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

Advice to Scottish Ministers

To ensure the successful implementation of the Right to Breaks, the interim Board recommends that Scottish Ministers should consider:

Adequate Funding

• Providing multiyear funding allocations aligned with the upper cost estimates set out in the Financial Memorandum (up to £272.7m by 2035–36).
• Issuing indicative allocations early to support local planning.
• Monitoring cost pressures and adjusting allocations to reflect inflation, workforce costs and growing demand.
• Setting clear expectations on how funding for the Right to Breaks should be allocated to ensure carers benefit as intended. Any transitional or proportionate arrangements to understand demand or costs should be jointly agreed by Scottish Government and COSLA, in line with the Verity House Agreement.
• Agreeing time‑limited transitional arrangements to better understand demand and ensure the funding quantum is accurate.
• Continuing to prioritise funding for easy access short breaks, alongside the statutory right to breaks.

Monitoring and Reporting

• Working with COSLA, local authorities and HSCPs to develop consistent national reporting requirements through existing mechanisms, such as the Social Care Data and Intelligence Programme Board (SCDIPB).
• Establishing baseline data to support evaluation of impact over time. It is essential that reporting is proportionate and does not take away critical resource from delivery. Equally, it is essential that trust is built through being fully transparent about progress and use of funding.

Service Capacity and Workforce

• As above, providing early indicative funding allocations so local systems can invest to stimulate market growth.
• Supporting national training resources for staff involved in coordinating and delivering breaks.

Regulations and Guidance

• Publishing clear and timely regulations defining:
• what constitutes a “sufficient” break
• statutory timescales for Adult Carer Support Plans (ACSPs) and Young Carer Statements (YCSs)
• transition arrangements and commencement dates.
• Issuing detailed statutory guidance that helps to ensure a proportionate and streamlined assessment process through the ACSP/YCS
• Engaging carers, including young carers, and carer organisations in drafting regulations and guidance to ensure they meet diverse needs.

Communication and Awareness

• Leading a national awareness campaign tailored to both adult and young carers.
• Producing consistent information materials for use by local partners.
• Embedding Right to Breaks messaging in wider carer policy communications.