§ Mr. KidneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many carers are themselves minors in(a) Staffordshire, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England; and what proportions such figures represent of (i) all carers and (ii) all minors in the latest year for which figures are available. [56660]
§ Ms JowellIn 1996, the Office for National Statistics published results of the first national study based on a sample of young carers taken from the general population. Copies of this report "Young carers and their families" are available in the Library.
It was estimated from the research that there were 32,000 young carers in Great Britain aged 8 to 17, representing 0.5 per cent. of the population in this age range. Estimates for England and by region are not available.
The 1995 General Household Survey estimated that the number of informal carers in Great Britain aged 16 and over was 5.7 million.