Provision of unpaid care: by age and sex, UK, 2001
Around 6 million people (11 per cent of the population aged five years and over) provided unpaid care in the UK in April 2001. While 45 per cent of carers were aged between 45 and 64, a number of the very young and very old also provided care.
There were 114,000 children (just over 1 per cent) aged 5 to 15 years providing care in 2001, with 9,000 of these (8 per cent) caring for 50 or more hours a week. Around 44,000 people (5 per cent) aged 85 and over provided care, with around half of these (51 per cent) spending 50 or more hours a week caring.
Under the age of 65 a larger proportion of women than men were carers. The number of hours of care given was related to age, with a higher percentage of older carers providing 50 or more hours a week. The proportion of carers providing this level of care rose sharply from age 65.
Amount of unpaid care given by carers aged 16-64 (age standardised): by NS-SEC, UK, 2001
The percentage of people aged 16 to 64 providing unpaid care does not vary greatly by social group. For both sexes the difference between those groups with the lowest and the highest proportion of carers was just 2 percentage points.
However, there was a clear variation across the social groups in the number of hours of care provided. Over a fifth (22 per cent) of carers in routine occupations and nearly two fifths (37 per cent) of carers who had never worked or were long-term unemployed provided 50 or more hours of care per week. This compares with less than one in ten (8 per cent) of carers in the higher managerial and professional group.
While family and friends may provide unpaid care, a number of people receive formal care services either in institutions or their own homes. Social Services and the NHS, as well as both private and charitable organisations, have a role in providing formal care.
The amount of formal care provided by local authorities has increased markedly in recent years. Councils with Social Service Responsibilities (CSSRs) provided or purchased an estimated 3.4 million contact hours of home help or home care in a single week in September 2004. This was almost twice the amount provided in 1993 (1.8 million hours per week). More than two thirds (69 per cent) of all paid home care was provided by the independent sector with less than one third (31 per cent) directly provided by CSSRs.
In 2001, 510,000 people in the UK were living in medical and care establishments, two fifths (43 per cent) of whom were aged 85 and over. The majority of people were living in residential care homes (52 per cent) and nursing homes (35 per cent). Females made up 69 per cent of those living in medical and care establishments.
Sources: Census 2001, Office for National Statistics; Census 2001, General Register Office for Scotland; Census 2001, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency
Notes: The 2001 Census, for the first time, asked a question about the provision of unpaid care. It asked 'do you look after, or give any help or support to family members, friends, neighbours or others because of long-term physical or mental ill-health or disability, or problems related to old age? Do not count anything you do as part of your paid employment'. Responses were only collated for those aged over four.
Age-standardised rates allow comparisons between populations with different age structures. The method used here was direct standardisation using the European Standard Population.
NS-SEC: National Statistics Socio-Economic Classification
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