Informal Care
5.2 million carers in England & Wales
Carers: by age and sex, April 2001, England & Wales
In April 2001, 5.2 million people were providing unpaid care in England and Wales. People in their fifties were the group most likely to be providing care. More than one in five were doing so. The proportion then declined with age.
A greater proportion of women than men were carers, both in the population as a whole and in age groups up to 64 years. Among those aged 65 and over, men were more likely than women to be carers.
The proportion of adults (people aged 16 or over) who provided care varied substantially according to local authority. Overall, the five local authorities with the highest percentage of carers were: Neath Port Talbot (17 per cent); Easington (16 per cent); Torfaen (16 per cent); Merthyr Tydfil (16 per cent); and North East Derbyshire (16 per cent). Seven of the ten local authorities with the highest proportions of adult carers were in Wales. Most of these ten local authorities also have high rates of limiting long-term illness or disability.
Local authorities in England and Wales with the lowest proportions of adult carers were concentrated in London and the South East. The ten with the lowest proportion were all Inner London boroughs. The five lowest all had proportions around 8 per cent. They were Wandsworth, Westminster, Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea, and Lambeth.
People aged 16 to 74 who were carers: by economic activity status, April 2001, England & Wales
Among 16 to 74 year olds, 13 per cent provided some unpaid care for other people in 2001. In this age group, 12 per cent of people in work were unpaid carers, compared with 15 per cent of people not in work.
Of those in paid work, part-time workers (15 per cent) were more likely to provide care than full-time workers (11 per cent). Self-employed people (13 per cent) were slightly more likely to provide care than people who were employees (11 per cent).
People who were not in paid work and who looked after the home and/or family were the most likely to provide care (24 per cent). This group also had the highest proportion (43 per cent) of its carers providing 50 or more hours per week of care.
Of the two remaining groups not in paid work, retired people (17 per cent) were more likely than the average to be carers. There was also substantial provision of care among people who were themselves permanently sick or disabled (14 per cent).
Source: Census, April 2001, Office for National Statistics 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 4.
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