Agenda item

(Report of the Select Committee with a covering report by Mr K Lynes).

(Mr L Christie (Chairman of the Select Committee) together with Mr D Hirst and Mr G Koowaree were present for this item)

(1)       Mr Lynes paid tribute to the work of all carers, particularly young carers, and also thanked the Select Committee for its report and its recommendations which he said needed to be considered very carefully.

(2)       In introducing the report of the Select Committee Mr Christie paid thanks to Members of the Committee and to the officers who had supported it in its work.  He said some of the Select Committee’s recommendations, could be taken forward immediately but some were more strategic and would require Government support.  Carers themselves had identified a number of needs as crucial and fundamental in supporting them so they can continue to care.  These included breaks from caring, adequate respite care for the person being cared for (the client) better services from both the local authority and health authority, access to information and greater involvement in decision making relating to the client.  Mr Christie spoke in particular about the impact of being a young carer and the significance that can have only a small proportion of young carers in Kent access the young carers projects and it was estimated that only a small proportion of young people accessing these projects are known to services.  It was therefore important to recognise that other than education, young carers may not access services provided by local authorities and could lack the knowledge about the services which were available.  Of the range of recommendations put forward in the report, Mr Christie highlighted Recommendation 5 which speaks about district social services teams helping to overcome issues around core management and helping to bring about improvements to response and accessibility of team members.  Recommendation 8 talks about the need for having a multi-agency adult carers strategy and for that to be progressed as a priority.  Issues around young carers were addressed specifically in Recommendations 9, 10 and 11 and these spoke about the need to ensure that awareness was raised within schools to increase the understanding of what it meant to be a “young carer” and to find ways to identify and support these young people and also to have a clearly identified lead professional for young carers.  There was also a need to ensure that there were clear responsibilities and referral pathways for young carers between Kent Adult Social Services, and the Children, Families and Education Directorate and other agencies to ensure that protocols were developed as a matter of urgency.  In finalising his comments, Mr Christie said that the role of carers in the community had come to the top of the political agenda and he wanted to see KCC actively contribute to the Government’s Green Paper and wished to see the establishment of a cross-party group which could take that work forward.  In their statements both Mr Hirst and Mr Koowaree supported Mr Christie in his thanks for the work and support which the Select Committee had received and also emphasised the need to give further support to carers and in particular, young carers.  Mr Badman said that he welcomed the report and highlighted a number of actions some of which were already in place which he believed would go someway to addressing the issues highlighted particularly in relation to young carers.  Mr Wells said that moving responsibility for children into the Children Families and Education Directorate had made it easier to identify young carers and to support them in their role and he very much welcomed the report and its findings.  Mr Mills also said that he welcomed the report and its timing was right as it came at a time when the County Council was moving positively forward with its partners to develop appropriate strategies to support carers.

(3)       Mr Gilroy said that he welcomed the report and said that its message about access to services and support was critical.  The whose issue of carers was one of great importance and the problems around these issues needed to be addressed by radical solutions.  He said the Government needed to re-think expenditure in this field and give individuals and families their own purchasing power.  On the particular issue of young carers, Mr Gilroy said he very much supported the view that there needed to be easy access to professional help and advice 24 hours a day and agreed with Mr Christie that that needed to be taken forward in partnership with the Government.

(4)       Discussion concluded with Mr Carter thanking the Members of the Select Committee for their report which would be discussed further at the County Council meeting on 13 December 2007.