Legislation protecting people in care

Overview National Assistance Act 1948 Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 NHS and Community Care Act 1990 National Assistance (Assessment of Resources) Regulations 1992 Human Rights Act 1998 Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007 Equality Act 2010 Patient Rights (Scotland) Act 2011 Social Care (Self-directed Support) (Scotland) Act 2013 Public Bodies (Joint working) (Scotland) Act 2014 Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 Further information about legislation

Carers (Scotland) Act 2016

The Carers (Scotland) Act protects carers’ rights and was created to:

• encourage carers’ views to be taken into account
• improve support for carers
• help with caring relationships
• protect carers’ health and wellbeing

The rights for carers include:

• an adult carer support plan (ACSP) or a young carer statement (YCS) to identify the carer’s needs and personal outcomes
• carers having their views taken into account in assessing the needs of the person being cared for and in decisions about the cared-for person being discharged from hospital

Councils must:

• provide support to carers, based on the carer’s needs and the local eligibility criteria
• have an information and advice service for carers where they can learn about things like: emergency and future care planning, advocacy, income maximisation and carers’ rights

Find out more on the latest programmes and initiatives regarding unpaid carers.