Carers: Education
23rd May 2007
Dr. Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he has taken to support carers while they are engaged in learning activities; and if he will make a statement. [121268]
Mr. Dhanda: Statutory responsibility for supporting carers under the age of 18 who have been assessed as children in need lies with the local authorities concerned, and my Department issued guidance with the Department of Health in August 2005 on the Carers and Disabled Children Act 2000 and the Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004. The latter Act requires authorities, in making an assessment, to take into account the carer's wishes to undertake education, training, work, or a leisure activity.
The Department's guidance to administrators of the discretionary Access to Learning Fund covers students with caring responsibilities, although this is chiefly designed with adult carers in mind. Young carers in full-time education—that is, with at least 12 guided learning hours per week—may be eligible for Education Maintenance Allowances (EMAs). Although in general a weekly allowance payment is only made to a student where they have attended all required sessions, a school or college has discretion to authorise an absence caused by caring responsibilities. Learning providers should not, however, authorise a student's absences regularly for this reason.
Carers aged over 16 who provide at least 35 hours of care a week may be entitled to Carers Allowance, where they are undertaking less than 21 hours a week of supervised study, and institutions will need to take this into account when considering appropriate arrangements for enabling carers to access learning.
