Adult social care relies heavily on the care and support provided to family members, friends and neighbours by unpaid carers. In England, the number of unpaid carers, mostly women, outnumber the paid health and care workforce by at least two to one. Indeed, unpaid carers provide the bulk of all care.
Despite this, millions of carers have to bear the negative effects of social care workforce shortages and a lack of funding for social care. Many face unrelenting demands and too often feel isolated, unsupported and undervalued while providing care for a family member.
Many carers are not getting the support they need and are entitled to under the Care Act 2014, and many essential services remain unavailable to them, are inaccessible or unaffordable, or not of sufficient quality.
Too often carers tell us they have to ‘fight’ to get the care and support they need. It is also increasingly difficult for carers to get respite care, with 41% of carers saying they have not taken a break in the last year.
A lack of formal social care also affects unpaid carers’ ability to juggle work and care with many giving up work to do so. With a tight labour market and with unprecedented numbers of unpaid carers out of the workforce, there is a double imperative to invest in care and to support families, including disabled people, to stay in work.
Very little support or suitable care is available for carers. I am now 80 years old, and no consideration is given to my reducing speed, strength and stamina. I don’t know how I will be able to cope.”
The next Government must:
- Develop a clear plan for social care reform and provide long-term, sustainable funding to ensure all carers and those they support can access high-quality social care services when they need them.
- Ensure that that Local Authorities have sufficient and sustainable funding to enable them to fulfil their duties to carers under the Care Act 2014.
- Develop a social care workforce strategy to ensure that there are enough skilled social care staff to provide social care, lessening the amount of unpaid care that family and friends are currently providing.
- Invest an additional £1.5 billion in carers’ breaks so that carers are able to access the breaks they need and improve their mental and physical health and wellbeing.
- Develop a new National Carers Strategy, backed by significant investment, which sets out future commitments to supporting unpaid carers and identifies specific actions that focus on delivering tangible progress and additional support for carers, their families, and those they care for.
- Recognise the economic impact of social care, which can be fundamental for carers’ ability to stay in or return to work.
Christie's story
Christie has been caring for her mother, Maria, ever since she was a child, and around twenty years ago she gave up work to care for her full-time.
Find out more
For more information, please see our State of Caring 2022 report.
