Short breaks for carers

Short breaks from caring

When you have an adult carer support plan or young carer statement, your local council has to decide if it can arrange for someone else to care for your friend or family member who needs support. This would give you a short break from caring.

Contact your local social work service to request an adult carer support plan or young carer statement:

If you're eligible for a short break your local council will offer you different ways to arrange it. This is called self-directed support.

You might be able to get other funding for short breaks from the voluntary sector. Shared Care Scotland and Family Fund both run voluntary-sector short break funds for carers.

Find out more:

• on the Shared Care Scotland website
• on the Family Fund website
• or via your local carer centre

Emergency respite care

You can get emergency support from your local council even if you've been turned down before.

Contact your local council about emergency respite care: