Information and advice service
Section 34 - Information and advice service for carers
105.Subsection (1) provides that each local authority must establish and maintain, or ensure the establishment and maintenance of an information and advice service for relevant carers in its area.
106.Subsection (2)(a) to (g) sets out in general terms the sort of information and advice that the service must provide.
107.Subsection (3) provides that the information and advice must be provided in a manner that it is accessible to, and proportionate to the needs of, the persons to whom it is provided.
108.Subsection (4) requires that, in providing the information and advice set out in subsection (2), each local authority must identify information and advice that is likely to be of particular relevance to persons who have one or more protected characteristics (within the meaning of section 149(7) of the Equality Act 2010). These protected characteristics are age, disability, gender reassignment; pregnancy and maternity; race; religion or belief; sex; and sexual orientation.
109.Subsection (5) sets out the meaning of “relevant carers”: these are carers who reside in the authority’s area (regardless of where they provide care), and carers who live outwith the authority’s area but provide care to a cared-for person in the area.