This section contains nationally published data from the 2021 Census.

Young carers (5-15)

• 0.9% of Wakefield residents aged 5 to 15 years of age provide unpaid care. This percentage has remained between 0.9 – 1.1% since 2001, and is comparable to the England average.
• In Wakefield, 69.2% of young carers provide 1-19 hours of care per week, and 30.8% of young carers provide 20+ hours of care per week.

Adult carers (16+)

• The percentage of unpaid carers has decreased locally and nationally over the last 20 years.
• The percentage of Wakefield residents (aged 16+) providing any unpaid care has been consistently higher than the England average.
• The percentage of residents (aged 16+) providing unpaid care has decreased from 14.0% in 2001 to 10.9% in 2021. This is largely driven by the decrease in residents providing 1-19 hours of unpaid care per week.
• Meanwhile, the percentage of residents (aged 16+) providing 20-49 hours, or 50+ hours, of unpaid care a week has increased from 1.8% to 2.4% for 20-49 hours, and 3.5% to 3.8% for 50+ hours.

The drop in unpaid carers in 2021 was unexpected. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has given the following potential explanations for changes in provision of unpaid care.

The interactive dashboard below can be used to explore the recent trend in Wakefield compared to the England average. Use the dropdowns at the top to filter by unpaid carer age groups and by the number of hours of unpaid care provided per week.

Every 2 years, every council with Adult Social Care responsibilities are required by NHS England to conduct a Survey of Adult Carers. The survey seeks the opinions of carers aged 18 or over, caring for a person aged 18 or over, on a number of topics that are considered to be indicative of a balanced life alongside their unpaid caring role. The results of the 2021/22 survey, conducted by Wakefield Council, found that:

• 26.5% of carers have as much social contact as they would like (less than regional average of 31.2%)
• 37.3% of carers were satisfied with their care and support (similar to regional average of 37.7%)
• 68.8% of carers felt consulted/involved in discussions (higher than regional average of 64.7%)
• 63.5% of carers found it easy to find information about services (higher than regional average of 56.3%)

The full Wakefield survey results can be found here: Survey of Adult Carers 2021/22 (Wakefield Council) – opens in Canva
The national survey results can be found here: Survey of Adult Carers in England 2021/22 (NHS Digital)

Schools are asked to record if a pupil is a young carer, and if so, who they were identified by (school or parent). This applies to primary and secondary schools, special schools, and alternative provision providers. The results of the 2024 survey found that:

Overall, 0.4% of pupils had been recorded as a carer:

• 40 (0.1%) primary school pupils. 
• 151 (0.7%) secondary school pupils.
• 2 (0.3%) special school pupils.

The full survey results can be found here: School Census (Carers Trust)

This section contains nationally published data from the 2021 Census.

• 10.9% of Wakefield residents (aged 16+) are unpaid carers. 
• Those aged 50-64 years old (16.0%) are most likely to provide unpaid care.
• Females (12.6%) are more likely to provide unpaid care compared to males (9.1%).
• The Kinsley Fitzwilliam Rycroft neighbourhood (13.0%) has the highest percentage of unpaid carers.
• Those living in the most deprived areas (11.1%) are just as likely to provide unpaid care compared to those living in the least deprived areas (10.6%).

The interactive dashboard below can be used to explore the demographics of unpaid carers in Wakefield. Click on the buttons at the top to navigate between age, deprivation and sex.

Young Carers

According to the results of the Wakefield School Health Survey 2024:

• 13% of all pupils said they look after, or help, someone in the family who is disabled or ill.
• Young carers felt less safe in the area where they lived compared to their counterparts.
• Young carers were more likely to have not eaten breakfast, and more likely to consume energy drinks.
• Young carers were less likely to have visited a dentist and less likely to brush their teeth two times a day or more.
• Young carers were less happy and more likely to be lonely than their counterparts in all the year groups surveyed.
• Young carers were more likely to have poor quality sleep compared to their non-carer counterparts.
• 14% of young carers feel scared to go to school because of bullying.
• Young carers in Year 7 and Year 9 were more likely to be sexually harassed than others in their year group.
• Pupils who are young carers were more likely to have experienced period poverty (18% compared to 7% of
  pupils who are not carers)

Adult Carers (18+)

This section contains analysis of the Wakefield Adult Population Health Survey 2023. Questionnaires were distributed during March and April 2023 and 3,450 responses were received. Of which, 523 (15.3%) respondents said they provided unpaid care. The analysis aims to highlight the impact of caring has on health and lifestyle by highlighting the differences in responses to survey questions between non-carers and unpaid carers. 

Health and physical activity

• Overall, the health of unpaid carers was comparable to non-carers. However, those aged 18-64 (55.4%) were significantly less likely to be in good health than non-carers aged 18-64 (62.4%).
• A similar percentage of unpaid carers (81.0%) and non-carers (82.5%) were considered to have good or high mental wellbeing. 
• Unpaid carers (46.4%) were just as likely as non-carers (44.7%) to be doing the recommended amount of physical activity per week.
• However, unpaid carers (41.2%) were significantly more likely to be living with obesity than non-carers (35.7%). This was most apparent among those aged 18-64 (44.7%) and among females (45.7%).

Long-term health conditions

• Unpaid carers (13.9%) were significantly more likely to have a lot of problems accessing support for long term health conditions, than non-carers (8.7%). This was most apparent among those aged 18-64 and among females.
• Unpaid carers living in the least deprived areas (18.6%) were significantly more likely to have not sought help in the last 12 months for their long term health conditions, than non-carers living in the least deprived areas (7.6%).

Other lifestyle factors

• Internet access and confidence was better among older unpaid carers aged 65+ (49.0%) than non-carers aged 65+ (35.4%).
• Unpaid carers (50.0%) were significantly more likely to have bad sleep quality compared to non-carers (37.6%). This was most apparent among those aged 18-64 (54.5%) and among females (54.9%).
• As expected, unpaid carers (12.9%) were significantly more likely to be looking after family/home full-time than non-carers (3.5%). This was apparent among all population groups.

The interactive dashboard below can be used to explore the impact of caring on health and lifestyle. Use the buttons at the bottom to navigate the 3 different tabs. Each tab has a filters section at the top to explore different demographics and/or outcomes.
1. Carer/Non-Carer Comparison: shows the differences in survey responses between unpaid carers and non-carers.
2. Caring Experience: shows the personal experiences of providing unpaid care.
3. Cared For Ages: shows the age groups of those receiving unpaid care.