UNPAID carers in Wales are finding it increasingly difficult to afford day-to-day living costs, with the worry and anxiety of this further affecting their health and wellbeing. Of the over 1,200 carers answering this year’s State of Caring survey, 60% of carers who were finding it hard to afford essentials said they were struggling to afford electricity and gas and 43% of carers who are struggling to afford essentials are struggling to afford food. Many carers are taking drastic measures such as skipping meals or not eating when hungry.
Carers have been cutting back on things that improve wellbeing, and this situation has been getting worse each year. This year, 69% of carers cut back on hobbies/leisure activities, compared to 62% in 2023. 62% cut back on seeing family and friends, compared to 51% in 2023.
Carers in receipt of social security benefits are more likely than other carers to be struggling financially and worried about the future. 43% of carers in receipt of Carer’s Allowance are struggling to make ends meet, and 73% are worried about living costs and whether they can manage in the future.
In addition to these findings, carers who are in paid employment are also worried about their finances, often because they’re concerned about having to reduce their working hours to provide more care. 78% of carers aged 18-64 in paid employment are worried about their ability to save for the future (e.g. retirement).
There are over 310,000 unpaid carers in Wales providing unpaid care for ill, older or disabled family members or friends. Carers have multiple additional expenses compared to the general public from transport costs, heating their homes for longer periods to paying for medical equipment in the home. Carers may also have to reduce their hours or give up on employment to facilitate care that further diminishes their financial position.
Research from Carers UK and the University of Sheffield estimates that it would cost over £10 billion per year to replace the care provided by unpaid carers in Wales. A recent report by Carers Wales found that there are around 100,000 unpaid carers living in poverty in Wales. The poverty rate for unpaid carers is 30% higher than for those who do not provide care, and the deep poverty rate, denoting a person more than 50% below the poverty line, for unpaid carers is 50% higher than the general population.
Carers Wales Press Office The report paints a bleak picture for the hundreds of thousands of unpaid carers in Wales, who often have no choice but to sacrifice careers, social lives and financial security to provide support for loved ones. Carers Week 2024 research shows that there are over 500,000 current and former unpaid carers in Wales who had no choice but to take on an unpaid caring role.
Rob Simkins, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at Carers Wales, said: “This report should be shocking, but unfortunately it’s a story that unpaid carers and people supporting them know all too well.
“It should serve as an embarrassment that we take for granted that more than 1 in 10 people in Wales are providing unpaid care to a loved one and are just left to skip meals, use food banks and accrue debt so they can keep the lights and heating on.
“The need for urgent action, from UK and Welsh Government is crystal clear. This cannot be allowed to continue or worsen. Unpaid carers in Wales need and deserve financial support and to have their rights upheld. Without unpaid carers our health and social care system would fall to pieces.
“It’s high time that unpaid carers’ contributions are recognised, respected and elevated, with the appropriate support is put in place to allow carers to live a life alongside their caring role, free from poverty and desperation.”
