To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his most recent estimate is of how many (a) carers there are in the UK and (b) hours on average they spend fulfilling their caring responsibilities; and what estimate he has made of the cost per hour of care to the public purse if such care was not provided. (102020)

There are an estimated 5.9 million carers in the UK. Information about the average number of hours they spend caring is not available. However according to the 2001 census it is estimated that 68 per cent. of them provide care for one to 19 hours a week, 11 per cent. provide care for 20 to 49 hours a week, and 21 per cent. provide care for 50 or more hours a week. Estimates are not available of what the cost per hour of care would be to the public purse if unpaid informal carers were not providing this care.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with whom responsibility lies for informing parents and carers of profoundly disabled children in receipt of disability living allowance of their possible entitlement to carer's allowance. (101094)

It is the responsibility of individuals to find out about the benefits to which they may be entitled. The Department's responsibility is to ensure that information about claiming benefits is widely available and accessible.

However the Department is constantly striving to improve the way it communicates information about benefits to people who are caring for a severely disabled person. The disability living allowance claim pack for a child aged under 16, like the claim pack for adults, contains information about claiming carer's allowance. In addition information and advice about entitlement to carer's allowance and other benefits are available from a wide range of Government, local authority, health service and voluntary organisation outlets.