As we come to the end of Carers Week, in this our 60th anniversary year, I have been reflecting on the importance of the focus a single week of intense activity gives us.
Ours is one of the great hidden social issues of our time. Unpaid carers are slow to self-identify and, even when we do, we tend to concentrate on the needs of the person we are caring for rather than our own. This week is when a range of charities, businesses, political leaders and sections of the media can get together to highlight carers’ needs. Not just because carers deserve this focus, but also because it is in the interests of the wider economy and society that those needs are addressed. ‘Caring About Equality’, our theme for this week, is not just the right thing do, it is the smart thing to do.
This Carers Week has been structured around the different areas in which inequality affects carers’ lives. During the week we have looked at inequalities around carers’ physical and mental health where the pressures of caring can take a significant toll. This is not just because the caring can be physically and mentally demanding in itself, but because we know from our surveys that carers often fail to find time for their own medical check ups and appointments, and are less likely to be able to find the time for the level of exercise and rest needed for their physical and mental well-being. Unaddressed, this is not only deeply damaging for the individuals concerned but it ends up increasing the burdens on our already overstretched NHS and social care system.
We’ve also focussed on the inequalities arising from the financial, work and employment challenges carers face. 1.2 million carers live in poverty, and 400,000 in deep poverty. This makes the poverty rate for unpaid carers 50% higher than those not providing care. And yet, every day, 600 more people fall out of the labour market because they can no longer balance their caring responsibilities with work. This is not only terrible for them, it is damaging for their employers, and madness for the wider economy when one of our biggest economic challenges is the proportion of working age people not in employment.
And then there are the specific challenges for older and younger carers. Areas we’ve reported on recently include the issues faced by older unpaid carers when claiming Pension Credit. New analysis by Age UK found that 65,000 carers are eligible for Pension Credit but are not claiming it. And, because of the complexities of the system for those whose pensions exceed Carer’s Allowance and who are not then entitled to it, many do not realise that they should nonetheless apply for it as it could increase their chances of being eligible for Pension Credit. And young carers face a huge array of challenges arising from their caring roles including mental and physical health, finances, education and employment which risk embedding inequality in their opportunities in later life.
These inequalities can be addressed. Important progress has been made in some areas, for example the Carer’s Leave Act in 2023 which gave all working carers the statutory right to an extra five days unpaid leave to manage their caring responsibilities. But much more remains to be done and this needs to be an integrated effort by political decision-makers, business, charities and many more. So we at Carers UK are grateful to all of those who have participated this week, including: our headline sponsor, TSB; our other business supporters, Regina and British Gas; and the charities, Age UK, Carers Trust, the ME association, MNDA, Oxfam, Rethink Mental Illness and the Lewy Body society; and above all carers themselves.
Nick Baird, Chair of Trustees, Carers UK