Our work in Scotland

There are an estimated 800,000 unpaid carers in Scotland and this includes at least 30,000 young carers under the age of 18. The value of unpaid care provided by carers in Scotland is £10,347,400,000 a year. Recent polling - following COVID-19 - indicates that this number may have grown to over a million. Unpaid carers can be of any age from young children to very elderly people.

Carers Trust Scotland partners with our network of local carer organisations to ensure unpaid carers in Scotland have access to support, advice and resources to enable them to live fulfilled lives. We reach around 44,000 adult unpaid carers and young carers from all groups and communities throughout Scotland. 

We are positioned centrally to support local carer organisations to deliver localised action, whilst also influencing the environment for unpaid carers.

We partner with our network of local carer organisations to provide funding and support, deliver innovative and evidence-based programmes and raise awareness and influence policy.​

Carers Trust Scotland is also one of the seven National Carer Organisations (NCOs) in the country. Our combined vision is that Scotland’s unpaid carers will feel valued, included, and supported as equal partners in the provision of care. 

The NCOs seek to represent the views and experiences of unpaid carers by responding to proposed policies, laws, strategies, and regulations and to further unpaid carers’ rights in Scotland.