Written question asked by Claire Curtis-Thomas (Labour) on Friday, 6 April 2001, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 23 April 2001. It was answered by Lord Hutton of Furness (Labour) on Monday, 23 April 2001 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Dept of Health

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many parents over the age of 60 years care for children with severe learning difficulties. - Includes fact that information is not held centrally.

Answer: Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many parents over the age of 60 years care for children with severe learning difficulties. [158089] Mr. Hutton: Information about the precise number of parents over the age of 60 who care for their sons and daughters with severe learning disabilities is not held centrally. It is estimated that a third of people with learning disabilities living in the family home are living with an older carer (aged 70 or over). In the recently published White Paper, "Valuing people, a new strategy for learning disability for the 21 century" we announced our intention to introduce a performance indicator, percentage of carers aged 70 or over for whom a person centred plan, which has been agreed. This will be monitored as part of the arrangements for monitoring the White Paper.

Secondary information