How many unpaid carers in Wales have accessed the short breaks fund since 2022, and how much of the £9 million in funding for the scheme has been used to date?
The Short Breaks Scheme is on target to deliver against its objective of providing 30,000 short breaks by the end of March 2025. We have regular monitoring meetings with our delivery partners and are informed that full spend will be achieved by March. I have recently announced an additional £3.75 million to continue the Short Breaks Scheme for a further twelve months, until the end of March 2026.
I can confirm the £1million of ringfenced funding included in the Regional Integration Fund for health boards to ensure advice and information services for carers, when the person they care for is in hospital, will continue for 2025-26. In addition, we require that at least 5% of our £147 million per annum Regional Integration Fund is spent by Regional Partnership Boards on carers support services.
We introduced the Young Carers ID card scheme in April 2022 with a £600,000 investment. The scheme has been funded and operated by local authorities since April 2023, and as such we are not aware of the number of cards that have been issued.
There is variation in how actively local authorities promote and support the card. We have developed new promotional materials that every local authority can use in its schools to support greater use. These were sent out in December. We meet regularly with local authorities about support and recognition of young carers, and we will be following up on the use of these materials with them.