As part of its £33 million New Deal for Carers package, the government has announced that it has earmarked £25 million to provide short-term respite care for carers in emergency situations across the country from October 1st 2007.
Ivan Lewis, minister for care services, said: "Millions of people in this country are hidden heroes who keep families together through their support and devotion. Our carers often provide care 24 hours a day, seven days a week, taking on that precious role that enables a friend or family member to stay at home and live with the dignity, independence and security the rest of us take for granted.
"This army of carers do not want to give away their family responsibilities. Equally, they want government and local services on their side ensuring the necessary care and support is available to maintain their family's quality of life."
Mr Lewis explained why so much money had been set aside for councils to cover carer crises. He said: "We have considerable evidence that lack of proper planned alternative care in the event of anything untoward happening to carers, is one of the most important factors in limiting their freedom to have a life of their own.
"Often carers don't choose their new role; it happens by chance and quite suddenly, a person finds themselves as the frontline support to a friend or family member."
The initiative is designed to provide reassurance to carers, who often worry inordinately about what would happen to their charge if something should occur to themselves, such as an accident. Carers UK said that many carers often miss out on attending family events because of apprehension of that an accident or delay could mean they were unable to be on hand for their caring responsibilities.
Although individual emergency cases should be judged by local authorities, care cover should always be provided in circumstances such as a carer's admission to hospital or other health problems. Other circumstances might include a family emergency, such as a close relative being taken ill or the need to attend the funeral of a loved one. Another case in point would be if there appears to be a genuine risk to the carer's employment if they continued to provide care for a period.
Emergency respite care arrangements that can cover a minimum of 48 hours should be available at short notice while longer-term arrangements can be made if required. The carer and the person they care for should, where possible, be fully involved in consultation on respite care plans, which should take into account both of their individual needs. Plans should be updated regularly to include ongoing assessment of the likelihood of respite care being necessary.
Meanwhile, a consultation on updates to the 1999 carers' strategy is ongoing, the care services minister said, and would involve carers and carers' organisations across the country. Employment rights and flexible working would be discussed as well as the NHS's attitude towards carers and the role of social care services.
Speaking at a House of Commons debate in June, minister Kitty Ussher pointed out that young carers who were looking after family members might need this sort of respite care more than others.
While many were trying to pursue their education, she pointed out: "Obviously, times are tough for them on a number of occasions, particularly when they try to balance their aspirations with their caring responsibilities."
Mr Lewis responded that the government had a duty to prioritise their needs: "They will be able to access the new emergency respite care funding that we are announcing," he said. "We want to hear the voice and the real-life experiences of young carers as we develop a new deal for carers in every part of this country."
He added: "Carers want a system that is on their side, in terms of the NHS and social care, but they also want a life of their own and access to employment, lifelong learning and leisure opportunities. Therefore it is essential that our new deal for carers expands emergency respite care, but also touches on every single aspect that affects a carer's caring responsibilities and their right to a life of their own.
"The demographics of our society are changing. People are living longer and longer, but in doing so they have more and more challenging conditions, such as Alzheimer's and dementia. As a consequence, we face new questions as a Government, as politicians and as a society.
"Therefore, in every locality, that full range of services must be provided by the NHS, local government and the voluntary sector, working in a far more integrated way than they have done historically."
He also suggested that GPs and schools should take a greater responsibility for identifying carers and helping them access services.
Meanwhile, Martin Green, Chief Executive of the English Community Care Association identified how the private sector could play its part. He said: "With an increasingly ageing population there is a need not only to look at how we can deliver more direct services to older and vulnerable people but also how we can ensure that their relatives and carers are supported to offer them care in the community. The residential care sector is well positioned not only to provide long-term care placements but it also has the expertise and facilities to provide respite care.
"Sadly, respite care is so rationed by resource problems in local authorities that when respite placements take place they are often done because of an emergency or care crisis. It is important that in the future the money which the government allocates for respite services is used in a way that ensures those services are planned and can form an integral part of ensuring vulnerable people maintain their independence and well being."
Consultation with private care homes on how the money should be spent is also vital. Mr Green pointed out: "The private sector has high quality services and enormous capacity ready and waiting but what we require is a planned approach from local authorities to ensure that these highly cost effective and very good quality services are offered to users as one option when they require respite care."
He concluded: "Good quality residential respite can do so much to improve the lives of users and it's impact on carers is enormous and if local authorities commission respite services at appropriate levels and as part of an ongoing care plan, this will be in the best interests of the user, the carer and the system."