A new report has been published by a charity supporting unpaid carers across Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and Norfolk.
The Carers Speak Out report has been released to mark Carers Week 2025 (9–15 June) – highlighting the struggles and sacrifices of over 150,000 unpaid carers across the region, the report calls for urgent action to recognise and support carers who dedicate so much of their time to care for a family member or friend with a long-term illness or disability.
The 2025 Carers Speak Out report, published by Caring Together Charity, shares first-hand accounts from unpaid carers who have contributed to the organisation’s year-round online platform, Carers Speak Out. Their messages are clear: carers feel unsupported, isolated and overlooked, with many facing growing challenges in their day-to-day lives.
The report reveals:
- Widespread difficulty in accessing healthcare, including GP support – both for themselves and the people they care for.
- Escalating financial pressures driven by changes to benefits such as the Winter Fuel Payment, rising energy costs, and the overall cost of living. Many carers are forced to reduce working hours or give up work entirely, at the expense of their financial stability and personal wellbeing.
- The emotional and physical toll of caring, with many suffering emotional distress as they watch a family member become increasingly unwell, and struggle to get them the help they need.
One carer wrote of her mum who has dementia, “It’s a struggle keeping a confused lady safe and calm. It’s heartbreaking.”
Another said, “The Winter Fuel Payment (changes) have caused us a lot of problems. I am caring for my wife who is very poorly and wheelchair bound and in constant pain. We can’t afford to run the heat like we did as we are both pensioners and I am disabled too. This is a necessity not a luxury and should not be means tested.”
The charity is calling for unpaid carers to be recognised and prioritised by GP surgeries, for local MPs to advocate for the thousands of unpaid carers living in their constituencies, and employers to become carer-friendly, with the support of the charity. This will enable more unpaid carers to stay in work.
“Thousands of unpaid carers across our region are doing extraordinary things – often round the clock – to care for family members with disabilities or long-term health conditions,” said Miriam Martin, Chief Executive at Caring Together Charity, “yet they feel neglected, taken for granted and ignored by government and decision-makers. This urgently needs to change. Better investment in carers’ welfare is not only a moral imperative – but a financially sound strategy, saving billions for the NHS and Adult Social Care systems.”
During Carers Week, a national campaign to raise awareness of unpaid carers and all they do to look after others, the 2025 Carers Speak Out report seeks to place unpaid carers’ lived experiences at the heart of conversations about policy, funding and support services across our region.
