The ‘visibility’ of unpaid care in England

Pickard, Linda, King, Derek ORCID: 0000-0002-2408-4558 and Knapp, Martin ORCID: 0000-0003-1427-0215 (2016) The ‘visibility’ of unpaid care in England. Journal of Social Work, 16 (3). pp. 263-282. ISSN 1468-0173

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Abstract

Summary: Social work practice is increasingly concerned with support not just for service users but also for unpaid carers. A key aspect of practice is the assessment of carers’ needs. The Government has recently passed legislation that will widen eligibility for carers’ assessments and remove the requirement that carers must be providing a substantial amount of care on a regular basis. This article examines which carers are currently ‘visible’ or known to councils and which are not, and uses the results to examine the likely effects of the new legislation. In order to identify the characteristics of carers known to councils, the article uses large-scale surveys, comparing the 2009/10 Personal Social Services Survey of Adult Carers in England and the 2009/10 Survey of Carers in Households in England. Findings: Carers who are known to councils provide extremely long hours of care. Among carers providing substantial care who are known to councils, the majority care for 100 or more hours a week. The focus of councils on carers providing long hours of care is associated with a number of other carer characteristics, such as poor health. Applications: Councils' emphasis on the most intense carers is unlikely to be attributable solely to the current legislation. Therefore, dropping the substantial and regular clauses alone will not necessarily broaden access to carers' assessments and, in order to achieve this, considerable new resources may be needed. How far these resources are available will determine the extent to which practitioners can broaden access to carers' assessments.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	http://jsw.sagepub.com/
Additional Information:	© 2016 The Authors
Divisions:	Social Policy Personal Social Services Research Unit LSE Health
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform
Date Deposited:	17 Mar 2015 11:39
Last Modified:	01 Apr 2024 08:24
Funders:	National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) School for Social Care Research., National Institute for Health Research
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/61243

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