‘Caring about equality’: Carers Week 2025 begins

Today (Monday 9^th June) marks the start of Carers Week and this year’s theme is ‘caring about equality’.

The phrase ‘love is a many-splendored thing’ relates to carers, especially unpaid ones, perfectly. To many, the job may appear to be just that, but to those involved it’s a complex, multifaceted, loving role that requires an extraordinary type of person. Carers Week – an event founded by the charity Carers UK over 25 years ago – was created to celebrate these particular individuals.

Since the campaign was established, it has been taking place annually and this year’s event was launched today (Monday 9^th June) and is due to last until Sunday 15^th June. What’s more, the event has commenced with the theme ‘caring about equality’, which aims to highlight all the discrepancies unpaid carers face in the UK, including poor mental health, social isolation and a greater risk of poverty.

‘Caring for a loved one should never be a reason for facing inequality, but sadly this is the reality for many in the UK,’ Helen Walker, chief executive of Carers UK, said. ‘Unpaid carers are desperate for a break, for better health and social care provision, financial support and equality in the workplace. Over half say they need better understand and recognition from the public.’

Against this backdrop, a new report from Carers UK, called ‘The Caring About Equality Repot’, was published this morning and it provides better insight to the harsh realities unpaid carers face. Some of the findings include:

• 43% of current or former carers – an estimated 10.7 million people – have seen a mental or physical health condition develop or worsen since taking on a caring role for someone.
• 58% feel they are at a disadvantage as they aren’t able to look after their own mental or physical health.
• 40% of current carers said they have had to cancel or postpone a medical appointment, test, scan, treatment or therapy because of their job.
• A higher number of female carers – both current and former – said they face disadvantages with their health compared to males.

With these statistics in mind, which can be accessed in full here, Carers UK is encouraging as many councils/charities/organisations as possible to take part in raising awareness for the campaign this week.

However, support for unpaid carers shouldn’t just stop at the end of this week. Ultimately, Carers UK are calling on the government to introduce a new ‘National Carers Strategy’ which clearly details sufficient support for people taking on such roles.

Meanwhile, Carers Week has launched on the same week that the government’s Spending Review is due to be announced, so time will only tell if concrete social care support makes the cut.

Helen added: ‘Carers Week 2025 is a crucial opportunity to increase awareness, highlighting those who provide vital care to family members, friends or neighbours when they need it most. We want to see a future where they have the right support and the same opportunities to lead healthy and financially secure lives alongside their caring role.’

More information about how to get involved in this year’s Carers Week can be found here. 

Image via Shutterstock

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