Summary

This is the first national user experience survey of carers known to Councils with Adult Social Services Responsibilities (CASSRs). Carers' thoughts, opinions and feelings are sought on a number of topics that are thought to be integral to helping them achieve a balanced life alongside their caring role. The survey was aimed at carers aged 18 and over who are caring for someone aged 18 and over, as identified by local authorities

Key facts

• Nearly half (49 per cent) of carers who responded to the survey were aged 65 or over, 44 per cent were aged 45-64 and the remaining 7 per cent were aged 18-44.
• 57 per cent of carers spent 35 hours or more per week looking after or helping the person they were caring for, 49 per cent spent 50 hours or more caring and 37 per cent of carers spent 100 hours or more per week caring.
• 54 per cent of carers reported that they were either extremely or very satisfied with the support or services they and the person they cared for had received in the last 12 months from Social Services, a further 29 per cent said they were fairly satisfied, 9 per cent were neither satisfied or dissatisfied and the remaining 8 per cent were either extremely, very or fairly dissatisfied.
• 36 per cent of carers who responded to the survey said the overall quality of their lives was either good, very good or could not be better, a further 47 per cent said their quality of life was alright and the remaining 17 per cent said it was either bad, very bad or so bad it could not be worse.
• Nearly half (47 per cent) of carers were either retired or self employed. 12 per cent were in employment and felt supported by their employer but 4 per cent were in employment and did not feel supported. A further 17 per cent were not working because of their caring responsibilities, 6 per cent did not need support from their employer to combine work and caring, and the remaining 14 per cent were not in employment for other reasons.

Please note: Results for Q8 ("Supported Employment" and "Special College") and for Q12 ("Advocacy for carers", "Emergency care back-up scheme", "Help with household tasks or gardening", "Practical help to complete forms") were removed from this excel annex on 23 July 2010. This is because some councils replaced these optional categories with locally added options and therefore the results being reported were misleading.