Interim National Care Service Advisory Board: Advice to Scottish Ministers and Council Leaders - Rights to Breaks for Carers

Introduction

1. The Care Reform (Scotland) Act 2025, which received Royal Assent in July 2025, will establish a legal right to breaks for all unpaid carers in Scotland. By amending the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016, it will ensure that having adequate opportunities to take breaks from caring will be a recognised personal outcome for every carer. If a carer is unable to achieve this, the necessary support must be set out in their support plan, and the local authority will be required to provide it.

2. The interim NCS Advisory Board (interim Board) welcomes this significant development and its potential to protect carers’ wellbeing and sustain caring relationships. However, there is still significant work to do to ensure it is implemented successfully and carers can benefit as intended.

3. The interim Board notes the extremely challenging financial environment in which the Right to Breaks will be introduced, including sustained pressures on the health and social care system that have resulted in reduced care packages. When support to the cared for person is reduced, unpaid carers often fill the gap, increasing pressure on them and heightening the need for respite. Ensuring adequate support for individuals is therefore central to preventing crisis and safeguarding carer wellbeing. The interim Board is separately providing advice on improvements that can be made for people in receipt of self-directed support.

4. Recognising this wider context, the interim Board offers the following advice on the critical factors required for successful implementation of the Right to Breaks.