New survey launched to help shape future Salford carers services and support

Salford unwaged carers will be able to have their say to help shape the future for support and care services. 

The survey launched by Salford City Council will aim to hear the voices of residents who are a carer, looking after a family member, partner, or friend.

The council are using the survey to understand the experiences of being an unwaged carer in Salford.

An unwaged carer is someone who looks after a family member, partner, or friend who, due to older age, frailty, illness, disability (physical, mental or learning), or substance misuse (alcohol, drugs) cannot cope without their support.

Unwaged carers includes carers receiving Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Personal Budget as these are benefits are not covered as wages.

And the work of unwaged carers hasn’t gone unnoticed as Councillor Mishal Saeed, Executive Support Member for Social Care and Mental Health said: “Our unpaid carers are the bedrock of our health and social care system. 

“They play an essential role in our communities and make huge sacrifices to take care of loved ones.

Cllr Mishal continued: “We want to ensure that the new Carers’ strategy reflects the views and experiences of our unpaid carers, supports them and serves their needs effectively.

“If you are a carer, please take part in the consultation and share your insights. We thank you for contributing to this important work.”

For the new survey, the council be looking to use the Salford voices to help shape the priorities for their new five year city-wide strategy.

The strategy ‘Salford All Age Carers Strategy’ will run between 2025 to 2029, and will aim to support those who look after their loved ones unwaged. 

The survey will be open to unwaged carers until January 10 2025, and will provide an overview of local and national information to help drive priorities forward.

The Salford City Council will aim to continue their support just as they did in the current strategy that ran from 2020 to 2024.

With the current strategy reflecting the lived experiences of carers across Salford, and was able to give the council an idea of peoples needs.

The survey will take approximately 25 minutes to complete and can be found here.