Partner carers: prevalence and characteristics (1)

1. ‘In sickness and in health’ and beyond: reconciling work and care for a partner in englandAugust 13th 2013Dr Gary FryResearch FellowCIRCLECentre for International Research on Care, Labour and Equalities University of Leeds, UK

2. Partner carers: prevalence and characteristics (1) • Approximately one fifth of 5.2m carers in England care for a partner (CENSUS 2001) • Half of partner carers are men, much higher than for carers of other people • 60% of partner carers are aged between 50 and 64 • Heavy caring responsibilities: • 86% care for 20+ hours per week • 60% care for 50+ hours per week • Two thirds have been caring for more than five years

3. Partner carers: prevalence and characteristics (2) • Most partner carers live with the person they care for (co-resident) • Half of all co-resident carers care for a partner • Condition of cared for person: • Physical disability: two thirds of partner carers • Long-term / terminal illness: just over half • Both far higher than carers of other people • Someone frail: 44% • Mental health: 27% • Sensory impairment: 19% • Dementia: 9%

4. Partner carers: employment characteristics • 58% of working age carers in paid employment • More likely than other carers to work full-time (34% / 25%) • Over half say their employer is carer-friendly • Two thirds have support of family / friends • Less than a quarter say their caring does not affect their work • 28% said they had adequate support to work and care

5. Partner carers: services and support • No dedicated services for partner carers • Means-tested support from social services means many will have to pay • Partner carers... • 40% paid for services • 37% received services with no charge • 12% had direct payments scheme in place • 26% had home care support • 20% of service users attended day care centre • Only 10% of partner carers got a break / respite

6. Case study example: Arnold • Arnold cared for his wife who suffered from a mental health condition. He had to quit his well-paid full-time job and apply for Carer’s Allowance, which he supplemented by earning <£100 per week as a handyman. He was unable to maintain payments on his mortgage or to support his two sons at university. This made him feel deeply unhappy. His wife made a slow recovery and later returned to paid employment, but after an extended period of caring, Arnold struggled to reactivate his former career. He feels resentful about having to give up his job and cannot see an easy way out of his situation. He feels that formal care services are inadequate to support people in his circumstances.

7. Recent policy developments • National carer support programmes (e.g. Caring with Confidence): nearly half accessing were partner carers • National telephone helpline • LA-funded, third sector-delivered employment support • Telecare services offering “peace of mind” (sometimes while working) • Personalisation agenda to enhance service user dignity and giving carers a “life of their own”

8. Conclusions Partner carers... • Tend to be older, have heavy caring responsibilities, and likely to be male • More likely to care for people with a condition requiring intensive support (e.g. physical disability / terminal illness) • More likely to be in full-time employment, without adequate care support • Unlikely to get a break from caring • Likely to pay for formal support • Have no dedicated formal care support

9. Source of data 'In sickness and in health' and beyond: reconciling work and care for a partner in Australia and England Gary Fry, Cathy Thomson and Trish Hill in Combining paid work and family care: Policies and experiences in international perspective Policy Press