30% said their physical health and 39% their mental health is poor because of their caring role.
Unpaid carers in Scotland are experiencing a deepening crisis, with too many facing a financial and personal cost of caring that is far too high, a new report warns.
The “State of Caring: The Cost of Caring in Scotland 2025”, launched on Carers Rights Day, shows a deteriorating picture for Scotland’s 627,000 unpaid carers, with significant costs to their financial security, health, employment and opportunities.
The research by Carers Scotland shows an alarming rise in the number of unpaid carers forced to cut back on heating their homes and feeding themselves and of the financial pressures on carers intensifying.
One in five (20%) unpaid carers responding to this year’s survey said they are struggling to make ends meet, and this financial burden grows for those receiving social security benefits, with 38% of those receiving Carer Support Payment and 44% of carers living on means tested benefits such as Universal Credit, struggling to make ends meet.
More and more unpaid carers are cutting back on essentials such as food and heating, with this situation deteriorating alarmingly in the past year. In 2025, half (48%) were cutting back, a significant 71% rise on 2024 when 28% of carers were cutting back on essentials.
Carers are increasingly turning to debt to survive. More than a third (35%) have taken out bank loans, used credit cards, or relied on overdrafts simply to make ends meet.
Parent carers of children are particularly hard hit. Despite the Scottish Government’s national mission of eradicating child poverty, too many parent carers are living with high levels of financial insecurity. A quarter (27%) are struggling to make ends meet, 62% are cutting back on essentials and 56% have taken out a loan or credit cards to make ends meet; building unsustainable debt for their future.
The human cost is profound. Unpaid carers are facing increasingly poor health, loss of career, education and opportunities.
Two in five carers (39%) are living with poor mental health, a third (30%) with poor physical health and 40% have reduced their working hours or given up paid employment because of their caring role.
Giving up paid work creates a devastating cycle where carers lose income just as their expenses increase, pushing them deeper into poverty.
Unpaid carers are providing more care, with less support. Half (50%) have increased caring hours, yet four in ten (42%) were not receiving services4 and only 13% had received a formal break from caring.
The lives of too many carers are restricted by financial insecurity, reduced life choices, deteriorating health and limited support. And there is no light at the end of the tunnel - even when caring ends, many carers face an uncertain future, with pension contributions reduced because of the impact of their caring role.
Kirsten Hogg, director of Carers Scotland, said: "This report reveals a crisis that is devastating and growing. In just one year, we have seen a staggering 71% increase in carers forced to cut back on essentials like food and heating. These are not statistics – they are our family members, friends and neighbours who are skipping meals, falling into debt, and sacrificing their own health, career and future security to care for loved ones.
“At the same time, Carers Scotland heard carers who are crying out for help to live their lives – to be able to have a career or be in education, to have breaks and time for themselves, even to have enough time and money for social and leisure activities, friendships and hobbies. The things that each of us take for granted. But the system of support they need is fractured and carers are paying the price – a price that is too high.
“Every day 1000 people become carers – and tomorrow it could be any one of us. As we come towards the election, the next Scottish Government and all parties in the Scottish Parliament must recognise that we cannot – and must not - continue to rely on a system that pushes carers into poverty and ill health and take bold action to change this.
“The current Scottish Government also still has time to do more in its final months by increasing investment in carers in the upcoming budget, particularly in actions to reduce poverty and increase access to breaks from caring.”
