Carers (Hansard, 15 June 2004)

§ Helen Jones
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many carers of working age are(a) in full-time employment, (b) employed part-time and (c) not in paid work. [178198]

§ Ruth Kelly
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Helen Jones, dated 15 June 2004:
As National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many carers of working age are a) in full-time employment, b) employed part-time and c) not in paid work. (178198)
Information on economic activity of people in households providing unpaid care is available in table S026 in the 2001 Census National Report for England and Wales. This volume is available in the House of Commons Library and also on the National Statistics website through http://www.statistics.gov.uk/census2001/cn_87.asp. Figures derived from this table are shown in Table 1 below.
Census information on economic activity was coded for all people aged 16–74, rather than the usual 'working age' definition covering all males aged 16–64 and all females aged 16–59. Table S026 follows the convention of presenting results for this wider population.

Table 1: Economic activity and provision of unpaid care All people aged 16–74 in households, 2001 England and Wales

All people Providers of unpaid care

All people 37,049,262 4,776,934

Full-time employment¹ 17,535,321 1,852,762

Part-time employment¹ 5,143,701 847,002

Not in paid employment¹ 13,462,160 2,029,437

Economically active full-time students 908,080 47,733

¹ Excluding economically active full-time students.

Source: S026, Census 2001 National report for England and Wales

§ Helen Jones
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost to the Exchequer that would result if the unpaid care provided for older or disabled people by their relatives had to be paid for from public funds; arid if he will make a statement. [178118]

§ Dawn Primarolo
The Government have made no estimate of the cost to the Exchequer that would result if the unpaid care provided for older or disabled people by their relatives had to be paid from public funds. The Royal Commission on Long Term Care included an assessment of the contribution made by carers. In response to the Commission's recommendations to increasingly offer flexible support services for carers, the Government introduced a specific carers grant that will provide over £600 million for carers by 2006.

Table 1: Economic activity and provision of unpaid care All people aged 16–74 in households, 2001 England and Wales
	All people	Providers of unpaid care
All people	37,049,262	4,776,934
Full-time employment¹	17,535,321	1,852,762
Part-time employment¹	5,143,701	847,002
Not in paid employment¹	13,462,160	2,029,437
Economically active full-time students	908,080	47,733
¹ Excluding economically active full-time students.
Source: S026, Census 2001 National report for England and Wales