Source: https://inform.gloucestershire.gov.uk/media/2099485/carers-in-gloucestershire-2020-final.pdf
July 2020
carers-in-gloucestershire-2020-final.pdf
Key points
Census 2011 - There were 62,644 unpaid carers (10.5% of the population) in Gloucestershire in 2011.
A small proportion of carers were children under the age of 16 (1.7%) but the majority were aged 50 or over (64%).
Impact of ageing population - The total population of Gloucestershire is projected to increase by 6.4% from 2020 to 2030 but the population aged 65 and over is increasing four times faster (25.8%). If the proportion of carers in the population stays the same, the number of carers aged 65 and over is predicted to rise from 20,157 in 2020 to 25,077 in 2030, a rise of 24.4%, with the greatest increase predicted for 80-84 year-olds (53.35%).
Impact of caring - Carers caring for long hours are more likely to experience poor health themselves and less likely to be economically active. Many carers face very difficult financial situations due to their caring responsibilities, despite the valuable contribution they make to society. Carers often find their own income affected by caring (for example because of having to give up work or reduce their hours to care). 39% of all carers are struggling to make ends meet and of these, 78% regularly use their own income or savings to pay for care or support services, equipment or products for the person they care for.
Impact of Covid-19 - 70% of unpaid carers are providing more care (an additional 10 hours of care a week on average) due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Who carers care for- 40% of unpaid carers look after a parent, 18% look after a spouse, partner, or cohabitee, and 17% look after a son or daughter.
BME carers- 7.2% of the BME population were carers, compared to 10.7% of the white population. This is mainly because BME groups have an age profile that is significantly younger than the white majority population. As the BME population ages, the proportion of BME carers is likely to increase
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