Report from Carers UK detailing the value of unpaid support provided by carers

The value of unpaid support that carers provide has now reached £87 billion a year according to a new report, Valuing carers - calculating the value of unpaid care. This is more than the annual total spend on the NHS, which stood at £82 billion in the year 2006-7.  The new figures, calculated by the University of Leeds, are 52 per cent higher than previous estimates of how much carers save the UK [£57 billion in 2002] and the average carer is saving the nation over £15,260 a year. (Carers UK - press release)