Emily Holzhausen CBE, Director of Policy and Public Affairs at Cares UK, highlights the crucial role of unpaid carers and questions whether society is sharing this responsibility fairly.
The social care system is under huge pressure, with millions of people unable to access the right supporti. Waiting lists are rising, local authority budgets are tight, and the sector is chronically understaffed – is this because families are doing less, or does an underfunded and overstretched system means that everyone is under-served?
It’s a myth that families are doing less, in fact the vast amount of care provided in this country is through family, close friends and even neighbours, around 4.7 million people in England according to the 2021 Census. The value of their support is worth a staggering £152 billion, the same value as the NHS. Both the value and the numbers of unpaid carers overshadow those working in care. Yet unpaid carers say they feel invisible and undervalued.
Evidence suggests the amount of substantial care provided by unpaid carers has increased over time, rather than decreased. Whilst the 2021 Census showed an overall decline in numbers of carers – possibly due to a question change and other reasons – it showed an increase in the total number of carers providing intensive care. There was no question change in Scotland’s Census however, carried out one year later, and it found a substantial increase in the number of unpaid carers as well as the intensity of care provided.
The picture we get from data and carers’ experiences doesn’t show an over-reliance on formal care, but the exact opposite – families are often overstretched and under-supported. They are also getting less from the state in terms of support. According to the Kings Fund, the number of carers receiving direct support from local authorities was lower in 2022/23 than it was in 2015/16. In addition, there has been a shift in the type of support they receive. Fewer carers (27% compared to 31% in 2015/16) now receive paid support and more receive advice, information and signposting (56% compared to 50% in 2015/16). The number of people provided with respite care delivered to support the person caring for them has fallen from 57,000 in 2015/16 to 35,590 in the latest figures for 2023/4.
Providing unpaid care at this kind of intensity has significant impacts for unpaid carers and their families. The Association of Directors of Social Services Budget survey has found that Directors are increasingly reporting a rise in families coming to them with more complex needs and a greater proportion are at breaking point. For those that are in paid employment, around 600 a day give up work to care, paying a heavy financial price in the short and longer term.
Most carers don’t have a choice about providing unpaid care. Polling for Carers Week 2024 found that around 62% of carers felt that they had no choice about providing care because alternative care options were not available. Those who didn’t have a choice were far more likely to have experienced poorer outcomes in terms of finances, health and wellbeing and relationships – and women were more heavily affected compared with men. A staggering 1.2 million unpaid carers are in poverty, with Carer’s Allowance the lowest benefit of its kind at only £81.90 per week.
Given what we know about demand for care growing in the future, we need a number of measures to support families that care. We need to see a robust plan for a National Care Service, support for working carers through their employers including the right to paid time off from work, with employers recompensed by Government. We need the NHS to play its part, preventing unpaid carers’ ill-health, recognising and valuing carers better. Finally, we need this to be underpinned by an all-age National Carers Strategy underpinning the different elements of carers’ lives across all Government departments.
@ CarersUK
carersuk.org
Image depicts, Emily Holzhausen CBE, Director of Policy and Public Affairs, Carers UK