- Data from a new digital dashboard, launched by the Centre for Care at the University of Sheffield, shows unpaid carers are now providing more hours of care than ever, looking after a vulnerable family member or friend
- The dashboard provides extensive data about unpaid carers in England and Wales, and for the first time, Census data from 2011 and 2021 is available in a dashboard format
- The dashboard can support local authorities' commission services to support unpaid carers
- The value of unpaid care being provided across England and Wales has increased by 29 per cent since 2011 to £162 billion a year, almost equivalent to a second NHS
- Almost eight per cent of the population of England and Wales identify themselves as unpaid carers in 2021
- The dashboard shows that the more hours of care people provide, the worse they report their own health to be.
- Data also show that the higher the intensity of care provided, measured in hours of unpaid care per week, the lower the likelihood of being employed
- In South Yorkshire, the value of care provided annually -adjusted for inflation- has increased from 3.17 billion in 2011 to 4.03 billion in 2021, an increase of 27.13 per cent in the value of care provided
- Inner London reports an increase in the value of care of 29.8 per cent, rising from 4.19 billion in 2011 to 5.44 billion
Unpaid carers are now providing more hours of care than ever - looking after a family member, friend and neighbours living with challenges related to older age, long-term illness, or disability - according to a new interactive digital dashboard, launched by the Centre for Care at the University of Sheffield.
Created in partnership with charity Carers UK, the University of Birmingham, South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board and people with lived experience of care - the Unpaid Care Dashboard visualises ONS Census data on unpaid carers from 2011 to 2021 in England and Wales for the first time.
It shows that since 2011, those now providing over 50 hours of care in a week has increased from 24 to 30 per cent of all unpaid carers.
Unpaid carers provide the majority of care needed by a family member, friend or neighbour. Yet many unpaid carers receive limited, or no financial assistance. The dashboard shows that the number of hours of care they provide increases, so does the number of unpaid carers who report poorer health and being unable to sustain being in paid employment.
In England and Wales, five million people report to provide unpaid care, now valued at £162 billion a year, an increase of over 29 per cent since 2011. This increase in value comes despite a decline in the proportion of the population reporting that they provide unpaid care, from 9.2 per cent in 2011 to nearly 8 per cent in 2021.
Dr Maria Petrillo, from the Centre for Care at the University for Sheffield, said: "Being able to compare the data over time shows us that the proportion of people providing unpaid care for a vulnerable family member or friend for over 50 hours a week has increased over the last 10 years. That's more hours than an average person will work at a fulltime job, yet unpaid carers often do this out of love or necessity.
"The dashboard, which we have made available for all, offers insights into who is providing unpaid care and allows comparisons over time for regional and local authority areas to help improve their understanding of patterns of unpaid care. We hope the data will provide valuable evidence to inform local and national policy, as well as service commissioning to get unpaid carers support some desperately need."
The dashboard is publicly accessible, and the interactive tools allow users to check the geography, demographics, characteristics, employment and health of unpaid carers in their area and compare the information over time from the 2011 and 2021 ONS Census data.
It will give easy access to the data for local authorities, the public and charity sectors as well as carers themselves to be able to see what unpaid care looks like across England and Wales and be used to assess how resources or services might be changed to support local communities of carers.
Dr Maria Petrillo said: "As well as helping the government to identify inequalities and disparities in support for carers within different regional areas, the dashboard will also provide a valuable tool for carers who will be able to see themselves represented as part of their own unpaid care community.
"Although improvements have been made in support being offered to carers, with the introduction of the Carers Leave Act which provided five unpaid days of leave entitlement for caring duties from work. There's still a long way to go until support for unpaid carers is on a par with that offered in other countries.
"The dashboard lays bare the scale of unpaid care across England and Wales, but it is likely to be even bigger than the Census data represents. Many people don't consider themselves to even be carers in the first place, as they often provide care for a family member or friend out of love, so are likely to go under the radar.
"That's why it is so important that local government and local authorities are able to effectively plan support and resources aimed at targeting those carers most in need and reach them with interventions, benefits, respite and support, before they reach crisis point."
For the next phase of the dashboard, the team will be including Census data for Northern Ireland which is planned to be available next year, with future plans to add data for Scotland.
Professor Kate Hamblin, Director of the Centre for Care at the University of Sheffield, said: "As researchers and advocates for improving the lives of carers, we know how essential it is to have not just more data-but the right data in the hands of the people who need it most. By bringing together rich Census data with powerful interactive tools, this dashboard gives local authorities, service commissioners, carers' organisations, and carers themselves unprecedented access to detailed information about the realities of unpaid care in their communities.
"Whether it's tackling health inequalities, understanding impact on employment, or planning targeted support, this dashboard marks a major step forward in making carers visible in local decision-making - helping to close the gap between evidence and action. It's a practical tool with the power to drive smarter policy, fairer funding, and better support."
Emily Holzhausen CBE, Director of Policy and Public Affairs at Carers UK, said: "When we're working to try to make life better for unpaid carers, data can be a game changer; understanding our populations better, where resources might need to be targeted especially when in short supply, and how we can make the most difference.
"We have always tried to help local organisations understand unpaid carers' data better, but this really places so much more control in the hands of local areas to be able to look at issues that matter to them and tailor output."
Dr Aideen Young, from the Centre for Ageing Better, said: "Unpaid care - though largely overlooked - keeps our families, communities and society functioning.
"At the Centre for Ageing Better, good health and financial security are two of the outcomes we want for older people in England. But we know all too well that caring responsibilities have a significant impact on these outcomes. And that there are huge inequalities in who provides unpaid care and how much. So although we don't work directly on unpaid care, we recognise that it's a vital part of the bigger picture and we include data on it in our flagship State of Ageing report. This new dashboard makes that task so much easier - it is a veritable goldmine of information on unpaid care at a local level across the country, all in one place and readily broken down in myriad ways."
The Centre for Care will be holding a launch for the Unpaid Care Dashboard that will provide a step by step tutorial to demonstrate how to use it.
The session will be online on Wednesday 11th June from 1pm to 2pm.
Book a place here.
