Introduction

A person is a carer if they provide unpaid support to a family member, neighbour or friend. The person could need support because they are ill, frail, disabled, experiencing mental health issues or using drugs or alcohol.

The Care Act 2014 defines a carer as “an adult who provides or intends to provide care for another adult” and “A carer is someone who helps another person, usually a relative or friend, in their day-to-day life. This is not the same as someone who provides care professionally, or through a voluntary organisation”.

The Children and Families Act 2014 defines a young carer as “a person under 18 who provides or intends to provide care for another person”.

The Children’s and Families Act 2014 also defines a parent carer as “a person aged 18 or over who provides or intends to provide care for a disabled child for whom the person has parental responsibility”.

A carer doesn’t necessarily have to live with the person they care for to be a carer - some carers don’t live in the same town or city as the person they care for, but their lives are still affected by their caring role. Anyone can become a carer, and often caring responsibilities for a family member, loved one, friend or neighbour can arise unexpectedly.

Unpaid carers are crucial for providing care and support to those vulnerable and in need in our society.  However, their caring role may impact significantly on their psychological and physical wellbeing and these in turn will determine the sustainability of their caring role.

This Chapter provides an insight into the prevalence of carers living in Nottinghamshire.  Using a variety of data sources, it explores areas of carer need including physical and psychological health, employment and financial support.  This chapter also gives an overview of current service provision and assets.

Prevalence

Nationally the 2021 Census data relating to unpaid carers shows a decrease in the overall total number of unpaid carers; down from 6.3 million to 5 million, a reduction of 1.3 million.  This means that around 9% of the population are providing unpaid care.  This may however be due to many people not recognising themselves as carers with Carers UK reporting that half of all carers (51%) took a year or more to recognise their caring role and a third taking over 3 years[1].  Carers UK instead estimate that 10.6 million, or one in five people, are an unpaid carer in the UK.  Despite the overall reported fall in the total number of carers, those carers providing 50 hours or more unpaid care has increased by 7%.  Nationally 120,000 young carers between five and seventeen are reported in the England census data.  The number of young adults aged 18 to 24 providing between 20 to 49 hours of unpaid care per week has risen from 43,950 in the 2011 census, to 71,120 in 2021.  Over the period 2010-2020, every year, 4.3 million people became unpaid carers[2].

Locally, the 2021 Census data regarding carers, despite the impact of COVID-19 and estimates by Carers UK, shows that there has been an overall decrease in the number of carers in the previous decade by 8,526 across Nottinghamshire County.  The latest census estimated that 41,649 carers providing between 1-19 hours of care per week – down by 15,777 since the 2011 Census.  However, those carers providing over 50 hours of care per week has increased by 2,819 from 21,680 to 24,499.

Unmet need and gaps

From feedback received from carers it is clear that there are additional requirements to support both working carers and parent-carers.  Parent-carers in particular report being unsure regarding where their parenting role ends and their caring role begins and therefore find it difficult to access support in their own right.  The new Carers Hub service are able to provide support to parent-carers but further work is required to ensure that all areas are aware of this service offer so that carers are able to access the support provided.

The State of Caring Report (2019) states that “providing support for carers, especially those looking to stay in, or return to, paid work is essential if women are to be able to participate fully in the economy and live a life free from poverty in older age”.  The report also states that “increasing numbers of employers are recognising the importance of supporting carers in their workforce to continue working, so they can retain talented staff rather than incurring the costs of recruiting and retraining new employees”.  It is important therefore that we work with provider services, including statutory services, to ensure that provision of support is available and accessible to carers who work.

Additionally, whilst the data shows that the vast majority of carers in Nottinghamshire are white there is a danger that this may lead to carers from ethnic minority backgrounds not receiving the support they need or being engaged in coproduction activities to ensure that services meet their needs.  The new Carers Hub service has been specifically tasked with broadening support to all communities as part of the new contract.

Anna Oliver                                                                
Commissioning Manager, Ageing Well                     
anna.oliver@nottscc.gov.uk

Dan Godley                                                               
Senior Commissioning Officer                   
dan.godley@nottscc.gov.uk                                        

Sarah Wells                                                              
Commissioning Officer                  
Sarah.wells1@nottscc.gov.uk