Findings mark the start of Carers Week taking place from 10-16 June, with the theme as ‘Putting carers on the map’.

Responding to a YouGov Omnibus poll of nearly 6,500 members of the public, 62% of current and former unpaid carers said they had no choice - the equivalent to 10 million adult unpaid carers. By contrast, 29% of current and former unpaid carers said that other care options were available, but they chose to undertake the unpaid carer role. The research also suggested that the situation may be getting worse with those currently providing unpaid care more likely than former unpaid carers to say they had no choice in taking on a caring role (66% compared to 59%), due to a lack of available care options.