The Carers (Scotland) Act 2016
| Title | The Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 |
|---|---|
| Council Resource | Social Work |
| Service Area | Performance and Support Services |
| Aims and Objectives | The Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 came into force on 1st April 2018. It introduces new legal rights for carers and young carers in Scotland as well as building on existing rights and good practice. It represents a bold vision through extending and enhancing the rights of carers. The implementation of the Act sits within a wider context of the integration of health and social care, building a fairer Scotland and a strong, sustainable economy, tackling inequalities and delivering public services with communities. The Act defines the meaning of a carer. The legal definition of a carer has changed in Scotland to: 'An individual who provides or intends to provide care for another individual'. The Act brings about a range of new legal duties for the local authority and the health board: - Duty to provide a Young Carer Statement (Section 12) - Duty to set local Eligibility Criteria (Section 21) - Duty to involve carers in carer services and in hospital discharge planning, ensuring that before a cared-for person is discharged from hospital, carers are involved in the process. (Sections 27, 28, 29, 30) - Duty to establish advice and information services (Section 34) - Duty to produce a Short Breaks Services Statement (Section 35) The strategy sets out what and how we plan to deliver services for carers. The strategy has been developed in partnership with community organisations, local carers and the health board working together to deliver a local Carer Strategy. A wide range of consultations have taken place using a range of methods and mediums. Focus groups of carers through carer organisations assessed local carer eligibility criteria, SNAP online and paper copy surveys assessed long term priorities and outcomes for the carers strategy, a face to face consultation reviewed Advocacy services and an online Short breaks survey was conducted to identify carers access to short breaks. A range of face to face strategy consultation events culminated in a carers conference where through an options appraisal carers opinions were further sought. This Equality Impact Assessment in its initial draft will be presented and discussed at a Programme Board meeting to identify and clarify its context. |
| Conclusion | There is no negative impact identified for any of the equality groups. Throughout the process of implementing the Act the Carers Readiness Toolkit and related work plans have progressed the various aspects of the policy. Sub groups with related terms of reference have been established and as each has been completed reports have been submitted to the Programme Board. Into the future the continued implementation and development of the various duties of the Act will be monitored through the Carers Program Board and the monitoring of the Carers Strategy. Through the revision of service delivery measures, specific data will be collected that will allow the Health and Social Care Partnership to gather more robust and evidence based data. Future analysis of the returns will support and verify the impact of the policy in relation to protected characteristics. The aim of this policy is ensure the duties laid down in the Act are fully implemented by The Health and Social Care Partnership. The implementation of this policy will benefit carers from all our communities by promoting their rights, the provision of suitable support and services and the continuous growth and development of sustainable service provision. |
| Completion date | 10/07/2024 |
| Contact Email address | equalities@southlanarkshire.gov.uk |
| Area | Council Wide |