STATE OF CARING REPORT 2016
Type of support
Transition from child to adult services
resulted in a significant reduction even
though her needs are the same.
Almost half of carers (48%) have practical support in
the form of equipment in the home of the person they
care for, such as hoists, grab rails or easy grip handles.
Nearly a quarter (24%) use technology to help their
caring role and 29% have practical support from care
workers. Nearly a third (29%) of carers surveyed have
help from family or friends, showing the importance of
a support network.
More than half
59%
Almost 1 in 5 carers (18%) have practical support in
the form of a break from caring for themselves. 22% of
carers surveyed have a Motability vehicle, which enables
them to get out and about with the person they care
for. For those caring for someone with a learning
disability, day centres continue to be an important
source of support with 1 in 5 carers (19%) looking after
someone with a learning disability using a day centre.
of those reporting a change
say the amount of care and
support services they receive
has been reduced because of
cost or availability.
Reduction in support
A third (34%) of respondents to our survey said that
they or the person they care for has experienced a
change in the amount of care and support services that
they receive. More than half of those reporting a change
(59%) said the amount of care and support they receive
had been reduced because of cost or availability of
services.
Care workers now come more
frequently but are provided by a
private company rather than council.
The quality of care provided has
gone down since this happened
with little continuity due to so many
different care workers coming in and
virtually no communication from care
provider’s head office regarding times
of attendance, care worker names etc.
This means I am basically on call 24/7
in case they don’t turn up or do what
they are supposed to do.
This includes 12% who have cut down on the amount
of care and support they get because the cost has
increased or their personal budget no longer covers
it, and 13% said that the care or support service was
closed and no replacement was offered.
Paying for support services
Less than 1 in 10 (9%) carers reported that they have
been asked to pay for support services for themselves,
although over a quarter (27%) of those receiving care
have been asked to pay. In just 7% of cases both
the carer and the person they care for said they had
been asked to pay. In over half (57%) of cases where
the carer and the person they care for qualify for
services, they do not have to pay for these. Most of
these respondents were on means-tested benefits and
extremely low incomes.
Nearly half
For those who are asked to make a financial contribution
towards the cost of care and support, nearly half (47%)
say they struggle to afford to pay for it.
07
47%
of those being asked to
contribute to the cost of care
say they struggle to afford to
pay for it.