The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed the number of people identifying as an unpaid carer has dropped by 800,000 since the last census in 2011, mostly through a reduction in the numbers of people providing lower hours of care.
With five million people from as young as five reporting to be providing care in England and Wales in 2021, compared with 5.8 million in 2011, the results clearly show that more needs to be done to help carers to self-identify to enable them to receive vital support.
Following the surprising results, the ONS said:
“The difference between the numbers in 2011 and 2021 could be down to, as many expect, people simply not realising their occasional "helping out" has become an official form of caring and they can apply for support to continue that important role”.
“The 2021 Census was also carried out during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which may have influenced how people perceived and undertook their provision of unpaid care and therefore may have affected how people chose to respond.”
According to NHS England it takes carers an average of two years to acknowledge themselves as a carer for a friend or relative. The problem is that carers don't always recognise themselves as carers or realise that they require support themselves. For many people, looking after someone doesn’t have a name, it is ‘just something you do’. However, not recognising that you have a caring role can be a barrier to accessing vital support.
Whilst the proportion of people providing unpaid care a week has dropped, the proportion of people who are providing a significant amount of unpaid care a week has increased, as expected. With 152,000 more people providing 50 or more hours of unpaid care every week than in 2011.
Support is available for carers.
If you are caring for someone, you don’t have to tell anyone that you’re a carer, or officially call yourself a carer, but it can be useful to register with your GP and local carers organisation, such as Carers First, as a carer to access the range of support on offer; including information, advice and guidance relating to your individual needs, helping to connect you to local and national services and to other local carers through our support groups, training sessions and events.
To find out more about the 2021 Census figures on unpaid care, you can visit the Office for National Statistics website.
Online Help and Advice
Visit our online support section where we have provided advice and guidance on a range of relevant topics to help you in your caring role.