The Personal Social Services Survey of Adult Carers in England is a new biennial survey, undertaken by councils, which aims to investigate whether services received by carers have helped them in their caring role and their life outside of caring, and their perception of services provided to the person in receipt care.
The survey was sent out to adults carers, caring for someone aged 18 or over in receipt of services funded wholly or in part by Social Services during 2012-13.
The survey has highlighted, once again, the huge amount of time that unpaid carers dedicate to their role and the affect this has on their own lives and wellbeing.
Out of the carers who responded to the survey, 60% reported spending 35 hours or more per week looking after or helping the person they cared for. Over a third (35%) spend in excess of 100 hours per week performing their caring duties.
Of those who answered the survey, 29% reported that they have as much control as they want over their daily lives. However, 59% said that they have some control but not enough and 12% said that they have no control over their daily lives.
19% of respondents reported that they were not in paid employment because of their caring responsibilities. 5% said they were in employment but didn’t feel supported by their employer, while 12% said they were in employment and felt supported by their employer. The remaining 46% are either self-employed or retired.
Heléna Herklots, chief executive of Carers UK said: “This information shows once again the huge impact that caring has on the health and wellbeing of carers. It echoes what our own research tells us and what we hear from our own members that they are neglecting their own, often significant, health needs and making huge personal sacrifices to care for loved ones.
“What makes these figures even more concerning is that these carers are known to their local authority but there are thousands more carers who haven’t been identified by their local council or had their own needs for support considered.
“Local authorities will soon have clearer duties to assess and support carers and to promote their wellbeing. It is vital that local authorities have the funding to make this a reality for all carers who need support.”
Comparing social services across England
The findings from this survey, along with other data, has been used to create a new website which enables the comparison of adult social care services across England.
This website allows users to compare data from different local authority areas, and is based on how carers and people receiving local authority funded care and support rate the care and support they receive.
Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb said: “We want people to be able to hold their council to account if it fails to deliver good results from adult social care services, such as helping people to live independently or giving them genuine choice and control over their care and support. This online tool will provide people with the information they need to do this in a clear, accessible format.”
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