Information on Cared For People

Unpaid carers can provide care to more than one person and cared for people can receive care from more than one carer, making the relationship between carers and the people they care for complex at times. Based on those de-duplicated records for which there is also information on the person being cared for; 39,860 carers provided care for one person and 5,680 carers provided care for more than one person in 2023-24.

The information in this section is based on the number of individual cared for people who received care and support from the unpaid carers discussed in the previous section. This includes 49,500 cared for people in 2023-24: 46,690 cared for people who received care from one carer and 2,810 who received care from multiple carers.

Age and Gender

In 2023-24, 24% of cared for people included in the Carers Census were children. 27% were working age adults and 40% were older people aged 65+. The proportion of male and female adults being cared for by an unpaid carer was the same in 2023-24 (44%). However, as seen in Figure 8, this differed for cared for children. In 2023-24, 55% of children being cared for were male compared to 30% who were female.

Figure 8: In 2023-24, over half of children being cared for by an unpaid carer were male

Cared for people identified by age and gender in the Carers Census, Scotland, 2023-24.

Based on 40,910 records where information is available, and 8,590 records with missing information.

Main Client Group

A person’s main client group is the main reason a person requires care and support; for instance, dementia or physical disability. Cared for people can have more than one client group but for the purposes of this analysis, only the main client group for each cared for person is considered.

In 2023-24, the most common main client group for children receiving care from an unpaid carer was Autism Spectrum Disorder (42%), which represents a 9-percentage point increase from 2022-23.

The most common main client group for adult cared for people, apart from ‘Other’ and ‘Unknown/Missing’, was Dementia (18%, a slight reduction from 19% in 2022-23), followed by Physical Disability (13%, down from 17% in 2022-23).

Figure 9: In 2023-24, more than two in five children being cared for by an unpaid carer were in the Autism Spectrum Disorder client group

Main client group of cared for children and adults identified in Carers Census, Scotland, 2023-24.

Based on 33,220 records where information is available for cared for adults, and 11,700 records on cared for children.