Children's commissioner reviews young carers' needs

Local authority children's services have been asked to provide Longfield with information on how young carers' needs are assessed. She will also investigate how they are identified and referred to statutory authorities.

The aim of her research, the findings from which will be published in late autumn, is to show how these processes can be improved.
 
Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities have a duty to consider the needs of children living in households where there is an adult who has a disability or impairment that requires help or care as part of a "whole family assessment".

The provisions in the act dovetail with measures for young carers in the Children and Families Act that came into force in April 2015.

However, the Carers Trust warned that councils would struggle to meet the duty in the face of continuing cuts across both adult and children's social care budgets.

A month before this, the Department for Education ruled out imposing time limits on councils for carrying out needs assessments of young carers, despite calls from campaigners for the measure.

Longfield said: "Many of the young carers I have met get excellent support from local authorities and charities but I have also met many who do not.

"I am using my legal powers to gather data on children to look at variations in provision across the country.
 
"I want to know why some local areas are much better at identifying young carers and putting in place support packages than others. No young carer should have to miss out on opportunities to learn and play."

According to the 2011 Census, there are officially 166,000 young carers in England, but The Children's Society estimates the true figure could be as high as 700,000.