Eligibility for carers to access support for themselves

The first step to accessing support for yourself as an unpaid carer or young carer is to get an Adult Carer Support Plan or Young Carer Statement. This will identify your needs as a carer.

You can find out more about this here: Adult Carer Support Plan/ Young Carer Statement

In order to decide whether you can access support through your local council, the council will look at the needs that have been identified in your Plan or Statement.

Your needs may be met by the support already provided to the person you care for, or through general services in your local area.

If you have any needs that cannot be met by these means, then you are classed as having what are called eligible needs.

What are the rules about who can get support in my area?

Every council area in Scotland has different rules when it comes to deciding what eligible needs are. These are called eligibility criteria.

Your local council should publish their eligibility criteria on their website – search for ‘carer eligibility’.

The rules are slightly different from area to area, but most councils follow a similar set of rules that have been encouraged nationally.

You can take a look at these general rules to give you an idea of what to expect.

The rules look at different areas of need and decide how much impact these are having on your life. This includes things such as:

• Health and wellbeing
• Relationships
• Living environment
• Employment and training
• Finance
• Life balance
• Future planning.

If your needs are having a critical or substantial impact on your life, you are likely to be eligible for formal support through your council.

What happens if I am eligible for support?

If you are classed as having eligible needs, your council must provide support to you. Your local council must also consider whether breaks from caring should be part of the support you receive.

If you are eligible for support, this should be done in a way that gives you as much choice and control as you would like.

The next step is to finalise your Adult Carer Support Plan or Young Carer Statement to say how the support will be provided.

What if I am not eligible for support?

If your local council says you are not eligible for formal support, they may still help you access other types of support.

For example, signposting you to information and advice, or telling you about support that is available in your community.

Next steps

If you feel you would benefit from support to give you a life outside your caring role, you may find it helpful to speak to a Carers’ Centre. They can help you understand local rules about eligibility and guide you through the process of getting support.

You can find details of your local Carers’ Centre here.

If you are eligible for support for yourself as an unpaid carer, you may be allocated a budget to pay for the support. Find out how this works on the next page: Carer’s budget for support