NEW figures show the level of young carers across Bradford is 1,200, with some taking on caring responsibilities for more than 50 hours each week.

The newly-released data from the 2021 Census indicates there are a total of 45,645 people acting as unpaid carers in the district.

Of these, 1,280 are children, of whom 150 spend 50 hours a week or more helping to care for their loved ones. Tasks often include cooking, cleaning, helping someone take medicines or get washed.

However, a local organisation that supports carers fears the real figure could be much higher – at around 10,000 in the district.

One young carer Michael, not his real name, was referred to Carers’ Resource for support, as he was an only child and his father had schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, while his mum also had leukaemia.

The impact on Michael varied, depending on the severity of his father’s conditions. The young carers team at Carers’ Resource provided the teenager with intensive one-to-one mentoring when needed, and was there to offer emotional, practical and peer support throughout.

Helen Prince, head of young carers and families at Carers’ Resource, said of the situation: “Many young carers are putting in dozens of hours a week to help care for their loved ones. They might be looking after a parent who is ill, disabled or has mental health or substance misuse problems, or they might be helping to care for a sibling who has additional needs.”

“These latest figures from the census are likely to underestimate the scale of caring. There is a lot of research that suggests around 1 in 10 children and young people are young carers. That would mean there are really around 10,000 young carers in the Bradford district.

“We know there are many more young, and adult, carers who are caring for friends or relatives, who don’t recognise themselves as ‘carers’ and are therefore not accessing the support they need.”

The Census 2021 data indicates the age group with the highest number of carers was 55 to 59 at 5,225 people.

Of these, the highest number of carers spending 50 or more hours a week caring were 50 to 54 at 1,370 people and 40 to 44 at 1,355 people.

For young carers, Carers’ Resource provides a wide range of support, including fun trips and activities in school holidays, youth clubs and one-to-one support.

For support visit carersresource.org or call 0808 50 15 939.

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