Provision of unpaid care
Definition
A person is a provider of unpaid care if they look after or give help or support to family members, friends, neighbours because of long-term physical or mental ill health or disability, or problems related to old age. This does not include any activities as part of paid employment. No distinction is made about whether any care that a person provides is within their own household or outside the household, so no explicit link can be made about whether the care provided is for a person within the household who has poor general health or a long-term health problem or disability.
Classification
Total number of categories 6
| Code | Name |
|---|---|
| -5 | No code required - comprises schoolchildren and full-time students living away from home during term time and all those under the age of 3. |
| 1 | No |
| 2 | Yes, 1 to 19 hours a week |
| 5 | Yes, 20 to 34 hours a week |
| 6 | Yes, 35 to 49 hours a week |
| 4 | Yes, 50 or more hours a week |
Source question or variables
Individual question 12: Do you look after, or give any help or support to family members, friends, neighbours or others because of either:
• long-term physical / mental ill-health /disability; or
• problems related to old age?
- No
- Yes, 1 to 19 hours a week
- Yes, 20 to 34 hours a week
- Yes, 35 to 49 hours a week
- Yes, 50 or more hours a week
Reason for asking
The provision of unpaid care is a key indicator of care needs and has important implications for the planning and delivery of health and social care services. This information helps local government plan and allocate resources.
This information also helps social services departments and NHS trusts to meet statutory responsibilities, including the identification of carers and provision of support services and advice to aid them in continuing their roles.
Additional analysis of this information reveals the possible burden on social care services if unpaid carers were not available. It is also used alongside other measures of health to identify local inequalities and needs.
England & Wales (2021) and Scotland (2011) comparisons
The data on unpaid care are broadly comparable between Scotland, England & Wales and Northern Ireland, although there were some small differences in the question and options included on the questionnaire that users should note when comparing results.
In Scotland, the question asked was ‘Do you look after, or give any help or support to family members, friends, neighbours or others because of either:
- long-term physical / mental ill-health /
disability; or
- problems related to old age?’
This wording was slightly different to England & Wales and Northern Ireland, where the following question was asked: ‘Do you look after, or give any help or support to,
anyone because they have long-term physical or mental health conditions or illnesses, or problems related to old age?’
In Scotland and Northern Ireland, the following response options were presented:
- No
- Yes, 1 to 19 hours a week
- Yes, 20 to 34 hours a week
- Yes, 35 to 49 hours a week
- Yes, 50 or more hours a week
In England and Wales, the options were the same except instead of the ‘Yes, 1 to 19 hours a week’ category the following options were presented:
- Yes, 9 hours a week or less
- Yes, 10 to 19 hours a week
This question is the same as the one asked in Scotland's Census 2011.
Definition
A person is a provider of unpaid care if they look after or give help or support to family members, friends, neighbours because of long-term physical or mental ill health or disability, or problems related to old age. This does not include any activities as part of paid employment. No distinction is made about whether any care that a person provides is within their own household or outside the household, so no explicit link can be made about whether the care provided is for a person within the household who has poor general health or a long-term health problem or disability.
Classification
Total number of categories 6
| Code | Name |
|---|---|
| 1 | No |
| 2 | Yes, 1-19 hours a week |
| 5 | Yes, 20-34 hours a week |
| 6 | Yes, 35-49 hours a week |
| 4 | Yes, 50+ hours a week |
| X | No code required - comprises schoolchildren and full-time students living away from home during term time. |
Source question or variables
9: Do you look after, or give any help or support to family members, friends, neighbours, or others because of either:
- long-term physical / mental ill-health / disability; or
- problems related to old age?
Do not count anything you do as part of your paid employment.
- No
- Yes, 1 - 19 hours a week
- Yes, 20 - 34 hours a week
- Yes, 35 - 49 hours a week
- Yes, 50 or more hours a week
Reason for asking
The provision of unpaid care is a key indicator of care needs and has important implications for the planning and delivery of health and social care services. This information helps local government plan and allocate resources.
This information also helps social services departments and NHS trusts to meet statutory responsibilities, including the identification of carers and provision of support services and advice to aid them in continuing their roles.
Additional analysis of this information reveals the possible burden on social care services if unpaid carers were not available. It is also used alongside other measures of health to identify local inequalities and needs.
England and Wales (2011) and Scotland (2001) comparison
England and Wales (2011)
14: Do you look after, or give any help or support to family members, friends, neighbours or others because of either:
- long-term physical or mental ill-health/disability?
- problems related to old age?
Do not count anything you do as part of your paid employment
- No
- Yes, 1 - 19 hours a week
- Yes, 20 - 49 hours a week
- Yes, 50 or more hours a week
Scotland (2001)
The codes for carerps11 data for Scotland are non-sequential to allow comparison with ONS/NISRA versions, which have slightly different categories.