To ask the Minister of Health how he will improve the support available for people transitioning to becoming carers for friends or family.

My Department is committed to supporting carers. In 2023, following the Reform of Adult Social Care Consultation, my Department established the Social Care Collaborative Forum. The forum provides a formal mechanism to implement reforms to adult social care and in doing so supports opportunities for greater co-operation, co-production and joined up working between the Department, the social care sector, and across Government.

The work of the Forum is being taken forward through a number of workstreams, which meet on a regular basis. A Supporting Carers Workstream, co-chaired by Carers NI and my Department, has been established with a workplan focused on improving support for unpaid carers. Whilst the workstream does not have a specific focus on individuals who are new or recently transitioning into unpaid care, its objectives include bringing forward recommendations which can help to improve support and recognition for all unpaid carers in contact with the health and social care. Work underway includes exploring options to improve information services for unpaid carers and improving identification and registration for carers. In addition, the workstream has recently established a Cross Departmental Senior Officials Group, chaired by the Department of Health. The group facilitates an integrated, cross government approach to supporting unpaid carers across society.

We continue to work within the context of an extremely challenging financial environment. The work of the Social Care Collaborative Forum Supporting Carers Workstream is subject to confirmation of funding, and future implementation into service delivery of the workstream’s objectives will require prioritisation and planning, and longer-term budget stability. My Department will continue to support our carers, and we are committed to providing those supports both practical and financial for them, resources permitting.