Herefordshire Council 'focused' on providing support for unpaid carers
Statistics from the Carers UK State of Caring Survey found unpaid carers were finding it increasingly difficult to afford day-to-day living costs
A Herefordshire councillor says it's important for them as a council to make sure unpaid carers across the county are receiving the support they need.
New statistics from the Carers UK State of Caring Survey found a quarter of carers are struggling to make ends meet, and are cutting back on essentials like food and heating.
It also showed over a third don’t feel confident they will be able to manage financially over the next 12 months.
Cabinet member for adults, health and well-being Carole Gandy says they are focused on making people aware of the roles they might be carrying out so that they can then access help.
"At the present moment, we've got just under 17,000 unpaid identified carers, which is about one in ten of our population, but we believe that we've probably got significantly more than that," she said.
"There are so many people that do it because they're doing it for either a child, or a parent, or a partner, and they just see it as part of the everyday life of what you do, but they should be recognised as a carer.
"As time has gone on, certainly with the financial situation, it has become more and more difficult for carers to carry out their role.
"It might be physical or equipment support we can help with, but it could also be financial support, and at this moment in time, financial support is particularly important to them."
According to the research there are 5.8 million unpaid carers across the UK.