Kate Lattimore (Commissioning Officer), Mark Collings (Strategic Commissioning Manager) and Viktor Keaty?Korycan (Manager of Caring for Carers, Improving Lives Plymouth) presented the Plymouth Citywide All?Age Unpaid Carers Strategy 2025–2027 and discussed:

 

a)     The strategy had been co?produced across the Plymouth health and social care system, including Plymouth City Council, Livewell Southwest, University Hospitals Plymouth, St Luke’s Hospice, Time 4 U Partnership and Improving Lives Plymouth, and was supported by a detailed implementation plan intended to ensure promises made to carers translated into practice;

 

b)    Census data from 2021 identified approximately 24,000 unpaid carers in Plymouth, with national estimates of 5.7 million unpaid carers. The school census had identified 730 young carers, although further work with youth services indicated the true figure locally was closer to 1,300;

 

c)     Unpaid caring was recognised as widespread, with around three in five people becoming carers during their lives. 70% of carers reported long?term physical or mental?health conditions compared to 59% of non?carers;

 

d)    Young carers faced significant challenges, including reduced school attendance and attainment. National research suggested young carers lost an average of 23 school days per year due to caring responsibilities;

 

e)     Population change, increasing complexity of need and continuing workforce shortages meant unpaid carers played an increasingly essential role in the wider system;

 

f)      Development of the strategy had involved extensive engagement with carers, with carers identifying what worked well, what did not and what support they needed. Six priorities had been developed from this engagement:

 

                        i.         access to support services that worked for carers;

 

                       ii.         enhanced financial support;

 

                      iii.         improved health, safety and wellbeing;

 

                      iv.         early identification and recognition of carers;

 

                       v.         improved information, advice and communication;

 

                      vi.         support when caring roles changed, including transition and bereavement;

 

g)     A cross?partnership implementation group met regularly to oversee delivery of the action plan, with progress reported to the Carers Strategic Partnership Board;

 

h)    Adult Social Care had introduced a RAG?rated waiting?well tool that ensured people waiting for assessments were supported, informed and signposted appropriately, including checks on carer wellbeing and risk of carer breakdown;

 

i)      Livewell Southwest had undertaken work to strengthen carer involvement in assessments and decision?making, including reviewing carer support plans and undertaking focus groups;

 

j)      A cross?system survey had been issued to understand communication gaps between agencies and identify improvements for carers;

 

k)     Mental?health inpatient units were reviewing discharge processes to ensure carers were included appropriately;

 

l)      Virtual wards and discharge?to?assess models supported care at home but could increase pressure on carers, so systems were working to ensure appropriate support and communication with carers involved in home?based care;

 

m)   Adult Social Care teams were piloting the Triangle of Care, a national quality framework, to ensure a therapeutic alliance between services, the cared?for person and the carer;

 

n)    A programme called Carer Money Matters, funded by Carers Trust, supported income maximisation, benefits navigation and fuel?poverty reduction. More than 500 carers had been supported, with total financial gains exceeding £1 million;

 

o)    Entitlement reviews were carried out because many carers were unaware of the financial support available to them;

 

p)    Improving Lives Plymouth administered grants including Household Support Fund allocations, which provided direct help to carers in financial hardship;

 

q)    Links had been established with the national Connect to Work scheme, providing employment?related support for carers wanting to return to work;

 

r)     An enhanced sitting service had been established, offering between two and eight hours of regulated respite per week to support carers;

 

s)     A pilot programme across Devon provided carers with discounted hotel stays, days out and wellbeing offers via a carer passport scheme;

 

t)     Counselling was available for carers via commissioned counselling partners;

 

u)    Work was underway to launch Bridgit Care, a digital self?help tool offering personalised advice, guidance and signposting based on carers’ circumstances;

 

v)     Work was taking place to raise awareness of young carers, including promoting the No Wrong Doors approach across partners to ensure any professional encountering a carer could identify and signpost appropriately;

 

w)   Targeted work was being undertaken to reach carers within under?represented communities, including refugee and asylum?seeker communities and Gypsy, Roma and Traveller groups;

 

x)    Support for working carers was being promoted through employer toolkits and the city’s membership of the Employers for Carers scheme;

 

y)     Young carers were working with the Department for Work and Pensions to improve awareness of carers allowance eligibility from age 16, due to low take?up;

 

z)     The forthcoming Bridgit Care digital tool would give carers access to high?quality and personalised information, aligned with updates to the Plymouth Online Directory;

 

aa)  Work with St Luke’s Hospice and other partners supported carers experiencing bereavement and change in caring circumstances;

 

bb)The Health Determinants Research Collaborative (HDRC) was supporting research and evaluation work focused on young?carer transitions into adulthood;

 

cc)  Caring for Carers extended its support offer to six months after a caring role ended, recognising the need for ongoing emotional and practical support;

 

dd)The development of a comprehensive evaluation framework combining quantitative and qualitative measures, including increases in carers on the carers register, improved response times and increased participation in community activities. HDRC research support was being utilised to strengthen evaluation methods and embed learning across the partnership.

 

In response to questions, the Panel discussed:

 

ee)  Clarification of whether individuals drawing a state pension could access carers allowance. Officers explained that state pension receipt affected eligibility and that carers allowance remained one of the lowest benefits;

 

ff)    Members raised concern at the principle that older carers, who formed a significant proportion of the caring population, could be disadvantaged by benefit rules;

 

gg)  Members supported writing to government expressing concerns about inequities between private?pension and state?pension recipients;

 

hh)Confirmation that Carer Money Matters had no minimum?hours requirement, unlike carers allowance, and was accessible to anyone recognised as an unpaid carer;

 

ii)     Discussion regarding how young?carer numbers were identified, including through school census returns, social?care involvement and youth?service engagement. Officers explained that sibling carers were often identified by social workers and family?support staff;

 

jj)     Concerns regarding very young carers and distinction between caring and safeguarding thresholds. Officers explained that very young carers were identified when asked to undertake tasks beyond what was age?appropriate, with social?care oversight ensuring safeguarding concerns were acted upon;

 

kk)  Members emphasised the importance of early identification, noting research indicating carers often took years to recognise themselves as carers. Officers described ongoing work across primary care, hospitals, youth services, employers and national awareness campaigns to improve recognition;

 

ll)     The Panel welcomed updates on digital tools such as Bridgit Care and recognised the importance of reaching carers who did not access formal services.

 

The Panel agreed:

 

1. To endorse the Plymouth Citywide All?Age Unpaid Carers Strategy 2025–2027 and ongoing activity to support unpaid carers in Plymouth;

 

2. To recommend that the Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care writes to the relevant Government Minister expressing concern about inequity in carers?allowance eligibility for people in receipt of the state pension.

 

3. To request that officers return to the Panel in six months with a progress update;

 

4. Action: To request clarification from officers on carers allowance eligibility in relation to state pension and private pension receipt;