A young carer is a child who is under the age of 18 with caring responsibilities for someone with an illness or disability, or someone who misuses drugs or alcohol. It does not include those who are paid to provide care or those who are volunteers.
Young carers and their needs are recognised within UK legislation. This is particularly within the Children Act 1989 (S17ZA) (supported by the Children and Families Act 2014) and associated regulations within The Young Carers (Needs Assessments) Regulations 2015.
Young carers are often hidden, and it is important that professionals ask the right questions to find them.
Some statistics
- In the 2021 census it was identified that there were 118,000 young carers between the ages of 5 and 17. Carers Trust think this is likely to be an underestimate; research in 2012 found 700,000 young carers in England and Wales; and more research in 2018 found 800,000 in England
- New findings from Carers UK and the University of Sheffield show that unpaid carers in England and Wales contribute a staggering £445 million to the economy in England and Wales every day – that’s £162 billion per year. The value of unpaid care is equivalent to a second NHS in England and Wales, which in 2020/21 received an estimated £164 billion in funding. This is almost a third (29%) higher than the value of unpaid care in 2011. (£132 billion).
- Research shows that as many as one in five children and young people are young carers (Action for Children).
Challenges that young carers face
If young carers are not properly assessed and supported, the effects on their health, wellbeing and life chances can be significant:
- Physical health: often severely affected by caring through the night, repeatedly lifting a heavy adult, poor diet and lack of sleep.
- Emotional wellbeing: stress, worry, tiredness and mental ill health are common for young carers.
- Isolation: feeling different or isolated from their peers, limited opportunities for socialisation, bullying and harassment
- Unstable environment: traumatic life changes such as bereavement, family break-up, losing income and housing, or seeing the effects of an illness or addiction.
- Education: irregular attendance, poor timekeeping, lack of concentration, difficulties with homework
- Restricted training / employment choices: lack of time for personal development, poor flexibility in work practices