Unpaid carers over 80 save government £23bn a year

New figures by Age UK show that an army of carers amongst the oldest old in our society, those aged 80 or over, provide 23 million hours of unpaid care a week.

Representing a saving to the health and care system of £23 billion a year, the charity found that 30 per cent of older people aged 80 and over are carers and since 2010 the number of carers in this age group has rocketed by 23 per cent to 970,000.

New analysis shows that 71 per cent have long standing health problems of their own with nearly one in two having difficulty with moving about at home, walking or lifting carrying or moving objects. Additionally, 24 per cent of carers in this age group are caring for more than 35 hours a week while a further 13 per cent are caring for more than 20 hours a week.

The total number of carers aged 65 and over who are providing informal care for another person has risen from 2.7 million to 3.3 million in the last eight years.

Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: “Nearly a million over 80 year olds are gifting the government a whopping £23 billion a year and it’s high time these fantastic older people got something back in return. Almost all of them willingly provide care for the person they love, typically a sick or disabled husband or wife, son or daughter, but by repeatedly failing to sort out our social care system the State is exploiting their goodwill and often leaving them to manage incredibly difficult situations alone. The burden placed on these older carers’ shoulders is not only physical and emotional but financial too, because after years of government underfunding so many older people who need care are having to pay for it themselves, wiping out the savings they’ve worked had for all their lives and sometimes resulting in the family home having to be sold.

“Blessed as it is with such a substantial Parliamentary majority, our new government is better placed than any in the last twenty years to refinance and reform social care. The Prime Minister has promised to fix care and now he needs to follow through, with no more excuses or delays - surely it’s the least our brilliant older carers deserve.”

Ian Hudspeth, chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, said: “Our care system could not survive without the contribution of unpaid carers, including those aged 80 and over, who provide vital support for thousands of people every day. Councils fully recognise their crucial role and supported or assessed more than 345,000 unpaid carers in 2018/19. Unpaid caring can be extremely rewarding but we know it can also be a real strain – emotionally, physically and financially, which is why councils are committed to doing all they can to support them.
 
“Councils in England receive 1.9 million new requests for adult social care a year – the equivalent of more than 5,000 a day - and pressures just to maintain existing standards of care and support continue to rise. The Queen’s Speech today is an opportunity for the government to announce its proposals for the future of adult social care and work cross-party with local government to finally find a long-term, sustainable funding solution. We also need an honest debate about what the future of care and support should look like, to reassure all those who use and work in this vital service.”