· 48% have cut back on essentials like food and heating because of their caring role
· 35% have taken out loans, used credit cards, or overdrafts to make ends meet.
· 42% are struggling to afford the costs of social care support, and 32% reporting that the cost of care had increased.
· 40% have reduced their working hours or given up paid employment
· 15% have had been unable to afford to go to university or college, or other education.
· 30% said their physical health and 39% their mental health is poor because of their caring role.
Unpaid carers in Scotland are experiencing a deepening crisis, with too many facing a financial and personal cost of caring that is far too high.
The new “State of Caring: The Cost of Caring in Scotland 2025”, launched on Carers Rights Day (20 November) shows a deteriorating picture for Scotland’s 627,000 unpaid carers, with significant costs to their financial security, health, employment and opportunities.
The research shows an alarming rise in the number of unpaid carers forced to cut back on heating their homes and feeding themselves and of the financial pressures on carers intensifying.
One in five (20%) unpaid carers responding to this year’s survey said they are struggling to make ends meet, and this financial burden grows for those receiving social security benefits, with 38% of those receiving Carer Support Payment[1] and 44% of carers living on means tested benefits such as Universal Credit[2], struggling to make ends meet.
More and more unpaid carers are cutting back on essential such as food and heating, with this situation deteriorating alarmingly in the past year. In 2025, half (48%) were cutting back, a significant 71% rise on 2024 when 28% of carers were cutting back on essentials[3].
Carers are increasingly turning to debt to survive. More than a third (35%) have taken out bank loans, used credit cards, or relied on overdrafts simply to make ends meet.
Parent carers of children are particularly hard hit. Despite the Scottish Government’s national mission of eradiating child poverty, too many parent carers are living with high levels of financial insecurity. A quarter (27%) are struggling to make ends meet, 62% are cutting back on essentials and 56% have taken a loan or credit cards to make ends meet; building unsustainable debt for their future.
The human cost is profound. Unpaid carers are facing increasingly poor health, loss of career, education and opportunities. Two in five carers (39%) are living with poor mental health, a third (30%) with poor physical health and 40% have reduced their working hours or given up paid employment because of their caring role. Giving up paid work creates a devastating cycle where carers lose income just as their expenses increase, pushing them deeper into poverty.
Unpaid carers are providing more care, with less support. Half (50%) have increased caring hours, yet four in ten (42%) were not receiving services[4] and only 13% had received a formal break from caring.
The lives of too many carers are restricted by financial insecurity, reduced life choices, deteriorating health and limited support. And there is no light at the end of the tunnel - even when caring ends, many carers face an uncertain future, with pension contributions reduced because of the impact of their caring role.
Kirsten Hogg, Director: Carers Scotland said: "This report reveals a crisis that is devastating and growing. In just one year, we have seen a staggering 71% increase in carers forced to cut back on essentials like food and heating. These are not statistics – they are our family members, friends and neighbours who are skipping meals, falling into debt, and sacrificing their own health, career and future security to care for loved ones.
At the same time, Carers Scotland heard carers who are crying out for help to live their lives – to be able to have a career or be in education, to have breaks and time for themselves, even to have enough time and money for social and leisure activities, friendships and hobbies. The things that each of us take for granted. But the system of support they need is fractured and carers are paying the price – a price that is too high.
Every day 1000 people become carers – and tomorrow it could be any one of us. As we come towards the election, the next Scottish Government and all parties in the Scottish Parliament must recognise that we cannot – and must not - continue to rely on a system that pushes carers into poverty and ill health and take bold action to change this.
The current Scottish Government also still has time to do more in its final months by increasing investment in carers in the upcoming budget, particularly in actions to reduce poverty and increase access to breaks from caring.”
- ENDS -
[1] Carer Support Payment is worth just £83.30. Carers in Scotland who receive this benefit also receive a Carer’s Allowance Supplement, paid twice a year worth £587. In total, this equates to just £94.58 per week for a minimum of 35 hours per week – £2.70 per hour (nearly £10 per hour less that the UK Minimum Wage of £12.21)
[2] With a carer element or addition included to recognise their caring role.
[3] 28% of carers were cutting back on essentials in 2024
[4] State of Caring 2025 asked carers what support they received from a long list of all social care services provided by the public, independent and third sectors. This included paid care workers, home adaptations, day services, care homes for short breaks, other breaks services, residential care, after school support for disabled children and activities from local carers organisations and charities.
Media contact
For the Carers Scotland press office please contact:
· Christine Robertson, Media and Communications Officer (from Mon 17 November)
christine.robertson@carerscotland.org
Tel: 07864814804
· Fiona Collie, Head of Public Affairs and Communications
fiona.collie@carerscotland.org
Tel: 07967826238
Notes to Editor
1. The findings of “State of Caring: The Cost of Caring in Scotland 2025” are from an annual survey by Carers Scotland and Carers UK. This was carried out an online survey between June and August 2025, receiving over 10,500 responses from unpaid carers across the UK, including 1781 in Scotland. A copy of the embargoed report can requested from Christine Robertson.
2. An unpaid carer is someone who provides care and support to a partner, friend, or neighbour who is disabled, has an illness or long-term condition, or who need extra help as they get older
3. There are over 627,000 unpaid carers in Scotland and research estimates that it would cost over £15.9 billion per year to replace the care they provide – equivalent to the budget of NHS Boards in Scotland. Yet around 28% unpaid carers in Scotland are living in poverty, with carers 56% more likely to be in poverty than the general population and 60% more likely to be in deep poverty.
4. Carers Scotland is a charity set up to help the hundreds of thousands of people in Scotland who care, unpaid, for family or friends and is a membership organisation of carers for carers. Carers Scotland is the Scottish nation office of Carers UK. The charity provides information and advice about caring alongside practical and emotional support for carers. Carers Scotland campaigns and influences policy makers, employers and service providers, using carers’ insights and lived experiences, to help improve carers’ lives.
www.carerscotland.org
5. Carers Rights Day is an annual awareness raising day to help unpaid carers know their rights and what are entitled to, and to help them get the support they need and the recognition they deserve.
Quotes from carers in State of Caring 2025
• “My only income is from state benefits, Carers Support Payment and UC [Universal Credit]. There is no wiggle room on this tight-line, no luxuries or even simple comforts. I cannot afford to heat my own home in winter and I struggle to eat healthy, nutritious food. I cannot afford new clothes, shoes etc and can only buy second hand. I have no social life as even buying a high street coffee is beyond my means. I have to live a very small, frugal life.”
• “My mental health is shattered. I feel on the verge of a breakdown all the time"
• “I cannot work properly. My pension contributions are shot to pieces. I am not able to financially plan for the future and I went bankrupt because of my caring role.”