Right to a break from caring
The legislation
The Care Reform Bill passed in the Scottish Parliament in June 2025. It marked a pivotal moment for Scotland’s unpaid carers as it passed into law the legal Right to A Break from caring.
The Bill received Royal Assent in July 2025 and work is now underway on the implementation plans for the Right to a Break, though a date is yet to be set. The introduction of a legal right to a break from caring has been in discussion for a number of years and yet, despite an almost universal welcome, it has faced continuing challenges and delays due to the slow progress of the National Care Service Legislation.
This new right has the potential to be transformative for carers. The legislation makes changes to the existing Carers Act and means that access to sufficient breaks from caring will be an identified personal outcome for every carer. Where a carer is unable to take sufficient breaks, the support required to meet that need is recorded within a support plan, and the local authority has a legal duty to provide the support necessary to meet this need. No eligibility criteria applies, and no charge will be made to the carer.
Under the proposals the Scottish Government is planning to maintain and increase investment in the national voluntary sector short breaks fund which exists to provide easy-access breaks.
What this means in practice is that hopefully many carers will be able to access breaks through ‘easy access’ routes, and without the need for a statutory assessment or support plan. This would apply to carers with low or moderate needs who need a little support to help maintain a healthy balance between caring and other things that are important in their lives. For those that need more than this – for example access to respite and replacement care on a more regular, planned basis or those that might need more specialist provision – this would be arranged through their local authority or Health and Social Care Partnership, and through more statutory funded support.
Why is this important?
Short breaks and respite are critical for carers to achieve balance in their lives and be able to look after their own health and wellbeing. Unpaid carers regularly report that breaks from caring would make the biggest difference to their health and wellbeing.
In the Shared Care Scotland survey, many unpaid carers highlighted that they would feel more rested and relaxed and be able to continue to provide quality care if they had sufficient breaks.Yet for too many of Scotland’s unpaid carers, access to regular, meaningful breaks is out of reach. 96% of unpaid carers stated that they feel the need for a break, yet 62% say that they rarely or never receive a break.
What happens now?
There remains a great deal of work to be done in ensuring that this new right reaches its potential. Work must be done to ensure that Scotland’s short breaks sector has the variety and capacity to meet the needs of our diverse caring population, that carers have adequate information and support to access their right, and that organisations that support carers are adequately resourced and funded to deliver it.
Shared Care Scotland is committed to working with Scottish Government, carers and short breaks providers in order to make this important right into a reality. This work includes:
- Participating in the Regulations and Guidance Working Group for the Right to a Break
- Chairing the Implementation Steering Group for the Right to a Break on behalf of Scottish Government
- Working to research the readiness of the sector and use our evidence and research to showcase what works and what needs to be done
- Mapping the carer journey to sufficient breaks to aid the implementation plans