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The Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004 was an Act of the British Parliament. It was introduced as a Private Member's Bill by Dr. Hywel Francis and sponsored in the House of Lords by Lord Ashley of Stoke. It received Royal Assent on July 22, 2004. 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[1]. 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.
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.
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