Pavilion Publishing and Media Ltd
Blue Sky Offices Shoreham, 25 Cecil Pashley Way, Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, BN43 5FF, UNITED KINGDOM
Tel: +44 (0)1273 434 943
Email: [email protected]
Only half of unpaid family carers are getting the support they need, while 41% say the hours they spend caring have soared over the past year, according to a survey by the Carers Trust.
Older people are amongst the unpaid carer groups who are receiving the least support, along with those from Black, Asian and minority ethnic and lower socio-economic communities and women carers.
The survey of 3,430 unpaid carers from across the UK also found that over the last year, the average amount of time they spend caring each week had risen by more than 50 hours. An additional one third (36%) of carers said they had experienced an equivalent rise of 20-49 hours per week in their caring role.
Unpaid carers aged 50-65 felt most strongly that they do not get enough support to be an unpaid carer (73%) while 58% of over-65s felt the same way. Among those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, 64% said they don’t get adequate support compared to just 11% of those from the most wealthy backgrounds.
Just 16% of those from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities said they had been signposted to support by their local authority, compared to 31% of white carers, and only 6% had received support from councils.
Need more programmes to identify and support underrepresented groups of carers
Many of those surveyed said they were not directed to support by councils, health services or other organisations and instead had to find out about available help themselves, suggesting a system that isn’t working for them. Carers Trust is calling for the commissioning of more specialist programmes to identify, hear from and support underrepresented groups of carers.
Carers Trust is also calling for Carer’s Allowance to be completely overhauled. At just £76.75 a week in England and Wales, Carer’s Allowance is the lowest benefit of its kind and its strict eligibility criteria – claimants must earn £139 a week or less after tax and must be spending a minimum of 35 hours a week caring for someone – actively discourages full-time work.
Carers Trust’s CEO, Kirsty McHugh, said: “These shocking findings show how some of the most vulnerable people in our society are being left alone to shoulder the burden of unpaid care. It’s vital that support becomes more inclusive and accessible, recognising the diverse experience of the UK’s seven million unpaid carers.
“Many carers tell us their local carer organisations are a lifeline in these difficult times but these services require more funding and staff to ensure they can continue to provide high-quality support. Meanwhile, many are being pushed into poverty by having to give up paid work due to their caring role, often having to make do with Carer’s Allowance, a benefit which had proved completely inadequate and must urgently be overhauled.
“The fact that so many say they aren’t getting enough support should be a wake-up call to the UK government. It is high-time they fixed social care and eased the demands on millions of undervalued unpaid carers in this country.”