The Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004 (c. 15) is an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

aimed at helping

carers A caregiver, carer or support worker is a paid or unpaid person who helps an individual with activities of daily living. Caregivers who are members of a care recipient's family or social network, who may have specific professional training, are o ...

achieve fair access to training, work and leisure opportunities. It was introduced as a

Private Member's Bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in wh ...

by Dr. Hywel Francis and sponsored in the House of Lords by Lord Ashley of Stoke. 5.2 million people in England and Wales identified themselves in the 2001 Census as providing unpaid care to support family members, friends, neighbours or others because of long-term physical or mental ill-health, disability or old age. That represented nearly 10 per cent of the population and of those, 21 per cent (1.09 million) provided care for 50 or more hours per week. The Act requires assessments to be offered to carers, to consider the needs of carers in relation to leisure, education, training and work. Not all carers will wish to pursue all of these opportunities but practitioners completing assessments with the carer should be able to signpost carers to other relevant agencies.

Section 6 - Short title, commencement and extent

This section came into force on 22 July 2004.The

Interpretation Act 1978 The Interpretation Act 1978 (c. 30) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The act makes provision for the interpretation of acts of Parliament, Measures of the General Synod of the Church of England, Measures of the Church Asse ...

, section 4(b) The following orders have been made under section 6(2):
The Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004 (Commencement) (England) Order 2005
(S.I. 2005/876 (C. 37))
The Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004 (Commencement) (Wales) Order 2005
(S.I. 2005/1153 (W. 70) (C. 53))

Content

The Act # places a duty on local authorities to tell carers about their rights, # places a duty on local authorities to consider whether the carer works or wishes to work, wishes to study or have some leisure activities, when they are carrying out a carer's assessment, # gives local authorities strong powers to enlist the help of health, housing and education authorities in providing support for carers.

References

External links

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Explanatory notes
to the Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004. United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 2004 Social care in England {{UK-statute-stub