Will the Minister confirm a) what specific investments the Government has committed to in order to support the expansion of respite services for unpaid carers and b) what targets are expected to have been met in relation to respite services by 2025?
It is crucial to the wellbeing of our unpaid carers of all ages that they can take a break from their caring role when needed. This is a Programme for Government commitment and is part of our Unpaid Carers Strategy and current delivery plan.
The national short breaks scheme was established via a £9m investment over three years (2022-25) and will extend opportunities for unpaid carers of all ages to take some time away from their caring role to relax or pursue social or leisure activities.
Carers Trust Wales was appointed as the national coordinating body for the scheme in June 2022. It is working with regional partnership boards, local authorities and the third sector across Wales to encourage innovation and promote good practice in the development of short break opportunities.
£3,864,300 has been used to set up and fund a third sector grant scheme called Amser, which has funded 23 local organisations across Wales in the first round.
Overall, we expect the funding will support 30,000 unpaid carers with short breaks – 14,000 will be reached via Amser projects and 16,000 via RPB funding (RPB funding runs from 2022-25; Amser funding runs from 2023-25).
Data on the numbers and other demographic details of unpaid carers accessing short break opportunities is being collected through the RPBs. We have commissioned Bangor University to undertake an evaluation of the scheme focusing on the outcomes it delivers.