National carers strategy: fairer Scotland duty assessment

Stage 1 – Planning

What is the aim of your policy/strategy/plan?

Who will it affect (particular groups/businesses/geographies etc)?

The implementation of the Strategy, and the realisation of its strategic outcomes, will improve the health, financial and social care support for carers, including young carers. It will also improve the way in which carers are recognised and listened to in decisions about support. This will directly improve outcomes for carers as it will help to ensure they are aware of relevant services and how to access all the support and benefits to which they are entitled.

The Strategy will also indirectly improve outcomes for the cared-for person as the carer will be better supported to provide high quality care and better prepared to identify and respond accordingly to the cared-for person's needs. Carer input into decisions about the cared-for person's support will also help improve their outcomes.

What outcomes do you expect the policy/strategy/plan to deliver?

The aim of the Strategy is to improve outcomes for carers through setting out a range of actions which bring together existing initiatives and new approaches to ensure carers are recognised and supported in a joined up and cohesive way.

This Strategy is part of a wider reform agenda, with carers at its heart, which focuses on bringing about sustainable improvements by promoting policy developments, including actions to tackle health inequalities and maximise household incomes. These reforms complement the development of the National Care Service (NCS), ensuring quality, fairness and consistency of provision that meets individuals' needs. The NCS aims to change how people access care and support in Scotland, with a particular focus on prevention and supporting people's needs.

What is your timeframe for completing the Fairer Scotland Duty assessment?

The Fairer Scotland Duty has been kept under consideration since the start of the Strategy's development in January 2022, and throughout consultations since then. Stakeholders and policy areas have provided input at every important stage in the Strategy's development, including giving feedback on specific drafts. This helped ensure that the Strategy considered diverse caring situations and accounted for inequalities across carer demographics, including creating awareness about policies and initiatives to reflect carers' needs accordingly. This process, spanning the course of 10 months, means that the relevant stakeholders and policy areas have had the opportunity to input into the Strategy so that the Fairer Scotland Duty commitment can be fulfilled.

Who else will be involved in the assessment and what roles will they play?

Members of the Scottish Government Carers Policy Team have been involved in consulting stakeholders and other policy areas within Scottish Government, including those relevant to equalities and fair work policy. At every major stage of the Strategy's development, a draft was shared with stakeholders who provided feedback which was subsequently taken into consideration and incorporated into the revised version where appropriate.

On behalf of all carers, including those from different socioeconomic groups, stakeholders were also given the opportunity to share lived experiences with current initiatives to inform improvement and offer suggestions for the development of new initiatives.