AMCV 318 - Digital Support Service for Unpaid Carers

Introduction to The Council Shropshire is the largest landlocked county in England with a population of 323,600 residents. People over the age of 65 represent 25.3% of the total population. 29,704 people aged 5 years and over identify as a carer. Shropshire comprises.1235 square miles and is classified as largely rural with 57.2% of residents living in rural areas. It has the County town of Shrewsbury and 16 market towns: Albrighton, Bishops Castle, Bridgnorth, Broseley, Church Stretton, Cleobury Mortimer, Craven Arms, Ellesmere, Highley, Ludlow, Market Drayton, Much Wenlock, Oswestry, Shifnal, Wem, Whitchurch Facts and figures about Shropshire can be found here Brief Description of Services Shropshire Council wishes to appoint a Service Provider who will work alongside our existing Carer Support Services to use digital tools to expand our engagement with unpaid adult Carers, parent Carers and young adult Carers in Shropshire. The Service Provider will enable us to reach Carers with appropriate advice and support at a stage before they feel the need to look to statutory services for support and promote resilience. The Service Provider will bring extensive experience of unpaid and family caring, expertise in the professional support of unpaid carers and a range of digital engagement tools and resources. The design of the Service will be as inclusive as possible, recognising that not having a computer and a broadband connection can be a barrier to accessing digital services, and mobile phones are used. The digital systems should be as simple and user-friendly as possible. The service has a maximum budget of £73,500 per year, and the contract will be for an initial period of two years, with the option to extend by a further one year. Background Information Shropshire Council’s All Age Carer Strategy 2022-2027 (AACS) was developed to provide an outline of a holistic approach to supporting carers and will support the achievement of outcomes in the Shropshire Plan 2022-25, particularly relating to the strategic objectives within the priority Healthy People: •Tackling inequalities •Early interventions •Partnerships •Self-responsibility The Shropshire All Age Carer Strategy 2022-2027 (AACS) outlined 7 key priorities based on subjects’ carers have informed us means the most to them and will make the biggest difference to their lives.