GCHSCP Demographics and Needs Profile
Unpaid Carers
Tables 29a-b. Child/Young Carers and Adult Carers
Tables 29a.-b. show the percentage of Glasgow children, school pupils and adults who are unpaid carers and those in receipt of Young Carer's Grant or Carer's Allowance for Glasgow, Scotland and locality (where available).
Table 29a. Child/Young Carer Indicators by Area
| Area - no. children or % | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Indicator | Glasgow City | Scotland | Other information/notes |
| Child Carers (age 0-15)1 | 2.47% | 2.02% | SHeS 20212 child carer rates for age 4-15 in Scotland are 1% (boys), 2% (girls), 2% (all). |
| Young Carer Grant* (no. authorised applications)3 | 1,210 | 8,075 | 7.0% Glasgow 16-18 year olds awarded grant compared to 4.8% Scotland's 16-18 year olds. |
| Pupils who care for someone because they have a disability, an illness, a drug or alcohol problem, a mental health problem or problems related to old age (P7-S6 pupils)4 | 25.0% | ||
Source: 1. NRS - Scotland's Census 2011; 2. Scottish Health Survey (SHeS) 2021; 3. Social Security Scotland Young Carer Grant High Level Statistics to 31 Jan 2023; 4. Scottish Government (Schools) Health and Well-being Census 2021/22 - Glasgow City Council Education Services Infographics.
Notes: *Young Carer Grant is an annual payment of £326.65 (Apr 22) that can be applied for annually by young carers aged 16, 17, and 18 who care for someone normally paid a qualifying disability benefit. The period covered by the statistics is 21 Oct 2019 to 31 Jan 2023.
Key Points (Table 29a)
- 2.47% of Glasgow children under 15 are unpaid carers compared to 2.02% of all Scottish children, according to the 2011 Census. The more recent 2021 Scottish Health Survey estimates that 2% of Scottish 4-15 year old children are unpaid carers.
- A Young Carer Grant has recently been introduced in Scotland for 16-18 year olds. Since its introduction in late 2019, 1,210 Glasgow young people have been awarded this grant representing 7.0% of the 16-18 years population. A lower rate of 4.8% of Scottish 16-18 year olds have been awarded the grant.
- One quarter (25.0%) of Glasgow P7-S6 pupils provide unpaid care to someone because they have a disability, an illness, a drug or alcohol problem, a mental health problem or problems related to old age.
Table 29b. Adult Carer Indicators by Area/HSCP Locality
| Area/HSCP Locality - no. adults or percentage | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indicator | North East | North West | South | Glasgow City | Other information/notes | |
| Adults providing unpaid care to others (% all adults 16+)1 | Males | 13.0% | Variation by age - 16-24 9.0%; 55-64 22.0%; 75+ 9.0%. SSCQ 20192 rates for adult carers are 18.7% (Scotland) and 16.1% (Glasgow). | |||
| Females | 16.0% | |||||
| All 16+ | 11.0% | 14.6% | 17.2% | 14.4% | ||
| Adults in receipt of Carers Allowance (no. of adults 16+)3 | Males | 4,408 | equivalent to 1.7% of male 16+ population | |||
| Females | 8,711 | equivalent to 3.2% of female 16+ population | ||||
| All 16+ | 13,119 | equivalent to 2.5% of total 16+ population | ||||
Source: 1. NHSGGC Adult Health and Well-being Survey - Glasgow City 2017/18; 2. Scottish Surveys Core Questions (SSCQ) 2019; 3. Carer's Allowance Cases in Payment - DWP (Aug 2022).
Key Points (Table 29b)
- 14.4% of Glasgow adults are unpaid carers with a higher percentage of women (16.0%) than men (13.0%) undertaking this role. There is variability within Glasgow with 11.0% of adults in North East providing unpaid care compared to 14.6% in North West and 17.2% in South. A far higher percentage of adults aged 55-64 provide unpaid care (22.0%) than younger and older age groups with only 9.0% of people aged 16-24 and those aged 75+ doing so.
- The adults in receipt of Carers Allowance indicator shows that 2.5% of the Glasgow adult population are in receipt of this benefit, which is far lower than the 14.4% of adults who are unpaid carers.
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