UK becomes 'nation of carers' as Brits quit work - how to apply for social care

We have become a “nation of carers” according to a new report which reveals numbers caring full-time for a disabled loved one have skyrocketed.

Experts warn lack of formal social care is driving people to quit their jobs as the numbers providing over 35 hours of unpaid care a week have increased by 70%. They say that increasingly middle aged women are left filling the gaps to look after parents, spouses or their disabled adult children.

Analysis by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation shows full-time unpaid carers in England have increased from 1.1 million in 2003/04 to 1.9 million in 2023/24.

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At the same time applications for formal social care support for our aging population went up by 15% but this has only been met with a 2.5% increase in those receiving it.

Dr Parth Patel, associate director at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), which commissioned the research, said: “We all want and need more care in our lives yet there are fewer people to provide it. Who will care is one of the great challenges of our age. This is not just a question of tax and spend, but of dignity and mutual obligation.”

More requests for social care support to local councils came from working age adults with 32% from those aged 16 to 64 compared to a 9% rise from those aged 65 and over. New requests for support increased from 1.8 million in 2015/16 to 2.1 million in 2023/24.

The Mirror has launched the Fair Care for All campaign calling for social care to be properly staffed and funded. The Government has promised to establish a new “National Care Service” but this has been delayed pending a national review. It comes after successive governments ditched or delayed plans to reform the thorny issue of how to fund social care.

Backing the new report, Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: "I’ve been a carer for most of my life. First as a teenager, nursing my mum during her long battle against bone cancer. Later for my Nanna, organising her care and trying to make her last few years as comfortable as we could. And now for our son John.

"Most care happens not in care homes but in people’s homes, provided not by paid care staff but by family members and other loved ones. Parents and grandparents, husbands and wives, siblings and children. We don’t talk about it much, but we are a nation of carers.”

The IPPR is an influential thinktank which sees many of its proposals converted into Labour policy. It is recommending that the state funds more support and individuals pay what they can afford but at a level “where care is affordable for everyone”. It says unpaid carers should be supported better through workplace rights, income protection and paid care leave.

Abby Jitendra, author of the IPPR discussion paper and principal policy adviser at Joseph Rountree Foundation, said: “Millions of us are carers or need care, and this number will surge in the future. But families are being left to navigate a neglected system – paying sky-high costs, sacrificing work to care, and too often going without the support they need.

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“We need to build a care system that works like a public service: universal, affordable, reliable and fair. That means bold reform now – not another decade of drift.”

After Labour won power last year it launched the Casey Review of adult social care to tackle the thorny issue of how the country should pay to care for its elderly.

The first phase is expected to be complete by 2026 and will focus on changes that can be made over the medium term within existing resources. The second phase will report by 2028 and will consider “the long-term transformation of adult social care”.

The Government has been criticised for delaying fundamental reform of social care until the next Parliament. Delivering the review’s recommendations may be dependent on Labour winning a second term in power. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We value the immense contribution of all unpaid carers.

"That’s why we have delivered the biggest uplift to the Carer’s Allowance threshold since the 1970s – an increase of around £2,000 - and are reviewing Carer’s Leave. We inherited a social care system facing significant challenges, but we are turning it around through a funding boost of more than £4 billion compared to 2025-26, money for an extra 15,000 home adaptations for disabled people and the first ever Fair Pay Agreement to boost recruitment and retention.

“The government is committed to building a National Care Service and Baroness Casey’s Independent Commission forms part of the critical first steps to delivering this, with the first recommendations for reform due to be published next year.”

Getting a care needs assessment

If you or someone you know needs help to cope day-to-day you can seek a needs assessment from your local council. You can contact their social services department either by phone or online.

After this assessment the council can recommend social care support such as:

• equipment like a walking frame or personal alarm
• changes to your home, such as a walk-in shower
• practical help from a paid carer
• moving to a care home

In the needs assessment someone from the council, such as a social worker or occupational therapist, will ask you how you are managing everyday tasks like washing, dressing and cooking. They might ask you to describe how well you do certain things like making a cup of tea, getting out of a chair and turning on taps.

You are generally expected to pay toward the cost of social care. If the assessment identifies you need help, you will have a financial assessment to see if the council will pay towards it.

Age UK's free helpline on 0800 678 1602 can offer guidance on this process.