THE army of unpaid support carers are to be consulted in a bid to identify a borough council's key priorities over the next five years.

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council and the area's Primary Care Trust (PCT) are collecting the views of 16,000 carers in the borough.

The three-month consultation period is focusing on people who provide unpaid care and support for family members and friends.

Councillor Helen McLuckie, the council's cabinet member for health and social well being, said: "The replacement costs of carers contributions to health and social care are estimated to be £268million and so it is vital that we develop a long term plan to support carers and enable them to carry on in their caring role for as long as they want to."

A draft strategy and questionnaire has been developed to identify six priorities, including access to information, support services for carers and support to help carers maintain their own employment.

A copy of the draft strategy and the questionnaire is available on the council's website redcar-cleveland.gov.uk People can also contact the council's commissioning manager (carers) Maggie Balmer on 01642-771720, or email maggie_balmer@redcar-cleveland.gov.uk