Law

The Carers and Disabled Children’s Act 2000 promises carers flexibility. But flexibility comes at a cost - local authorities will be charging for carers’ services, writes Gideon Burrows.

New bill to improve support for UK informal carers. The proposed Carers (Identification and Support) Bill is summarised and responses from charities and other organisations are discussed. [BNI unique abstract]

Facts about carers 2015 is a Carers UK digest and analysis of all the major research and statistics about carers in the UK.

This briefing covers:

• Who are carers?
• How many people are carers?
• Number of hours of care provided
• Valuing carers
• Carer demographics
• What kind of care do carers provide?
• Who do they care for?
• The impact of caring

As you may have heard, the Queen’s Speech, which opened the 2008-2009 parliamentary year, included reference to the importance of rights for informal carers (House of Commons, 2008). I am no stranger to the world of informal caring as many of you may know. Indeed, I have made it no secret and frequently mention it at the annual Royal College of Nursing Congress and have done so since 2001.

Unpaid carers of adults, as a group, have, until recently, been largely neglected by the EU. While a number of provisions of EU law – including anti-discrimination measures and protections for part time workers – may benefit (some) carers of adults in the workplace, the existing package of work–life balance regulation falls well short of a coherent approach to addressing the needs of this group.

Looks at a new private members bill which may give carers more assistance with their caring duties.

Differences in perspective between clients, carers and practitioners are familiar from the literature. Findings from two research projects are reported here, which identify mismatched perspectives and appear to question the foundations on which community care policy and practice rest. The article discusses features of the policy and practice context that contribute to the likelihood of divergent views about need and appropriate or effective service provision within community care.

April 1st is often the date on which all or part of legislation or programmes are implemented. The author provides an overview of changes to look out for on 1 April 2005. Provides details on Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004, Carers' Grant, Children Act 2004, Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI), Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004, Learning Disabilities Development Fund, Protection of title of social workers, and changes in the sentencing of offenders.

This resource looks at the benefits that are gained from the relationships that are built within social work. Using the voices of service users, carers and workers you will hear accounts of how the relationships that were created helped them to deal with the difficulties they faced.

Background : Britain's existing mental health legislation was introduced over 15 years ago. Since then, there has been considerable reorganisation of mental health care services but little research into the use of the Act in routine practice. Modernising Mental Health Services (1998) asserts that mental health legislation will be revised. Aim : The study investigates opinions about the strengths and weaknesses of Parts II and X of the Mental Health Act (1983) of those affected by it.