£22.6 million of funding has been announced for initiatives that will improve support for unpaid carers in England.

This includes projects for breaks for carers as well as technology to make their lives easier.

The funding will be released next week through the Accelerating Reform Fund (ARF) to support successful schemes run by local authorities. This includes new ways to identify and recognise unpaid carers, digitising carers’ assessments so that they are easier to access, and setting up carers’ support services in hospitals.

Minister of State for Care, Stephen Kinnock, said: "Unpaid carers are the country’s unsung heroes: they provide invaluable support to vulnerable people every day.

"It is vital they too have the support they need so they can look after their own health and wellbeing. This funding will allow local authorities to harness the full potential of technology to give carers more flexibility and help with these crucial roles."

In Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon And Wiltshire, local authorities are rolling out technology to enable remote monitoring of people with care needs at night. This is helping provide greater flexibility for unpaid carers and more independence for people with care needs.

Worcestershire is deploying video technology to support carers when people are discharged from hospital to allow remote monitoring from healthcare workers, and therefore reducing the risk of readmission.

Medway Council and Kent County Council are in the early stages of digitising self-assessments, so unpaid carers can easily find the information, advice and guidance that they need to make their lives easier.

Kathryn Smith, chief executive at Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE), said: "SCIE is excited to be delivering the ARF support programme to participating local authorities. Nearly 70% of the local projects address the needs of unpaid carers. Others are using innovation to drive greater productivity and to improve people’s care experiences. We expect the learnings from the programme to generate insights about how to scale and spread innovation within social care."