Carers Leeds Annual Survey 2024/2025 findings
Today, we are releasing The State of Unpaid Caring in Leeds, based on our 2024/2025 annual survey of unpaid adult and parent carers across the city.
A total of 536 unpaid carers took part in the survey, sharing their key concerns, personal experiences, and what matters most to them. Respondents included carers of different ages, genders, ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientations, and those with disabilities.
What the report tells us
Through this report, we tell the real story of what it means to provide unpaid care in Leeds. Too many unpaid carers in our city feel invisible and undervalued. Too many are at breaking point, caring at a cost to their own health and wellbeing, social connections and financial security.
Many of the findings from this year’s survey echo what we have heard in previous years. There are also important differences: carers health and wellbeing fares even worse than last year, with mental health and wellbeing being particularly impacted.
Carers are feeling increasingly unsupported—both in their caring roles and in their personal relationships, which are crucial for wellbeing. They’re deeply aware of the strain on health and care services, with unmet needs for themselves and those they care for ranking high among their concerns. The survey again highlights persistent challenges unpaid carers face—issues that demand sustained focus and collective action across the city.
At Carers Leeds, we believe unpaid caring should be everyone’s business, as most of us will care for a family member or friend at some point in our lives. Unpaid carers make a vital contribution to our city and urgent, united action is needed to better support them.
Key Stats
The top 3 concerns for unpaid carers:
- My own health and wellbeing (60%)
- The changing needs of the person I care for (48)
- Money and the cost of living (30%)
- 62% of unpaid carers reported that caring had a negative impact on their physical health, 72% reported it had a negative impact on their mental health.
- 38% of unpaid carers reported they were often or always feeling lonely
- 41% of respondents said communication with carers from health and care services was poor or very poor
- 45% of respondents in work said that an understanding line manager/employer would help them juggle work and care
Recommendations
These four recommendations are based on the findings of the survey:
Improved carer health and wellbeing
- Urgent action is needed to improve the health and wellbeing of unpaid carers in Leeds. Ensure that carers are a priority in city-wide health and care transformation projects and that this leads to improvements to carer health and a reduction in carer health inequalities.
Creating communities that care
- Providing unpaid care is not a job for one person. Make the creation of ‘communities that care’ – ways in which people in local communities can develop networks of support, to help each other to care – a priority within neighbourhood approaches to health and care. Learn from similar initiatives across the UK.
Ensure financial security for carers
- Focus on carers, as well as people with disabilities or long-term health conditions, in the forthcoming changes to welfare benefits and employment support. Ensure that carers are a priority group for benefits information and advice and tailor employment support. Work with Carers Leeds to increase the number of ‘carer friendly’ employers across our city.
Deliver the 3Cs for carers
Communication, compassion and co-ordination
- Ensure that this benchmark for good health and care services – the 3Cs – is delivered for carers. Carers deserve good communication, care delivered with compassion and effective co-ordination of services, as much as the people they care for.
This report is a difficult read, but it is essential that we confront the reality of care—what it truly looks like in our homes and communities, and the profound impact it has on unpaid carers.
In light of the recent Carers Allowance scandal, it’s more important than ever to listen to what unpaid carers are telling us and to take meaningful action. We must ensure that every carer is seen, heard, and supported—recognised not just for what they do, but for who they are, and enabled to lead a fulfilling life.
Claire Turner, Chief Executive of Carers Leeds