ALMOST a million more people could take on unpaid caring responsibilities across Britain over the next decade amid a “crisis of care,” a charity estimates.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) said today that the approximate 10 per cent rise by 2035 will likely be accompanied by increases in unmet care needs due to an increasing proportion of over-65s in the population.

The group’s forecasts show that “without a change in direction, rising care needs risk overwhelming our outdated and fragmented systems.”