Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of unpaid carers providing support to a family member.

This information is not held centrally. However, the 2011 Census indicates that about 10% of the population in England were providing informal care, equivalent to approximately 5.4 million people in 2011¹.

The Department for Work and Pensions’ Family Resources Survey suggests that just below 40% of carers provide care to a parent, and around 20% care for a spouse, partner or cohabitee within the same household².

Notes:

¹ Official Labour Market Statistics, 2016/2017

² DWP, 2019. Family Resources Survey 2017/18