Carers & Carers Allowance

This article is a revised and updated version of a post originally published in June 2017.

The perceived underfunding of social care was a significant political issue in the 2017 general election. It is easy to forget, however, that the ‘formal’ care sector of nursing and residential homes, plus allied services, is underpinned by a much larger ‘informal’ sector of family and friends of the person being cared for. In a related article, we examined the legislation and policy framework behind this sector. Here, we review the facts and figures relating to informal carers in Northern Ireland. A detailed paper on this topic was recently published by the Research and Information Service (RaISe).

Read More »Carers in Northern Ireland: Some key statistics

This article is a revised and updated version of a post originally published in June 2017.

This article outlines the contribution made by carers to supporting the formal care system and the issues they face in undertaking the caring role for family members and friends. Legislative developments across the UK are discussed as well as issues relevant to carers and how these are being addressed in Northern Ireland (NI) and beyond. A fuller briefing paper on these issues was published by RaISe in March 2016. In a related article, we examine some of the key statistics relating to the informal care sector in Northern Ireland.

Read More »Supporting carers in Northern Ireland: Where are we with legislation and policy?