England’s social care system is at “breaking point”, with the number of unpaid carers increasing by 70% over the past two decades, according to a report.
Research for the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) found rising demand, shrinking supply, and a growing reliance on unpaid carers.
Analysis for the report, conducted by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), revealed the number of people providing 35 hours or more a week of care increased from 1.1 million in 2003/04 to 1.9 million in 2023/24.
The report says unpaid care – whether by parents, spouses or adult children, and most frequently women – is relied on too heavily to fill in the gaps of the “inadequate and expensive” adult social care system.
Abby Jitendra, author of the IPPR discussion paper and principal policy adviser at JRF, said: “Millions of us are carers or need care, and this number will surge in the future, but families are being left to navigate a neglected system – paying sky-high costs, sacrificing work to care, and too often going without the support they need.
“We need to build a care system that works like a public service: universal, affordable, reliable and fair. That means bold reform now – not another decade of drift.”
Source: The Independent, 19 September 2025
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