Every year, we survey the local carer organisations that make up our UK-wide network of support for carers. Our 2024/25 survey asked 136 Network Partners about demand for their services, how many carers they support and their financial position.

The findings could not be clearer: local carer organisations are under-funded, under-resourced and under pressure. This is no surprise; the results follow a trend that has emerged in recent years.

But the problem is getting worse. More carers than ever need support and many need intensive intervention. Yet there isn’t the funding or the staffing in place for local carer services to meet this rising demand.

To reverse this damaging trend, and make sure every carer gets the support they need, we’re calling for:

• more investment in local carer services to support unpaid carers from all corners of our communities.
• statutory commissioners to uplift contracts for carer services each year at least in line with inflation.
• integrated health and care bodies to collaborate more effectively with the voluntary sector to deliver coordinated services for carers.

Read the full Network Data Exchange report

Summary of key findings

Local carer organisations are experiencing a range of different pressures, including: 

• Growing demand - over the last two years, the number of carers registered with Network Partners has grown by 9% to 1.15 million. Yet the number of carers actively supported has remained largely static due to capacity issues. 
• Increased financial pressures – there has been a continued decline in the real terms value of statutory contracts for carer support from local authorities. Network Partners have seen a 20% drop since 2022/23. 
• A significant drop in the amount of money available to support each registered carer. Reported statutory funding per carer per year is now just £86. This is the lowest figure we have ever recorded for this measure. For context, this amount would not even cover the cost of a single day of minimum wage labour.
• Staff numbers falling by 17% over the last two years. This puts more pressure on remaining staff and volunteers, and has led to rationing of some carer support. 
• Many carers have more complex needs, especially those arising from financial challenges related to cost-of-living pressures.

Each of these factors contributes to the fact that around half (49%) of Network Partners say that costs, funding and capacity are their biggest challenge.