Unpaid carers in Worcestershire are set to benefit from new technology that will help them monitor those they care for remotely.

This initiative is part of the Government's latest funding announcement of more support for unpaid carers across England.

Care minister Stephen Kinnock announced that £22.6 million will be available from next week as part of the previously-announced Accelerating Reform Fund.

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The funding is intended to improve support for unpaid carers, with Worcestershire earmarked for remote monitoring technology to assist carers when those they look after are discharged from hospital.

Mr 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."

This is the second batch of funding from the £42.6 million pot, with the first £20 million having been released in 2023/4.

The fund covers 123 projects across 149 local authorities across England.

Kathryn Smith, chief executive at Social Care Institute for Excellence, said the various projects will "generate insights about how to scale and spread innovation within social care".

The announcement came as Mr Kinnock was set to attend the national children and adult services conference (NCASC), which has heard costs of adult social care have become "insurmountable" following the "catastrophic impacts" of the Budget.

Local authorities in England could face extra costs of an estimated £1.8 billion as a result of a rise in national insurance contributions (NICs) and wage bills for providers, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (Adass) said.

Responding to the Adass concerns, a Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "This Government inherited a social care system in crisis.

"We are determined to tackle the significant challenges and build a National Care Service so everybody can access the high-quality care they deserve.

“That’s why we took difficult decisions in the Budget and we are providing councils with £1.3 billion of new funding for 2025-26, including at least £600 million for social care.