Reference: FOI-2023-1676
You asked
Could you please provide national statistics for UK on whether male or female caregivers are more involved in childcare and also if mental health impairments (such as anxiety and stress) affect day to day employment responsibilities.
We said
Thank you for your queries regarding childcare and mental health in the UK.
On the question of male and female involvement in childcare, we produce statistics showing the employment rate of men and women with dependent children. These tables also include the percentage of men and women with dependent children who are economically inactive mainly for the reason of looking after the family or home. Information is further broken down by the age of the youngest child. These tables on the Economic activity and employment type for men and women by age of the youngest dependent are published as part of our Working and Workless Households Release.
We do collect information relating to mental health impairments, but not in a way that directly relates to employment responsibilities. We are able to look at how employment likelihood compares for people with different long-term health conditions, but unfortunately we don't have information published in a way that would allow you to isolate anxiety and stress. In our published output depression and anxiety are combined with a wider category of mental illnesses and disabilities, including learning disabilities, autism and epilepsy.
It would be possible to request a specific analysis to be produced regarding the employment rate of those specifically with depression, bad nerves or anxiety via our bespoke services route. Although, please note the available sample size may affect the quality of the analysis. You can request an analysis by contacting our social surveys team. These services are subject to legal frameworks, resources, and disclosure controls. Please note that a request may incur a charge depending on the amount of time taken to develop the analysis and undertake quality and disclosure control processes.
You may also be interested in a report that we produced setting out our Mental health, current and upcoming work, which may have some topics that are of interest to you.
We hope this information is helpful for you. If you have any further questions about this information, or if the responses provided don't seem to have interpreted your request correctly, please get in touch with us at labour.supply@ons.gov.uk and we can assist further.