1.4  Legislation and policy related to student carers

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As a staff member who works either directly or indirectly with student carers it is useful to be aware of key pieces of legislation and how they protect carers’ rights in law, explicitly or implicitly. These are:

  • Carers (Scotland) Act 2016

  • Equality Act (2010)

Carers (Scotland) Act 2016

The Carers Act is intended to ensure consistent support for carers and young carers. It is designed to support carers’ health and wellbeing and help make caring more sustainable. Measures include:

  • a duty for local authorities to provide support to carers, based on the carer’s identified needs which meet the local eligibility criteria

  • a specific adult carer support plan (ACSP) or young carer statement (YCS) to identify carers’ needs and personal outcomes

  • a requirement for local authorities to have a service for carers which provides information and advice on, amongst other things, emergency and future care planning, advocacy, income maximisation and carers’ rights

  • a requirement for the local authority to consider whether that support should be provided in the form of a break from caring (Care Information Scotland, 2020).

A provision of self-directed support (Self Directed Support Act 2013) is also included.

Some of this support may already be in place for your student carers if they are eligible for it. If it is, the university can provide complimentary support that enables your students to balance their caring responsibilities with their studies and have a life alongside caring.

If students don’t have any of this support in place, you can advise them of their eligibility and encourage them to contact their local authority, local carers’ centre or scotland@carers.org [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)]

Equality Act (2010)

While caring is not named in the Equality Act 2010 as one of the protected characteristics, it provides some protection against discrimination or harassment because of caring responsibilities. This is because carers are ‘associated’ with the person they care for who is protected, for example because of their age or disability (Gov.uk, 2020).

We will explore the Equality Act and discrimination by association in more detail in Section 2.

Activity 1.4  Your Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policy

Timing: Allow around 5 minutes

Your university will have an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policy that reflects its commitments under the Equality Act. Have a look at the policy. Does it mention carers specifically?

Make a note of what it says in the text box below or in your learning journal if you’re using one.

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1.3  Health and wellbeing

Outcome Agreements