate this to GPs. Doctors now have the ability to prescribe short breaks for young carers which can be extremely effective while a new system has been developed giving GPs the facility to flag mental health issues in young carers to other agencies to ensure that support can be given where and when required.

Recommendations:

·         Health Scrutiny Committee to follow-up on CCG commissioning and support for young carers.

Actions/further information to be provided:

·         The Cabinet Associate for Adult Social Care to share relevant information arising from the audit of schools in relation to the identification and support of young carers with the Committee.

Committee next steps:

The Committee to review arrangements made for young carers by the Council under the Care Act and the ‘to do’ list in twelve months time.