There is increasing emphasis in social care policy and practice in England on the provision of formal support and services for the care-recipient to meet needs and improve outcomes for unpaid carers. This includes young adult carers for whom there are negative short and long-term outcomes in education, employment, mental and physical health, with associated individual and societal costs. Despite this, little is known about the role of social care services in alleviating young people’s need to provide unpaid care and improving outcomes, nor about the extent of services needed and the cost of providing them. This study aims to fill these gaps through analysis of large, nationally representative datasets and collection of primary questionnaire data from young carers and the adult they support. The study aims to investigate associations between outcomes for young adult carers aged 16 to 25 in England and provision of social care services for the adult they care for, needs for such services and costs of providing them. Young carers and adult social care users, practitioners and policy makers will be involved in the study design, implementation and knowledge exchange activities to keep the project policy and practice relevant and facilitate impact.