The State of Caring Survey is the UK’s most comprehensive research into the lives and experience of carers. The 2020 survey is now open and will close on 17 May 2020.

State of Caring 2019 – what you told us:

Last year over 8,000 current and former carers shared their experiences and helped inform our State of Caring 2019 report. Read more in the full report here: carersuk.org/stateofcaring-report

Caring costs: Almost 2 in 5 carers (39%) responding to our survey said they are ‘struggling to make ends meet’. Over two thirds of carers (68%) reported regularly using their own income or savings to pay for care or support services, equipment or products for the person they care for.

Cuts to support: 1 in 8 (12%) of carers reported that they or those they support received less care or support services during the previous year due to a reduction in the amount of support from social services

Carers put themselves last: 53% of carers said that they are not able to save for their retirement, and almost two thirds of carers (64%) say that they have focussed on the care needs of the person they care for, and not on their own needs.

What we did with your evidence:

• Your evidence of the impact of caring was at the heart of our manifesto for the 2019 General Election campaign, where we called for all political parties to increase support and recognition for carers. Nearly all political parties included reference to carers or caring in their manifestos.

• Your responses enabled us to provide comprehensive evidence as part of our ongoing work with Sport England to investigate the barriers carers face in taking part in physical activity.

• Building on evidence from previous years, your experience of working while caring was included in our response to the Government Good Work Plan consultation, making the case for employers to provide more support for carers. As a result, the Government has committed to consulting on the introduction of Care Leave for working carers.

Get in touch:

If you have any questions about the research or would like to request a paper copy of the 2020 survey, please contact our policy team by emailing policy@carersuk.org