Assessing the economic cost of delivering services to young carers and the potential benefits that might accrue to the tax payer and wider society from successful interventions.


What is the need?

Young carers are young people who take on significant caring responsibilities for family members, normally parents or siblings. Research has established some of the implications of being one of the UK’s 175,000 known young carers, including the risk of truancy, under achievement, isolation, mental and physical ill health, poverty and stress.

At the time this work was undertaken, relatively little was known about the long term costs and benefits of services for young carers.

What are we doing?

PERU assessed the economic cost of delivering services to young carers and the potential benefits that might accrue to the tax payer and wider society from successful interventions.

What are the outcomes?

A final report and briefing paper were produced. Crossroads and The Princess Royal Trust for Carers used our report both in funding bids to demonstrate the worth of their interventions and in some of their campaigning work.

You can access the final report here:


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