Understanding your rights as a carer

The Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 came into effect on 1 April 2018, extending and enhancing the rights of carers in Scotland to help improve their health and wellbeing, so that they can continue to care, if they so wish, and have a life alongside caring. This legislation places a range of specific duties and requirements on each local authority.  

The Carers Charter helps carers understand their rights under the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016. Below we have set out the rights of adult carers living and/or caring for someone in Lanarkshire and the duties and responsibilities set in the local authorities where we operate:

Your right to an Adult Carer Support Plan (ACSP)

Each local authority in Scotland has a duty to offer an Adult Carer Support Plan to anyone they identify as a carer and prepare one for anyone who accepts this offer. They must also prepare an adult carer support plan for anyone who meets the definition of a carer if that person requests one.

An Adult Carer Support Plan (ACSP) starts with a conversation where you discuss your caring role and what is important to you in your life. It helps plan what could help you work towards your goals.

Click here for more information on an Adult Carer Support Plan (ACSP)

Each local authority has their own approach to offering and preparing an Adult Carer Support Plan. Lanarkshire Carers is commissioned by University Health and Social Care North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire University Health and Social Care Partnership to assist them with fulfilling this duty.  A Partnership Statement has been developed that sets out the respective roles of Lanarkshire Carers and the Health and Social Care Partnerships.

Not every carer will want an Adult Carer Support Plan but having one in place is a good way for you and others to understand your support needs and what can be done to help. You may require one to access certain types of support with your caring role, particularly if your needs are deemed to be critical or substantial.

If you are a carer over the age of 18 and living in Lanarkshire, you can request an Adult Carer Support Plan from either Lanarkshire Carers or your local Social Work office. 

If you care for someone living in Lanarkshire but you live elsewhere you should request an Adult Carer Support Plan from the local Social Work office where the person you care for lives. Lanarkshire Carers is a local carer organisation that supports carers living in Lanarkshire. We may be able to assist you with general information and advice, particularly if your support needs are not deemed to be critical or substantial. Your local carers centre will also be able to help, in relation to support available to you as a carer, in the area where you live. 

• Make a referral to Lanarkshire Carers to request an Adult Carer Support Plan
• Contact South Lanarkshire University Health and Social Care Partnership to request an Adult Carer Support Plan
• Contact University Health and Social Care Partnership North Lanarkshire to request an Adult Carer Support Plan
• If you live outside of Lanarkshire find your local carer organisation for services near you

The timescales for preparing an Adult Carer Support Plan should be discussed with you when offered or requested, and will depend on your individual circumstances. A typical timeframe would be 28 working days. However, this may be dependent on a number of factors including the availability of staff resources, the complexity of your circumstances, and the input from relevant third parties.

However, if you care for someone with a terminal illness these timescales are regulated. In these circumstances, you should be offered an Adult Carer Support Plan within 2 working days of being identified as a carer. A substantive conversation should take place within 5 working days and an Adult Carer Support Plan produced within 10 working days of you requesting or being offered one.

All Adult Carer Support Plans will include details of when it will be reviewed and what would trigger a review, for example, if you moved to another local authority area, the residential status of the person you cared for changes, or any other change in circumstances that would need to be considered.

Your right to support to meet any unmet eligible needs

Each local authority in Scotland has a duty to provide support to any carer who has identified unmet needs (which meet their local eligibility criteria) that cannot be met through support provided to the person(s) being cared for, or through general local services. They must consider whether this support should take the form of or include a break from caring. The local authority where the person being cared for lives is usually responsible for providing support. They may also have the power to support carers with identified unmet needs that do not meet their local eligibility criteria. This can include signposting and referring to organisations that are better placed to help you. Each local authority has a duty to set local eligibility criteria for support, recognising that there needs to be fairness of provision, whilst offering support to carers on a preventative basis.

In Lanarkshire, your level of support is determined by Social Work through an assessment of eligible needs as part of an Adult Carer Support Plan conversation. If this assessment deems your support needs to be substantial or critical and eligible needs are identified, you may receive a carers resource allocation through self-directed support. If you are allocated an indicative individual carers budget you can decide which of the four Self-directed Support funding options to choose.

More information on Local Eligibility Criteria in North and South Lanarkshire can be found here:

South Lanarkshire University Health and Social Care Partnership - Local Eligibility Criteria

University Health and Social Care Partnership North Lanarkshire - Local Eligibility Criteria

More information about Self-Directed Support can be found here:

Self-Directed Support: A Guide for Carers

Your right to be involved in services

Each local authority and Health Board across Scotland has a duty to involve carers and carer representatives in the planning and evaluation of all services that support carers. This includes preparing a local carer strategy and planning of services for people being cared for that carers rely on.

Your local authority and health board must 'take such steps as they consider appropriate' to involve carers and carer representatives in the planning and evaluation of services that support carers. This includes the local authority preparing the local carer strategy. It also includes planning services for people being cared for where those services relate to the care that carers provide.

Your local authority must involve you in assessing your needs for support and decisions about how any such support is to be provided. These issues will normally be included in the conversation as part of your adult carer support plan or young carer statement.

Your local authority must take your views into account in assessing the needs of the person being cared for, as far as that is 'reasonable and practical'. They must also take account of the care that you are providing, or intend to provide. This means, for example, if you are able to provide care in the evening but not during the daytime, the support needs of the person you are caring for should be considered with this in mind.

Local authorities and health boards have a responsibility to listen to the views of carers in the strategic planning of carer services. Carer representatives and carer organisations may also do this on your behalf.

Lanarkshire Carers provides a range of opportunities that empowers carers to have their voices heard, help to promote direct involvement and influence improvement in the planning and delivery of health and social care services. Please contact us if this is something you would like to discuss further. 

Your right to be involved in hospital discharge processes

Each health board must ensure that, before a cared-for person is discharged from hospital, it involves any carer of that person in the discharge. You and the person you care for should be involved at all stages of discharge planning, so long as the person you care for consents to this. Hospital wards can sometimes seem like busy places and you may feel pressure from the hospital to get the person you care for home as soon as possible.

Discharge planning should start as soon as the person you care for is admitted to hospital. The hospital will set and work to a Planned Date of Discharge (PDD) linked to the person’s clinical care and treatment plan. It is therefore important to let the hospital staff know as early as possible if you are the carer or thinking of taking on that role. Staff may not realise that you are the carer, so it can really help them if you let them know.

Other Local Authority Duties and Responsibilities

Information and advice for carers

Each local authority in Scotland must establish and maintain a local information and advice service for carers. In Lanarkshire, a variety of organisations have been commissioned to provide information and advice services for carers, including Lanarkshire Carers. You can contact us any time for information and advice regarding your caring role.

South Lanarkshire University Health and Social Care Partnership – Information and Advice for Carers

University Health and Social Care Partnership North Lanarkshire – Information and Advice for Carers

Short Breaks Services Statement

Each local authority in Scotland must prepare and publish a local Short Breaks Services Statement. A short breaks services statement is a statement of information about what short breaks services are available locally and nationally to give carers a break from their caring role. Each local authority must consider the views of carers and carer representatives when preparing and reviewing their short breaks services statement. This will help to ensure that the statement remains fit for purpose and appropriate to the needs of local carers.

University Health and Social Care Partnership North Lanarkshire – Short Breaks Services Statement

South Lanarkshire University Health and Social Care Partnership – Short Breaks Services Statement

Local Carers Strategy

Each local authority and relevant health board in Scotland must jointly prepare a local carer strategy. They should also involve carers in the development of this strategy.

University Health and Social Care Partnership North Lanarkshire – Carers Strategy

South Lanarkshire University Health and Social Care Partnership – Carers Strategy