The Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act introduced 2 new changes:

• the introduction of free personal care for older people, regardless of income or whether they live at home or in residential care
• the creation of rights for informal or unpaid carers, with the intention of providing adequate support services to ensure the continuation of care-giving in the community

The act created the right to a separate carer's assessment and the responsibility of health boards to produce 'carer information strategies' which must be submitted free of charge to carers.

The act was amended in June 2018 (The Community Care (Personal Care and Nursing Care) (Scotland) Amendment (Regulations) 2018) as Parliament agreed to extend free personal care to people under the age of 65 regardless of their condition, by 1 April 2019.