Bid for £4.1m to support more unpaid carers in Norfolk
- By Elaine Bird
- 19 December 2019
- North-West Norfolk
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A bid for £4.1 million from the Government’s life chances fund, to improve the lives of more unpaid carers, has been submitted by Norfolk County Council today (December 18).
If the bid is successful the money will be used to increase support for Norfolk’s unpaid carers in partnership with social investor, Bridges Outcome Partnerships (BOP) who will begin to deliver the new five-year service in September 2020.
Councillor Bill Borrett, cabinet member, for adult social care, public health and prevention, said:
“This bid is a direct result of the County Council’s Carers’ Charter which was launched a year ago to deliver action to strengthen support for carers. In Norfolk, we estimate there are 99,000 informal carers, and our ambition is to reach out to more of those who might need some support and will also help those they care for.
“This funding together with our existing funding will protect carers support services for the next five years, a demonstration of the Council’s high level of commitment to tackle something we have identified as a high priority.”
Alan Hopley, Voluntary Norfolk’s chief executive officer said:
“Additional funding to help unpaid carers is very much welcome and will provide more effective support through new ways of working. We don’t want people to fall into crisis, so reaching people sooner is essential and that means a more joined up approach is needed.
“Carers have told us that processes are not always straight-forward, especially when it comes to assessments or accessing planned breaks. Working in partnership with Bridges Outcomes Partnership, gives us a fantastic opportunity to take a look at how we deliver support and provide better outcomes for the carers of Norfolk.”
The outcome of the submission will be announced by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport in March 2020.