Hundreds of thousands of young carers could be missing out on vital support because they are not registered with their local authority, according to new data seen by Sky News.
A Freedom of Information request, carried out by the charity Action for Children and shared with Sky News, has found that 84,256 young carers are known to local authorities in England and Wales.
The number is a fraction of the potential 800,000 young carers thought to be helping a loved one in England alone, according to a University of Nottingham study.
It means that around 90% of young carers could be missing out on statutory help.
“They don’t get the time out from being a young carer, they don’t get somebody to listen to – and almost, they just get forgotten,” says Vicki Phillips from Action for Children.
The stark findings come amid concern about extra support for young carers during the summer holidays.
The FoI request – which had a response rate of 81.5% – also found that more than a fifth of councils either had no additional provision for young carers during the school break, or that the only extra provision was via services available to other children.
Vicki said many young carers, aged under 18, are looking after siblings, parents, grandparents and other relatives while juggling their own lives.
“When you think of that young carer is also in school 30 hours a week – is trying to do exams for example – is trying to have a social life and have friends and fit in and just do what everybody else is doing,” she adds.
“They really can’t do that if they have 50/60 hours of caring responsibilities at home as well.”
Local authorities have a legal duty to assess the impact of caring on a young person, including the impact on education.
But many children aren’t aware that the help they give to a family member is a formal caring role.
Meghan, 16, from Pembrokeshire, has looked after her 12-year-old sister Mia for years.
She says: “Over time, as I got older and she got older, I started to notice more about her and how she was different from my friend’s siblings and that I was looking after her more than being her sister.
“I’m there as a support for her – emotional support – I think I understand her very well and I’m able to communicate with her on a different level.”
But it was only recently that she was identified as a young carer.
“I was recognised as being a young carer for my role by one of the support workers – even before I realised I was doing anything. It was a bit shocking and a bit confusing,” she adds.
Being assessed and registered as a young carer unlocks a range of statutory and additional support.
But that extra help is patchy across the country, with councils often reliant on grants or the charity sector to provide them.
In Haverfordwest, Meghan and a dozen other young carers are meeting up at the start of the holidays for a BBQ and chat.
It may only be a three-hour break, but it is a chance to get away from their responsibilities for a while.
“Being able to come down here and do things like this kind of gives us that chance of a childhood that we may not have at home,” said Elle, aged 15.
She’s here with her 13-year-old brother Charles.
“I would say I feel refreshed because it gives me like a sort of restart to doing all the things I have to do at my house.”
In response to our story, the UK Department for Education said it urges “young carers or their families to contact their local authority for help and support”.
It added that the government has expanded data collection to better track how young carers are supported.
Read more:
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The Welsh government told Sky News it is “important young carers receive the support they are entitled to.”
It said it encourages the use of the Young Carer ID card scheme, which helps young carers to be identified, particularly within education.
