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Carers Rights Day

Last year over 1,000 local groups ran events across the country, including protest marches, information stalls, conferences, advice fayres and carer support coffee mornings. Big or small, these events and the support and information they provide, make a real difference to carers.

This year Carers Rights Day will take place on Friday 4th December.

If you would like to Register with Carers Scotland you will receive an organiser's pack in the next few weeks.

Carer Poverty Protest March

The first ever Carer Poverty Protest March organised by carers took place on the 22nd April. The protest highlighted the rising cost of living and the impact this has on carers, along with the inadequate benefit system and the need for reform. Carers marched from Edinburgh Castle to the Scottish Parliament, where a rally was held, attended by several members of the Scottish Parliament.

Getting it Right for Carers Campaign

In January 2009, Scotland's National Carer Organisations launched a campaign to seek to persuade every local authority and local NHS Board to make carers a priority, by strengthening their efforts to support Scotland's estimated 700,000 carers with the recognition, support and services they deserve. We have developed a set of outcomes for carers for local authorities to include in their planning documents, including their Single Outcome Agreements. We have also raised awareness through the national and local press and have received coverage in the Herald, The Scotsman and many local papers.

Scotland's Carers Manifesto 2007

Scotland's Carers Manifesto was launched at a meeting of the Coalition of Carers in December 2006 on ‘Carers Rights Day’. The manifesto was developed by the Coaliton along with Carers Scotland, Crossroads Scotlands, The Princess Royal Trust for Carers, Shared Care Scotland and the Young Carers Alliance. This six point manifesto aims to improve the quality and life chances of Scotland’s half a million unpaid carers. It challenges the political parties to recognise the immense contribution that carers make to society by committing to action to support carers in their role and address inequalities.

The manifesto identifies six rights and entitlements:

Every carer has a right to Good Health;
Every carer will be able to have regular, accessible and appropriate breaks from caring;
Every carer will have access to appropriate local support;
Every carer will be able to receive training to support their caring role;
Every child and young person with caring responsibilities has a right to be a child first;
Every carer has a right to live free of poverty with opportunities to take part in work, lifelong learning and leisure.

Download a copy of Scotland's Carers Manifesto 2007.

Paper copies of the manifesto can be ordered through The Coalition of Carers in Scotland by phoning 01786 822170.

Update on Scotland’s Carers Manifesto Campaign

After it’s launch in December 2006, carers and carer organisations worked hard to promote Scotland’s Carers Manifesto in the following ways:

62,000 copies of Scotland’s Carers Manifesto were distributed to carers, local carer organisations, MSP’s, local councillors and important decision makers. Along with the manifesto briefing papers, campaign packs and fake ballot papers were distributed to assist local campaigners.
Carers and local carer organisations brought our campaign to the attention of MSP’s by phoning them, visiting them, inviting them to their meetings and holding coffee mornings for them.
Carer Hustings meetings were held up and down the country with over 300 carers attending to pose probing questions and take part in some lively debate.
Our media campaign meant the manifesto featured in articles on GMTV, along with several newspapers and radio programmes.

The first step of our campaign was to secure commitments to carers in the main political parties manifestos and we have achieved significant success in this aim. Full details are available by downloading our report ‘Manifesto Commitments’

The Scottish National Party made the following commitments to carers in their party manifesto:

Support for unpaid carers

The SNP will do more to help the hundreds of thousands of unpaid carers who make such a huge contribution to Scotland’s health and wellbeing.

We will intensify initiatives to implement the conclusions of the Care 21 Report on the Future of Unpaid Care in Scotland.
We will extend direct payments to carers and provide additional funding to provide dedicated services to support young carers.
We will invest in providing training for carers and provide additional funding for the support and development of carer organisations across Scotland.
We will start to improve the provision of respite care by providing sufficient resources for an additional 10,000 respite weeks per year, either at home or in a care setting.
By 2011 carers in greatest need will have a guaranteed annual entitlement to breaks from caring.

We are currently working with the government in relation to the implementation of these manifesto commitments.


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	Home Carers in Scotland Who is a carer? Research & Statistics About the Coalition Background Becoming a member Our Executive Commmitee Our Working Groups Our Publications Coalition Meetings Next Meeting Last Meeting Previous Meetings Training Events Policy and Legislation Policy Updates Key Policy & Legislation Local Carer Strategies Consultation Opportunities Campaigning Campaign News How to get involved Contact Details Our contact details Member Organisations Links National Carer Groups Useful Links				Carers Rights Day Last year over 1,000 local groups ran events across the country, including protest marches, information stalls, conferences, advice fayres and carer support coffee mornings. Big or small, these events and the support and information they provide, make a real difference to carers. This year Carers Rights Day will take place on Friday 4th December. If you would like to Register with Carers Scotland you will receive an organiser's pack in the next few weeks. Carer Poverty Protest March The first ever Carer Poverty Protest March organised by carers took place on the 22nd April. The protest highlighted the rising cost of living and the impact this has on carers, along with the inadequate benefit system and the need for reform. Carers marched from Edinburgh Castle to the Scottish Parliament, where a rally was held, attended by several members of the Scottish Parliament. Visit the official Website. View a short film of the march on YouTube. View photographs from the day. Getting it Right for Carers Campaign In January 2009, Scotland's National Carer Organisations launched a campaign to seek to persuade every local authority and local NHS Board to make carers a priority, by strengthening their efforts to support Scotland's estimated 700,000 carers with the recognition, support and services they deserve. We have developed a set of outcomes for carers for local authorities to include in their planning documents, including their Single Outcome Agreements. We have also raised awareness through the national and local press and have received coverage in the Herald, The Scotsman and many local papers. Download a copy of our briefing paper. Read the article in The Herald. Scotland's Carers Manifesto 2007 Scotland's Carers Manifesto was launched at a meeting of the Coalition of Carers in December 2006 on ‘Carers Rights Day’. The manifesto was developed by the Coaliton along with Carers Scotland, Crossroads Scotlands, The Princess Royal Trust for Carers, Shared Care Scotland and the Young Carers Alliance. This six point manifesto aims to improve the quality and life chances of Scotland’s half a million unpaid carers. It challenges the political parties to recognise the immense contribution that carers make to society by committing to action to support carers in their role and address inequalities. The manifesto identifies six rights and entitlements: Every carer has a right to Good Health; Every carer will be able to have regular, accessible and appropriate breaks from caring; Every carer will have access to appropriate local support; Every carer will be able to receive training to support their caring role; Every child and young person with caring responsibilities has a right to be a child first; Every carer has a right to live free of poverty with opportunities to take part in work, lifelong learning and leisure. Download a copy of Scotland's Carers Manifesto 2007. Paper copies of the manifesto can be ordered through The Coalition of Carers in Scotland by phoning 01786 822170. Update on Scotland’s Carers Manifesto Campaign After it’s launch in December 2006, carers and carer organisations worked hard to promote Scotland’s Carers Manifesto in the following ways: 62,000 copies of Scotland’s Carers Manifesto were distributed to carers, local carer organisations, MSP’s, local councillors and important decision makers. Along with the manifesto briefing papers, campaign packs and fake ballot papers were distributed to assist local campaigners. Carers and local carer organisations brought our campaign to the attention of MSP’s by phoning them, visiting them, inviting them to their meetings and holding coffee mornings for them. Carer Hustings meetings were held up and down the country with over 300 carers attending to pose probing questions and take part in some lively debate. Our media campaign meant the manifesto featured in articles on GMTV, along with several newspapers and radio programmes. The first step of our campaign was to secure commitments to carers in the main political parties manifestos and we have achieved significant success in this aim. Full details are available by downloading our report ‘Manifesto Commitments’ The Scottish National Party made the following commitments to carers in their party manifesto: Support for unpaid carers The SNP will do more to help the hundreds of thousands of unpaid carers who make such a huge contribution to Scotland’s health and wellbeing. We will intensify initiatives to implement the conclusions of the Care 21 Report on the Future of Unpaid Care in Scotland. We will extend direct payments to carers and provide additional funding to provide dedicated services to support young carers. We will invest in providing training for carers and provide additional funding for the support and development of carer organisations across Scotland. We will start to improve the provision of respite care by providing sufficient resources for an additional 10,000 respite weeks per year, either at home or in a care setting. By 2011 carers in greatest need will have a guaranteed annual entitlement to breaks from caring. We are currently working with the government in relation to the implementation of these manifesto commitments.