Introduction and Headlines

• The 2021 Census indicated that 30,618 people identified themselves as providing unpaid care in the East Riding.

• 15,283 people provided less than 20 hours unpaid care a week, 5,651 people provided between 20 and 49 hours a week, and 9,684 people provided 50 hours or more.

• The identification and self-identification of carers continues to be an issue. The number of carers registered with East Riding Carers Support Service is 8 times lower than the number of carers identified in the Census.

• Unpaid carers are an invaluable asset within our community; providing care voluntarily to assist the person they care for to remain independent. Often it is done without any recognition of their hard work or the personal impact on the carer and many people still do not recognise themselves as a carer.

The Need in the East Riding

The table below provides a brief overview of some of the key numbers involving unpaid carers in the East Riding, derived from the 2021 Census. This section also contains the embedded document ‘ERY adult carer findings from 2021 Census’, which provides further insights into unpaid care in the East Riding, it can viewed on this page and also downloaded as a file.

Key points from the ‘ERY adult carer findings from 2021 Census’ file are as follows:

• Unpaid Care Trends:
  • In 2021, 30,618 individuals in East Riding of Yorkshire provided unpaid care, a decrease of 6,750 from 2011.
  • There was an increase in individuals providing 20-49 hours and 50+ hours of unpaid care weekly.

• Demographics:
  • 98.2% of unpaid carers were adults.
  • 59% of carers were female, representing 12.3% of the female population, while 41% were male, representing 9.1% of the male population.
  • The highest proportion of female carers were between the ages of 55 and 59 years (20.5%), and the highest proportion of male carers were between the ages of 60 and 64 years (13.0%).

• Health Impact:
  • More unpaid carers reported bad health, and the proportion increased with more hours of care.
  • There was a larger proportion of adults who reported being disabled under the Equality Act providing unpaid care (27.9%), than the proportion that provided no unpaid care (20.5%).

• Differences within the local authority:
  • South East Holderness and Bridlington North had the highest counts of carers, with over 60% providing 20+ hours weekly.
  • Across the whole of East Riding of Yorkshire, 50.6% of carers provided 20 hours or more a week.

• Substantial numbers of carers not registered with East Riding Carers Support Service:
  • The 2021 Census identified that there were 30,076 unpaid carers over the age of 18 in the East Riding, yet as of November 2023 there were only around 3,700 registered with the East Riding Carers Support Service, a figure 8 times lower than the Census. The identification and self-identification of carers has been identified as a major issue for many years, both in the East Riding and nationally.

• Additional Insights:
  • The decrease in the proportion of individuals providing unpaid care was seen nationally, largely driven by individuals providing more hours of care (in the 20 to 49 hours range mainly).
  • The Office for National Statistics suggests other reasons for the decrease in individual carers, including Covid restrictions limiting travel and mixing, household mixing rules limiting carers who previously shared responsibilities, a higher number of deaths than expected in the older population at the start of 2021, and changes in the wording between 2011 and 2021 Census impacting self-reporting of unpaid care.

Assets in the East Riding

The map below, provides a visual summary of assets and charitable organisations that exist within the East Riding. Zoom in on any area of the East Riding and it will show an array of coloured squares indicated an asset of some kind. Click on these coloured squares to bring up further detail about the type of asset e.g. a web link about the organisation involved.

National perspective of unpaid care from the 2021 Census

This section provides a brief summary of unpaid care within England and Wales with data obtained from the 2021 Census:

• Unpaid Care Overview: In 2021, an estimated 5 million residents aged 5 years and over in England and Wales provided unpaid care, with an age-standardised proportion (ASP) of 9.0%, down from 11.4% in 2011.

• Changes in Care Hours: The proportion of people providing 19 or fewer hours of unpaid care per week decreased from 7.2% in 2011 to 4.4% in 2021, while those providing 20 to 49 hours increased from 1.5% to 1.9%, and those providing 50 or more hours rose slightly from 2.7% to 2.8%.

• Regional Differences: In 2021, a larger proportion of people provided unpaid care in Wales (10.5%) compared to England (8.9%), with Wales seeing a higher proportion of people providing 50 or more hours of care per week. The North East had the highest proportion of unpaid carers among English regions in 2021, with London having the lowest. The West Midlands saw the largest decrease in unpaid care provision. St. Helens, Ashfield, Mansfield, Knowsley, and Halton had the highest proportions of unpaid carers, while the City of London had the lowest. The Isles of Scilly and Gedling had the highest proportion of people providing 19 hours or less of unpaid care per week.

• Health Status of Unpaid Carers: In 2021, around one in four unpaid carers reported being in “not good health,” compared to fewer than one in five non-carers. The likelihood of poor health increases with the number of hours of unpaid care provided. Nearly half of unpaid carers reported at least one adverse health effect from providing care, with higher percentages among those providing more hours of care. Common issues include tiredness, stress, and disturbed sleep. Female unpaid carers providing increased hours of care had a higher risk of A&E attendances compared to non-carers, especially for low-acuity conditions.

Resources

• Your Life Your Way – adult carers
• Your Life Your Way – caring for somebody
• East Riding local offer – carers support service
• East Riding Unpaid Carers Needs Assessment (2018)
• State of Caring 2023 – The impact of caring on health (Carers UK)

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