UK social care at breaking point as unpaid carers surge, IPPR warns

Britain’s social care system is at breaking point, strained by a surge in demand and a widening reliance on unpaid support. An Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) report finds the number of unpaid carers rose by 70% over the past two decades, from 1.1 million to 1.9 million. Requests for care increased from 1.8 million in 2015/16 to 2.1 million in 2023/24, with the rise greatest among working-age adults. Specifically, 16- to 64-year-olds requesting care jumped 31.5%, while those aged 65 and over rose 9%. Overall, there was a 15% increase in people seeking some form of adult social care, but only 2.5% more people received it.

The IPPR warns the system remains “inadequate and expensive” and relies too heavily on unpaid care, often provided by women within families. As birth rates decline and the population ages, experts warn that the country is becoming paler and sicker, with the social care framework increasingly pressed to breaking point. Repeated delays to reform are described as costing lives and undermining the economy, as many families are forced to sell homes or deplete savings to cover care costs.

Ministers announced the launch of an independent commission in January, chaired by Baroness Casey, which will begin work in April and is not due to publish its final report for three years. There are fears the reform timetable could extend beyond 2028. The NHS and social care framework have recently faced scrutiny: a Lord Darzi review described the state of social care as “dire,” and Labour’s early actions in government included scrapping plans for a lifetime cap of £86,000 on care costs—a move described as a tragedy by its designer, Sir Andrew Dilnot.

Both Labour and Conservative governments have pledged to get a grip on social care funding, but major reform proposals have been postponed amid fiscal pressures. Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey, who helps care for his disabled son, wrote in the IPPR report foreword that politics and society must change how they value care, emphasizing carers and families at the heart of a transformed system that treats care as a public service. Abby Jitendra, IPPR’s study author, stressed that millions are carers or rely on care, and the number will rise if reform is not enacted. She called for bold, universal, affordable, reliable and fair care that is funded properly and delivered with better pay and conditions for carers.

The report concludes that reform must move beyond incremental tinkering toward a funded, accessible system that reduces dependence on families and provides consistent support for both paid workers and informal carers. With demand climbing and capacity strained, policymakers face pressure to deliver a credible plan that can withstand an aging population and shifting workforce, rather than delaying action again.