Introduction
The Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 is a key piece of new legislation that promises to ‘promote, defend and extend the rights’ of adult and young carers across Scotland. The Bill (the draft legislation) progressed through parliament from 2015-2017 and the Act became law on 1st April 2018. You can read about the progress of the Carers Act as it passes through the Scottish Parliament in more detail here.
Shared Care Scotland is one of many organisations contributing their knowledge and experience to this process, working closely with the other National Carer Organisations (NCOs). We have also used our respective networks to gather feedback directly from carers so that their voice is heard.
In this section of our website we aim to keep you updated on current status of the Act, including our most up-to-date evidence submissions and briefings. Full details of previous submissions and briefings can be found here.
A summary of the Acts main provisions for unpaid carers can be found here.
Latest
March 2018 – The Scottish Government has published the official statutory guidance for the Carer (Scotland) Act 2016. The full document can be accessed on the Scottish Government website here.
April 2018 – The Carers (Scotland) Act came into effect. Read the press release from Scottish Government here