Census highlights the crisis

FIVE MILLION adults – and children – are carrying out some form of unpaid care work.

Of those, 1 5m are doing it for more than 50 hours a week, according to new figures

And many are struggling to cope with the pressures and to make ends meet

The figures from the Census 2021 show there was a marked increase in the number of people providing substantial care between 2011 and 2021: For 20-49 hours a week (260,000), and 50 hours a week (152,000)

The census also shows a widening gap in the percentage of unpaid carers in the most and least deprived areas of England and Wales

In England, 8 1% of people in the least deprived areas are unpaid carers, compared with 10 1% in the most deprived areas

In 2011, the difference was just 0 4%

The intensity of care is also higher, nearly double the rate, in the most deprived areas, with 4% of people in most deprived areas providing over 50 hours of unpaid care compared with 1 9% in the least deprived areas

A similar pattern was seen in Wales