There has been a drop of around 13,000 in the number of unpaid carers receiving direct support from their local authority despite the Government pledging more help, think tank says.

A new study by the think tank Nuffield Trust has found a decrease of 13,000 in the numbers of carers receiving direct support from their local authority, falling from 121,000 in 2015/16 to 108,000 in 2020/21.

At the same time, respite and breaks for carers has dropped by 42% and local authority funding for carers by 11%.

Commenting on the analysis, Nuffield Trust senior fellow Charlotte Paddison said: ‘Over the last decade and a half, politicians have talked the talk of supporting and recognising carers, with laudable policy statements and plans to support them. But our work reveals a widening gulf between this rhetoric and the reality facing unpaid carers. As we experience the biggest cost of living squeeze in living memory, the need to address this has never been more pressing.

‘At the heart of this is a lack of accountability at the highest levels of Government about who is responsible for success and failure, a paucity of robust data both on carers’ needs and on national and local support for them, and the near total invisibility of carers in wider policymaking.

‘Given the crucial role that unpaid carers play in supporting our overstretched NHS and social care systems, it is imperative that the new Government takes immediate steps to improve the plight of unpaid carers and raise their profile in wider public policy.’

A Government spokesperson said: 'Carers play a vital role in our communities, and we all owe them a debt of gratitude.

'We know people are struggling with the cost of living, and we are providing financial support to carers, while we have also set aside £291.7m in Better Care Funding to provide short breaks and respite services for carers.

'We have made an additional £3.7bn of funding to councils in 2022-23, including over £1bn of additional resource specifically for social care.'