To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the paper by Zhang X et al (2025, The Lancet Neurology), which states that current tools such as the EQ-5D do not adequately capture health-related quality of life in people with dementia and their carers.

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the paper by Zhang X et al (2025, The Lancet Neurology), which states that current tools such as the EQ-5D do not adequately capture health-related quality of life in people with dementia and their carers.

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the EuroQol 5-dimension questionnaire is the most appropriate tool for assessing the impact on caregivers of caring for people with Alzheimer's disease.

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the EuroQol 5-dimension questionnaire is the most appropriate tool for assessing the impact on caregivers of caring for people with Alzheimer's disease.

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the EuroQol 5-dimension questionnaire is the most appropriate tool for assessing the impact on caregivers of caring for people with Alzheimer's disease.

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the EuroQol 5-dimension questionnaire is the most appropriate tool for assessing the impact on caregivers of caring for people with Alzheimer's disease.

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Pitkeathley, for being a tireless champion of unpaid carers over many years and successive Governments. She quite rightly pointed out that Carers UK found that only 14% of unpaid carers were asked about their ability and willingness to provide care before hospital discharge. I want to follow up on the previous question from the noble Baroness, Lady Andrews. One of the problems faced by successive Governments is that trusts and what were previously CCGs and are now ICBs are very bad at learning from other parts of the system that do things well. For example, Northumbria has been known to have a really good discharge system: it embeds co-ordinators and works out how to get that discharge going. How can the Minister’s department improve learning across the system where there is good practice, take that best practice and appropriately transplant it into other areas so that we can really tackle this problem once and for all?

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Pitkeathley, for being a tireless champion of unpaid carers over many years and successive Governments. She quite rightly pointed out that Carers UK found that only 14% of unpaid carers were asked about their ability and willingness to provide care before hospital discharge. I want to follow up on the previous question from the noble Baroness, Lady Andrews. One of the problems faced by successive Governments is that trusts and what were previously CCGs and are now ICBs are very bad at learning from other parts of the system that do things well. For example, Northumbria has been known to have a really good discharge system: it embeds co-ordinators and works out how to get that discharge going. How can the Minister’s department improve learning across the system where there is good practice, take that best practice and appropriately transplant it into other areas so that we can really tackle this problem once and for all?

My Lords, we all know that being an unpaid carer is a profoundly challenging role that can take a serious toll on people’s physical and emotional health as they care for someone else—often, a relative, as we heard from my noble friend, or a young person. They are selfless individuals who put their own needs last. Can the Minister set out what steps the Government are taking to ensure that carers are made aware of their rights, as alluded to by the noble Baroness, Lady Pitkeathley, and the existence of the support available to them, so that it can be accessed easily? This is perhaps a question for a written reply, but have the Government given any thought to the challenge set out in the amendments to the Renters Rights’ Bill concerning access to accommodation for carers supporting a landlord or their family?

My Lords, we all know that being an unpaid carer is a profoundly challenging role that can take a serious toll on people’s physical and emotional health as they care for someone else—often, a relative, as we heard from my noble friend, or a young person. They are selfless individuals who put their own needs last. Can the Minister set out what steps the Government are taking to ensure that carers are made aware of their rights, as alluded to by the noble Baroness, Lady Pitkeathley, and the existence of the support available to them, so that it can be accessed easily? This is perhaps a question for a written reply, but have the Government given any thought to the challenge set out in the amendments to the Renters Rights’ Bill concerning access to accommodation for carers supporting a landlord or their family?

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to providing local authorities with specific additional funding to pass onto commissioned care providers.

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to providing local authorities with specific additional funding to pass onto commissioned care providers.

My Lords, we on these Benches also add to the tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Prescott, who has passed away.

My noble friend Lady Verma referred to the stress unpaid carers are under. We know that unpaid carers who look after family members may themselves have mental health issues, or may be looking after people with such issues. What support do the Government currently provide for the mental health of unpaid carers and those they care for, and what extra measures do they plan to introduce?

My Lords, we on these Benches also add to the tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Prescott, who has passed away.

My noble friend Lady Verma referred to the stress unpaid carers are under. We know that unpaid carers who look after family members may themselves have mental health issues, or may be looking after people with such issues. What support do the Government currently provide for the mental health of unpaid carers and those they care for, and what extra measures do they plan to introduce?

My Lords, I also pay tribute to the work of the noble Baroness, Lady Pitkeathley. I learned much from her when I was the Minister. The Minister may recall that, in April 2023, the previous Government set out the better care fund framework. This included £100 million to accelerate digitisation in the social care sector. This would enable the Government and NHS England to collect valuable data about the state of social care and identify gaps if the Government decide to deliver a national strategy. What plans do the Government have to continue and expand this vital process of digitisation across the care sector, hopefully in delivering a national strategy?

My Lords, I also pay tribute to the work of the noble Baroness, Lady Pitkeathley. I learned much from her when I was the Minister. The Minister may recall that, in April 2023, the previous Government set out the better care fund framework. This included £100 million to accelerate digitisation in the social care sector. This would enable the Government and NHS England to collect valuable data about the state of social care and identify gaps if the Government decide to deliver a national strategy. What plans do the Government have to continue and expand this vital process of digitisation across the care sector, hopefully in delivering a national strategy?

My Lords, in response to the Question from the noble Baroness, Lady Pitkeathley, my noble friend the Minister replied that carers are not always aware of all the benefits they are entitled to. Could my noble friend enlighten the House on what steps the Government are taking to make sure that more carers are aware of the benefits available to them?

My Lords, in response to the Question from the noble Baroness, Lady Pitkeathley, my noble friend the Minister replied that carers are not always aware of all the benefits they are entitled to. Could my noble friend enlighten the House on what steps the Government are taking to make sure that more carers are aware of the benefits available to them?

Lords consideration of Commons amendments and reasons. Lords amendment 11 not insisted on and Commons amendment 11A in lieu agreed to. Lords amendment 29 not insisted on and Lords amendment 29B in lieu agreed to on division (187 to 151). Lords amendments 30 and 108 not insisted on and Lords amendments 30B and 108B to the words so restored to the Bill agreed to on division (169 to 161). Lords amendment 48 not insisted on and Lords amendment 48B in lieu agreed to on division (177 to 135). Lords amendment 51 not insisted on and Commons amendment 51A in lieu agreed to. Lords amendment 57 not insisted on. Lords amendment 80 insisted on, Commons amendments 80A to 80N in lieu disagreed to and Lords amendments 80P and 80Q instead of the words so left out of the Bill agreed to on division (160 to 151). Lords amendment 81 not insisted on. Lords amendments 85 to 88 not insisted on and Lords amendment 88B in lieu disagreed to on division (130 to 132). Lords amendment 89 not insisted on and Commons amendment 89A in lieu agreed to. Lords amendment 90 not insisted on and Commons amendment 90A in lieu agreed to. Commons amendment 91A as an amendment to Lords amendment 91 agreed to. Lords amendment 92 not insisted on and Commons amendment 92A in lieu agreed to. Lords amendment 95 not insisted on and Commons amendment 95A in lieu agreed to. Lords amendment 105 not insisted on and Commons amendment 105A in lieu agreed to. Bill returned to the Commons with amendments.

Lords consideration of Commons amendments and reasons. Lords amendment 11 not insisted on and Commons amendment 11A in lieu agreed to. Lords amendment 29 not insisted on and Lords amendment 29B in lieu agreed to on division (187 to 151). Lords amendments 30 and 108 not insisted on and Lords...

Lords report stage third day. Amendment 113 agreed to on division (205 to 155). Amendment 116 agreed to on division (207 to 169). Amendment 124 agreed to on division (210 to 169). Amendments 125, 126 and 128 to 140 agreed to. Amendment 141 agreed to on division (198 to 158). Amendment 144A agreed to on division (187 to 143). (Part 1 of 2).

Lords report stage third day. Amendment 113 agreed to on division (205 to 155). Amendment 116 agreed to on division (207 to 169). Amendment 124 agreed to on division (210 to 169). Amendments 125, 126 and 128 to 140 agreed to. Amendment 141 agreed to on division (198 to 158)....

Lords committee stage seventh day. Schedule 12 agreed to. Clauses 71 to 80 agreed to. New clause under consideration. (Part 1 of 2).

Lords committee stage seventh day. Schedule 12 agreed to. Clauses 71 to 80 agreed to. New clause under consideration. (Part 1 of 2).

Lords second reading. Agreed to on question. Bill committed to a Committee of the Whole House.

Lords second reading. Agreed to on question. Bill committed to a Committee of the Whole House.