Agenda Item No. 4
THE VALE OF GLAMORGAN COUNCIL
LEARNING AND CULTURE SCRUTINY COMMITTEE: 19TH JUNE, 2018
REFERENCE FROM HEALTHY LIVING AND SOCIAL CARE SCRUTINY COMMITTEE: 16TH APRIL, 2018
“ SUPPORT FOR CARERS IN THE VALE OF GLAMORGAN (DSS) -
The Head of Adult Services provided the Scrutiny Committee with an update on support services for carers.
The Social Services and Wellbeing Act, for the first time, gave more carers the same rights as those they cared for. Regardless of their age, all carers had the right to an assessment of their needs as a carer. In order to assist in ensuring the enhanced rights of carers were recognised and actively delivered upon, the Welsh Government had established three national priorities:
- Supporting life alongside caring
- Identifying and recognising carers
- Providing information, advice and assistance.
The ways in which the Council had responded to the requirements of the new Act and the three national priorities were summarised in Appendix A attached to the report.
A Member highlighted page 3 of Appendix A attached to the report which detailed support available to young carers through the Carers Respite Grant. He noted that 86 opportunities had been created for young carers to receive additional breaks from their caring role. The Committee Member queried whether these 86 opportunities related to separate carers or could be claimed multiple times by individual users. In response, the Head of Adult Services commented that she would find out how many individuals had accessed the Carers Respite Grant and notify the Member.
The Committee Member then highlighted page 5 of Appendix A attached to the report and noted that Barry Comprehensive had been announced as the first school in Wales to receive the Young Carers Accreditation Scheme. A Committee Member asked if progress had been made in other schools to progress the scheme. The Head of Adult Services stated that there were a number of schools who were interested in the scheme, and she could provide this information to the Scrutiny Committee.
Finally, the Member queried if young people knew they could be classified as carers and were eligible for this extra support, and were GPs and youth services asking the right questions to help identify these young carers.
In response, the Head of Adult Services commented that the Council had officers who visited GPs and a successful campaign had been undertaken to ensure young people knew they could access carer services if required. She commented that the Council always tried to identify young carers, including the Contact Centre, and pushed for the referrals where appropriate.
A Committee Member highlighted page 14 of Appendix B attached to the report, which detailed the level of support that carers felt was available from their school / college / employer. The Committee Member stated that a diverse range of responses were given, with a worrying number of responses where carers felt they were not receiving the right level of support.
The Committee Member asked if the Department knew if these responses were from the same, or different, organisations and therefore if targeted actions could be taken. In response, the Head of Adult Services commented that she would investigate this matter and provide a response to the Member. She also noted that the report would be referred to the Learning and Culture Scrutiny Committee for their consideration regarding the support available for young carers in schools.
Subsequently, it was
RECOMMENDED -
(1) T H A T the work undertaken to support carers in the Vale of Glamorgan be noted.
(2) T H A T the report be referred to the Learning and Culture Scrutiny Committee to note the work in respect of young carers.
(3) T H A T the importance of supporting carers be recognised.
(4) T H A T the duties of the Council and its partners in regards to delivering services for carers within the Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act 2014, be noted.
Reasons for recommendations
(1) To exercise effective oversight of this important function undertaken by the Social Services Directorate.
(2) To provide an update report to the Learning and Culture Scrutiny Committee on young carers on an annual basis.
(3) To note the value of carers.
(4) To note the duties of the Council and its partners as outlined within legislation.”
Attached as Appendix – Report to Healthy Living and Social Care Scrutiny Committee: 16th April, 2018