Unpaid carers’ huge contribution to society deserves greater recognition and organisations across the region say they will work together to improve support for them.
Newcastle City Council has joined authorities, charities and healthcare bodies from across the North East in committing to improve the lives of people looking after loved ones.
Cllr Wendy Taylor, Newcastle City Council’s Cabinet member for integrated health and adult social care, said: “More than 10 per cent of the population is taking on some form of unpaid caring role and that is an essential part of how our society functions.
“We want both residents and professionals to better understand the contribution of unpaid carers, and that there is support available for the issues they face, including poor mental or physical health, poverty, and barriers to social mobility.
“It is important that we listen to people’s experiences and needs - carers shouldn’t have to repeat their story multiple times to receive help.
“Of course, across the region we also know there are improvements that can be made to make the support available more consistent – it shouldn’t be a postcode lottery.
“If we can do that then not only will it help to make accessing support as simple as possible but will allow us to invest in creating a more sustainable and self-supporting carer community.
“And we know that every penny invested in our carers has a huge positive return.”
A commitment to carers
Attending a Carers Week event in Durham on Wednesday 10 June 2026, Cllr Taylor outlined Newcastle City Council’s intention to sign the Commitment to unpaid carers in the North East and North Cumbria.
The Commitment recognises that those looking after loved ones are “the backbone of our society – contributing £184 billion to our economy.”
Those signing up to it are agreeing to work together to ensure:
- awareness and recognition of carers
- funding reflects carer needs and reduces inequalities
- carers are involved in the co-production of policies and strategies
- streamlined support across the system
Newcastle’s support for unpaid carers
The event also heard from Cllr Taylor and the council’s director of adult social care and prevention, Laura Choake, about the steps being taken to support unpaid carers in Newcastle.
In the 2024 to 2025 financial year Newcastle City Council and its commissioned services supported more than 4,700 unpaid carers, with 863 new people registered. Collectively they had contact with the service almost 35,000 times.
The most recent carers’ survey found that as a result of the support provided 98 per cent of carers sustained or improved their work or education situation, and 9 in 10 improved their financial position.
Outcomes for carers in the city are now back to or above pre-pandemic levels, and above national benchmarks.
“We know that many carers are really positive about their support, with some even calling it ‘life changing’,” said Laura.
“However, that isn’t the view of everyone and so we want to work with carers to better understand their experiences and use that knowledge to build on the work we’ve already done to join up and streamline processes, identify more carers earlier, and continuously improve the information and advice we offer.
“We want carers to know that it shouldn’t matter where you are or which agency you need to speak to, you can have confidence that your caring role will always be thought about and that your needs will always be listened to and supported.”
What happens next
The council’s Health and Wellbeing Board will be asked to formally note Newcastle’s agreement to sign up to the Commitment, and to encourage other partners to make a similar pledge.