New research from the Centre for Care, published in partnership with Carers UK, has found that the economic value of contributions made by unpaid carers in the UK is now £184 billion a year.

This research builds on three separate reports that were part of the Centre for Care’s Valuing Carers series. These reports highlighted the value of care in England and Wales (£162 billion), Northern Ireland (£5.8 billion), and Scotland (£15.9 billion).

This new research shows there has been a huge increase in the value of unpaid care in the UK – up by £64.9 billion since 2011 – a 29% increase. This increase is because families are providing more hours of care than ever before in all four nations.

The combined NHS budget across the four nations of the UK in 2021/2022 was £189 billion – meaning that carers are providing the value of care equivalent to a second NHS.

This research demonstrates the vital contributions of unpaid caregivers across the UK, illustrating how they save the public purse substantial amounts of money every week, day, and hour throughout the year.

Read the report here.