C03 Annex 1
Legislation Committee 3
Response to the consultation on the National Assembly for Wales (Legislative Competence) (Social Welfare) Order
Wales Carers Alliance
National
Assembly for Wales
Legislation Committee 3
Cardiff Bay
CF99 1NA
23rd February 2009
Dear Chair and Committee,
Carers LCO - supplementary evidence
Further to the discussions with the committee on February 11th 2009, I have discussed the issue of the definition of disability with regards to children further with Keith Bowen from Contact a Family (a member organisation of the Alliance that provides information and support to parent carers of disabled children) and the chair of the Alliance, Angela Roberts.
For the purpose of the Carers LCO, we are agreed that the definition included in the LCO is sufficient to cover most situations for the carers of disabled children and the Alliance supports it.
The Alliance wants the definition of a carer in the LCO to be wide enough to include as many carers as possible and we feel that the definition in the proposed LCO fits with both earlier carers' legislation and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, which defines "disability” and "disabled person” as follows:
Meaning of "disability” and "disabled person”
(1) Subject to the provisions of Schedule 1, a person has a disability for the purposes of this Act if he has a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.
(2) In this Act "disabled person” means a person who has a disability.
We confirm we believe that the definition of disability within in the LCO is broad enough to encompass a very wide range of conditions and impairments affecting children, including ADHD and similar conditions. We acknowledge that with some conditions, there are often disputes about diagnosis. For example, there are often difficulties when parents believe their child has a special need or a disability, but where this is not accepted by the relevant professionals or agencies. This often means that the child and their family do not have access to support services. However, the problem with disputed diagnoses will not be resolved through the LCO.
The Wales Carers Alliance would also like to confirm our belief that the LCO, as currently drafted, will enable the National Assembly for Wales to introduce measures to support carers of all ages, including children and young people. We believe all carers, whether adults or children, should have real choices about the amount and kind of care they provide. Many young carers are proud of the role they play in supporting family members. However there are also many children ( and indeed adults ) who have little choice in whether or not they undertake inappropriate and damaging caring responsibilities. Children and young people in these circumstances need to be safeguarded and helped through the provision of appropriate educational and family support services. There is already a strong legal framework that should enable children and young people with caring roles to be properly supported and protected. The primary purpose of the carers’ LCO should be to meet the needs of all carers who currently are not covered by existing legislation.
Yours sincerely,
Roz Williamson
Director, Carers Wales
