Caring for carers: the lives of family carers in the UK

Caring for carers: the lives of family carers in the UK This report focuses on the demographics and experiences of those who provide family care. The current social care system is putting pressure on families to step in and provide care for relatives where the state does not. The report observes that: there are more women with caring responsibilities in the professional and managerial occupations; the number of hours of care that family carers provide is rising overall; and the more hours of care a person provides, the more likely they are to reduce their hours of work or exit the workforce altogether. The report makes a number of recommendations for the forthcoming social care green paper, several of which are aimed at “nudging” employers into offering more support for working carers. It also suggests much greater use of “care navigators” to help family carers guide elderly relatives through the complex system of public sector bodies likely to be involved in their overall package of care. Social Market Foundation