Millions of unpaid UK carers ‘living in agony’, says Louise Casey

Government social care commissioner says system relying on exhausted unpaid carers to plug gaps in support

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Millions of unpaid carers in the UK are “living an agony” while propping up an outdated, fragmented and confusing social care system, Louise Casey, the head of the government’s adult social care commission, has said.

Lady Casey, who is leading an independent review of adult social care, criticised a system that “still behaves as if we are living in 1948 and not 2026” by relying on female carers to plug gaps in services.