News

Today is Carers Rights Day, which is all about raising awareness of unpaid carers and their rights.

This year, Carers Rights Day is recognising the significant contribution unpaid carers make to our communities and the Foundation is joining our National Charity Partner, Carers Trust Scotland, in celebrating carers across the country.

An unpaid carer is anyone who cares, unpaid, for a friend or family member due to illness, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction. There are an estimated 800,000 unpaid carers in Scotland, including 30,000 young carers under the age of 18. The value of the care they provide is £15.9 billion per year. Three in five of us will become carers at some stage in our lives, and one in ten of us is already in a caring role.

Only 7.5% of unpaid carers regularly or frequently receive breaks from caring.  Research shows that one in ten children in every class has a caring responsibility, but 49% of these young and young adult carers do not get help in school, college or university to balance caring with their education.

The Foundation has pledged to raise £20,000 for Carers Trust Scotland this season, with £15,000 paying for 15 scholarships at the Education Academy, providing young carers with some extra help and support to offset the school time they miss owing to their caring responsibilities.

The Young Carers Scholarship is the first programme of its kind in Scotland and will include tuition, wellbeing support and mentoring opportunities to help participants thrive in their studies and beyond.

£5,000 will fund a football zone at the 2026 Scottish Young Carers Festival, where young carers can enjoy some respite, have fun with people their own age who understand about their caring role and get any help and advice they need.

To find out more about Carers Rights Day, or if you are a carer and want to find out more about your rights, visit the Carers Trust website HERE.