A report said that up to 200,000 young people were thought to be caring for a parent with severe mental health problems. As a result they were missing out on a normal childhood and had fewer opportunities for play and learning.
Source: Dan Robotham, Emma Beecham, Catherine Jackson and Kim Penketh, MyCare: The challenges facing young carers of parents with a severe mental illness, Mental Health Foundation/Princess Royal Trust for Carers
Links: Report | Summary | Morning Star report
Date: 2010-Dec
A report said that the development of 'personalized' social care services in Scotland had significant implications for the voluntary workers who provided the services – including changes to working hours and flexibility, the acquisition of new skills, the development of a more casualized workforce, and the potential fragmentation of pay and conditions away from collective terms.
Source: Ian Cunningham and Dennis Nickson, Personalisation and Its Implications for Work and Employment in the Voluntary Sector, Voluntary Sector Social Services Workforce Unit
Links: Report | CCPS press release
Date: 2010-Dec
The government published a summary of responses to a call for evidence on its carers strategy.
Source: Recognised, Valued and Supported: Next Steps for the Carers Strategy – Response to the Call for Views, Department of Health
Date: 2010-Dec
A survey found that nearly one-third of the estimated 5 million carers in England felt stressed; and that one-quarter suffered from disturbed sleep. 2 in 5 said that caring responsibilities affected their personal relationships, social life or leisure time.
Source: Survey of Carers in Households 2009/10, NHS Information Centre
Links: Report | NHS press release | Carers UK press release
Date: 2010-Dec
Researchers examined the potential for developing a performance indicator for carers that better reflected carers' experiences and outcomes.
Source: Juliette Malley, Diane Fox and Ann Netten, Developing a Carers' Experience Performance Indicator, Discussion Paper 2734, Personal Social Services Research Unit
Links: Paper
Date: 2010-Nov
The government published a strategy aimed at supporting outcomes for carers, including: supporting those with caring responsibilities to identify themselves as carers at an early stage; enabling those with caring responsibilities to fulfil their educational and employment potential; personalized support both for carers and those whom they supported, enabling them to have a family and community life; and supporting carers to remain mentally and physically well.
Source: Recognised, Valued and Supported: Next steps for the carers strategy, Department of Health
Links: Strategy | Hansard | DH press release | Carers UK press release
Date: 2010-Nov
A report examined personalization in relation to carers. It provided practical examples for achieving better outcomes through greater involvement, choice, and control for carers and by adopting whole-family approaches.
Source: Carers and Personalisation: Improving Outcomes, Department of Health
Links: Report
Date: 2010-Nov
The government began consultation on proposals to introduce new national insurance credits for grandparents and certain other adult family members who provided familial childcare for children under the age of 12, from the 2011-12 tax year.
Source: National Insurance Credits Changes – Public Consultation, Department for Work and Pensions
Links: Consultation document | DWP press release | Guardian report
Date: 2010-Oct
A paper reviewed existing evidence about caring and the carer's allowance that might have a bearing on the question of take-up; provided a first estimate of existing take-up rates, and assessed the accuracy of take-up measures based on existing data; and assessed options for new data collection that might provide more accurate measures.
Source: Richard Berthoud, The Take-Up of Carer's Allowance: A feasibility study, Working Paper 84, Department for Work and Pensions
Links: Working paper
Date: 2010-Oct
A report highlighted the problems that faced people who cared for children who were part of their extended family. Difficulties faced by kinship carers included: having to give up work to meet their care responsibilities; pressure on relationships; health problems of the children cared for; financial problems; and strain on the mental health of carers.
Source: Keith Dryburgh, Relative Value: The experiences of kinship carers using the Scottish CAB service, Citizens Advice Scotland
Links: Report | CAS press release | Abelour Trust press release
Date: 2010-Oct
A report examined the views of grandparents who faced challenging family situations. Grandparents who provided kinship care, or who lost contact with their grandchildren, did so at considerable cost to their health and relationships. Of those offering full-time kinship care, 55 per cent said that their physical health had worsened; 70 per cent said that their sleep patterns had deteriorated; and 40 per cent admitted that their mental health had suffered.
Source: Bob Broad, Grandparents' Voices, Grandparents Association
Links: Summary | Children & Young People Now report
Date: 2010-Oct
A paper said that although support for carers generally remained inadequate, the experience of black and minority-ethnic carers tended to be compounded by structural disadvantage and the marginalization of 'race' equality within social policy.
Source: Claire Gregory, Improving Health and Social Care Support for Carers from Black and Minority Ethnic Communities, Race Equality Foundation
Links: Paper
Date: 2010-Sep
An article used data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing to explore the demographic characteristics, caring patterns, health status, and economic activity patterns of carers aged over 50.
Source: Athina Vlachantoni, 'The demographic characteristics and economic activity patterns of carers over 50: evidence from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing', Population Trends 141, Winter 2010, Office for National Statistics
Links: Article
Date: 2010-Sep
An article examined the carers strategy in Wales. It highlighted a gap between the positive perceptions of staff concerning improvements in the availability and types of support to carers, and carers' everyday experiences. There was a need to pay closer attention to carer-defined outcomes and to capture carer perspectives on the quality of services.
Source: Diane Seddon et al., 'A study of the Carers Strategy (2000): supporting carers in Wales', British Journal of Social Work, Volume 40 Number 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2010-Jul
The Scottish Government published a strategy setting out key targets for local authorities, health boards, and other strategic partners in relation to support for unpaid carers and young carers.
Source: Caring Together: The carers strategy for Scotland 2010-2015, Scottish Government
Links: Strategy | Scottish Government press release | PRTC press release
Date: 2010-Jul
A report examined housing issues affecting unpaid family carers. It highlighted successes and challenges in existing practice and commissioning, and called for policy changes.
Source: Peter Fletcher Associates Ltd, Carers and Housing: Addressing their Needs, Princess Royal Trust for Carers
Links: Report
Date: 2010-Mar
A report said that carers of people being discharged from hospital could often feel that they were unrecognized – they were not treated as genuine partners by the agencies concerned, and the procedures did not work as well as they ought to for them and the person they supported. All statutory services involved should have a lead professional devoted to carers.
Source: Carers As Partners In Hospital Discharge, Association of Directors of Adult Social Services
Links: Report | ADASS press release | Community Care report | Local Government Chronicle report
Date: 2010-Feb
An article examined the effect of employment status on willingness to undertake informal care, using data from the British Household Panel Survey. Employment participation and earnings both had a negative impact on willingness to supply informal care.
Source: Fiona Carmichael, S. Charles and Claire Hulme, 'Who will care? Employment participation and willingness to supply informal care', Journal of Health Economics, Volume 29 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2010-Feb