LGA responds to Carers Uk report on unpaid carers

“Our care system could not survive without the contribution of unpaid carers who provide vital support for thousands of people every day. Councils fully recognise their crucial role and supported or assessed more than 360,000 unpaid carers in 2017/18.

“Unpaid caring can be extremely rewarding but we know it can also be a real strain – emotionally, physically and financially, which is why councils are committed to doing all they can to support them.

“How money from the Better Care Fund is spent is rightly determined locally including by councils, according to local needs and pressures. This includes funding for carers’ breaks, which could also be met from other funding sources.

“Extra funding for social care next year will help councils as they strive to support adults of all ages as well as unpaid carers to live the lives they want to lead. However, pressures will continue to rise. The Government needs to publish its proposals for the future of adult social care as soon as possible and work on a cross-party basis to spark a truly nationwide public debate about the value of social care and how, as a nation, we will pay for it in the years ahead.”