Agenda item

Report from the Strategic Director of Adult Care, Housing and Public Health.

Recommendation:

That Cabinet approves the Borough that Cares All-Age Carers Strategy 2026-2031 which is due to be launched in April 2026.

Consideration was given to the report which sought approval of the Borough that Cares All-Age Carers Strategy 2026-2031. In July 2022, the Rotherham Health and Wellbeing Board approved the Borough That Cares Strategic Framework 2022-2025. The strategic framework created a foundation of support, improved information and advice, established a carers network and introduced a co-production programme with communities to build a carer friendly borough. In addition, it established the Borough That Cares Network, which had facilitated several engagement opportunities, including the development of the Council’s carers webpages and a proposed new ‘The Borough that Cares All-Age Carers Strategy 2026-2031’.

There were approximately 26,313 carers living in Rotherham. This represented just over 10% of Rotherham’s population. A carer was anyone who cared, unpaid, for a friend or family member who could not cope without support. This could be because of ageing, illness, disability, poor mental health, or an addiction.

There had been a number of key achievements over the 2022-2025 Strategy which included:

• The stabilisation of voluntary sector carer groups/services.
• The Borough That Cares Strategic Network provided a well-attended regular forum for organisations and groups supporting carers and carers.
• The establishment of a voice, influence and engagement task group with a focus on the health and wellbeing of Carers known as the Unpaid Carers Multi-Agency Strategic Group.
• Refreshed and improved information, advice and guidance available to carers.
• Embedded an integrated approach to identifying and supporting carer health and wellbeing through the partnership working of the Borough That Cares Network which represents social care, health and the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS).
• The introduction of a co-production programme with communities to build a carer friendly borough via The Borough That Cares Network, utilised to facilitate a number of opportunities including the development of the Council’s carers webpages and the vision, priorities and commitments for the new strategy to 2031.

During April to August 2025, engagement had been undertaken with carers, adult social care, health and other key stakeholders to reflect on progress and gather feedback on achievements between 2022-2025, and to co-design the vision, priorities and commitments for the next five years to 2031. Twenty engagement sessions took place involving 399 participants and further details were set out in Section 4 of the report.

The feedback from the engagement sessions had shaped the detail of the

Strategy for the next five years and was focussed around five key commitments:

• Commitment 1 – Identification and Early Intervention (paragraph 2.4)
• Commitment 2 – Support Carers and Ensure Their Voice is Heard (paragraph 2.5)
• Commitment 3 – Support Carers Through Times of Change (paragraph 2.6)
• Commitment 4 – Work in Partnership (paragraph 2.7)
• Commitment 5 – Co-Design a Responsive Support Offer for Carers (paragraph 2.8)

The report was considered by a joint meeting of the Health Select Commission and Improving Lives Select Commission who advised that the recommendations be supported with additions. Discussions focussed on the challenges faced by young carers, inconsistencies in information sharing, systemic barriers, financial support including limitation and means testing, and development of the underpinning action plan. The Commissions also requested that specific local data be included, where possible on page 6 of the Strategy and, under the ‘Identification and Early Intervention’ commitment on page 11, include specific reference to improving the partnership approach and associated processes to identifying young carers, given the acknowledged existing shortcomings and challenges in the context of the potential lifelong implications of failing to provide timely and appropriate support. Cabinet accepted these recommendations.

Resolved:

That Cabinet approves the Borough that Cares All-Age Carers Strategy 2026- 2031 which is due to be launched in April 2026, with the addition of:

a)    Specific local data, where possible, is added to page 6 of the Strategy.

b)    Under the ‘Identification and Early Intervention’ commitment on page 11, include specific reference to improving the partnership approach and associated processes to identifying young carers, given the acknowledged existing shortcomings and challenges in the context of the potential lifelong implications of failing to provide timely and appropriate support.