Building carer
friendly
communities 
in social care 

What does this mean? 

A carer friendly community across social care is one that upholds and promotes carers’ rights and entitlements, their health and wellbeing, ability to work, time off, education and learning, and a life outside of caring. It is a community that actively involves unpaid carers, listens to them and treats them as partners in care.  Everyone involved in social care can make a difference – whether that's local authorities, health and care trusts, care services, social care professionals, or carers’ support services. 

By working collaboratively to provide timely information, accessible assessments, practical support, and preventative services, these organisations can reduce pressure on carers and help sustain their wellbeing. Through proactive outreach, inclusive service design, and partnership working, they play a key role in raising awareness and reducing isolation. They help to create local systems where carers are valued as equal partners in care and supported to live well. 

Why is it important? 

Unpaid carers provide the bulk of all care, whether paid or unpaid, in the UK. The value of unpaid carers’ support is £184 billion a year, [1] far in excess of spending on formal social care across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. However, shortages in social care services and poor-quality provision mean that carers are not getting sufficient support, leading to more stress and fewer opportunities to take a break. 

• 62% of those who are currently providing or those who have previously provided unpaid care said that they had no choice in taking on the role because no other care options were available. [2]
• Over three quarters (76%) of Adult Social Care Directors have seen an increase in the number of unpaid carers approaching their council for support in the past year. [3]
• 1.7 million people in the UK are now providing 50 or more hours of care per week. [3] Over half (52%) of carers said the number of hours they spend caring has increased over the last 12 months. [4]
• Only 23% of carers had a Carer’s Assessment in the last 12 months, while 42% of carers who’d had an assessment said their local authority had not supported them after the assessment. [5]

How?   

Social care services, local authorities, local carers organisations and support services, and care providers can build carer friendly communities by working together to recognise and identify carers, reduce pressures, and create accessible, coordinated support. Ways to do this include: 

• Identifying and recognising carers early – by embedding carer identification across health and social care pathways, ensuring carers are routinely offered assessments, and promoting self-referral routes so they can access help before reaching crisis.
• Providing timely, coordinated support – offering clear information, advice, and navigation services; joining up statutory and voluntary sector support so carers experience a simple, seamless system. 
• Delivering practical and preventative services – ensuring access to respite, short breaks, equipment, home adaptations, and replacement care, alongside emotional and peer support, to sustain carers’ wellbeing. 
• Designing services around carers’ lives – using ‘whole family’ approaches, involving carers in co-production, offering flexible appointment times and formats, and tailoring support to different groups such as young carers, working carers, and older carers. 
• Leading local awareness and culture change – running public campaigns, training frontline staff, and working with community partners (schools, employers, housing, health) to normalise caring and promote inclusive, carer friendly practice.

Resources

The Carers Partnership has developed a resource for health and social care professionals in England covering many different practice areas to support unpaid carers. Find out more here. 

References

1. Petrillo, M., Zhang, J., and Bennett, M.R. (2024) Valuing Carers 2021/2022: the value of unpaid care in the UK. London: Carers UK.
2. Carers Week (2024) No choice but to care
3. ADASS (2025) 2025 Spring Survey
4. ONS (2023) Unpaid care, England and Wales: Census 2021
5. Carers UK (2025) State of Caring 2025: The cost of caring
6. Carers UK (2025) State of Caring: The impact of caring on carers’ mental health and the need for support from social care services