Unpaid carers in Wales ‘at breaking point’

Unpaid carers in Wales are being pushed to the brink by a system that repeatedly fails to recognise, support, or uphold their basic legal rights, warns a new Senedd committee report.

The inquiry, by the Welsh Parliament’s Health and Social Care Committee, heard harrowing evidence from carers who described having to “beg” and “fight” for help.

Many said they had been caring for years without being identified as a carer by professionals, despite repeated contact with GP surgeries, hospitals and local authorities.

More than 310,000 people in Wales provide unpaid care, and as of March 2024, only 4,924 had a support plan.

Some carers reported waiting months for an assessment, with no services available at the end of the process.

Concerns were also raised about how there is a severe shortage of respite care opportunities across Wales.

The report urged the incoming Welsh Government to act swiftly to transform this situation as a priority.

The Committee called for improvements to early identification and clear rights to practical services like respite and financial and emotional support.

Peter Fox MS, Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee said: “Carers are at breaking point. We were told how they must ‘beg’ and ‘fight’ for help, both for the people they care for and for themselves.

“For young carers in particular, the lack of support is restricting life opportunities.

“They spend their time in school constantly worried; they miss out on opportunities and their chances of going on to college or university are severely limited because there is no one to take on their caring role.

“In 2019, our predecessor committee called for strong, national focus and leadership, and prompt and decisive action. Fast forward to 2026 and, from the desperate accounts we heard during this inquiry, little has changed.

“Unpaid carers have shouldered heavy burdens for too long, and we must do far better by those at the heart of our care system.

“We urge the incoming Welsh Government to accept these recommendations and to act swiftly.”

Vulnerable

The report highlighted that young carers are particularly vulnerable with many providing care equivalent to a full-time job, while juggling schoolwork, personal responsibilities and their own wellbeing.

Giving evidence to the Committee, young carers Ffiôn-Hâf Scott, Albie Sutton and Elektra Thomas, shared the challenge of caring for loved ones whilst caring for their own wellbeing.

Ffiôn-Hâf Scott is 18 years old and from Wrexham. She cares for her mother who has multiple heath issues including diabetes and mental health conditions.

She said: “I think, for me, the main challenge right now is looking after myself, and learning that you have to keep yourself afloat in order to keep looking after someone else.

“Now, that’s becoming more of a challenge, because I am in sixth form, I’m working, and I do many other things on the side.

“And trying to manage those things, and get the best out of them, whilst also trying to look after someone who can’t do that for themselves, I think that, for me, is the biggest challenge.”

Worries

Albie Sutton is 16, and from north Wales. He cares for his mother who has several disabilities. He would like to go to university but worries that the caring role will fall to his brother, who is too young to take on that responsibility.

He said: “I’m in sixth form and .. it’s got me debating whether I can go to university or not, because he’s [brother] not in a position where he can take on my caring role.

“It’s making me really debate in my mind whether I’m going to be able to pursue further education.

“I suppose there’s a bit of worry for my brother and whether he’ll be able to take that on, but there’s also worry for myself as well, as to whether I can pursue what I want to pursue .. because there’s no-one who can take over from me.”

Elektra Thomas, is 15 and cares for her siblings. Her brother is non-verbal autistic, and her sister has epilepsy.

She described how managing her education had become difficult.

Elekra said: “You want to be great, and you want to have that time to focus on your studies, but you also want to have that time to focus on your siblings and you forget about yourself.

“You can’t have that moment and go, ‘Okay, I’m struggling a bit, so maybe I can take this off or maybe I can take a break from this.’

“You can’t; caring is a full-time thing that you do .. and it will be constantly.”

Among the measures in the report there are several to address barriers faced by young people, including training for all school staff; a young carers’ lead in every school and college; proper enforcement of young carers’ rights; and a consistent delivery and promotion of Young Carers ID cards across all local authorities.

The Committee said that collectively, the report’s 35 recommendations would help “transform” the support available to unpaid carers in Wales.