Supporting and improving the wellbeing and rights of carers is a priority for local government.
Key messages
- Supporting and improving the wellbeing and rights of carers is a priority for local government. Councils currently support many carers to continue their caring role. They do this through the provision of a range of services such as home care and respite care. The role of carers in our health and care system is vital and the contribution carers make to people with social care needs is significant.
- The Carers Action Plan should be considered an opportunity to address the needs and wellbeing of ‘unknown’ carers. This includes those people not known to local services or people who may not identify themselves as carers. They are often at risk of suffering from poor health and wellbeing themselves if the burden of care becomes too great. This is particularly an issue for young carers.
- Councils are under a legal duty to identify young carers and carry out assessments that consider the impact on the child and whole family. Finding those young carers is challenging as they are often isolated and hidden from view. The last census puts the official figure for young carers at nearly 170,000.i However, research by the BBC and Nottingham University has suggested the true figure may be four times higher than official estimates claim.