Carers (Scotland) Act 2016

PART 1 KEY DEFINITIONS

“Carer”, “young carer” and “adult carer”

1 Meaning of “carer”

(1) In this Act “carer” means an individual who provides or intends to provide care for another individual (the “cared-for person”).

(2) But subsection (1) does not apply—

(a) in the case of a cared-for person under 18 years old, to the extent that the care is or would be provided by virtue of the person’s age, or

(b) in any case, to the extent that the care is or would be provided—

(i) under or by virtue of a contract, or

(ii) as voluntary work.

(3) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations—

(a) provide that “contract” in subsection (2)(b)(i) does or, as the case may be, does not include agreements of a kind specified in the regulations,

(b) permit a relevant authority to disregard subsection (2)(b) where the authority considers that the relationship between the carer and the cared-for person is such that it would be appropriate to do so.

(4) In this Part “relevant authority” means a responsible local authority or a responsible authority (see section 41(1)).

2 Meaning of “young carer”

In this Act “young carer” means a carer who—

(a) is under 18 years old, or

(b) has attained the age of 18 years while a pupil at a school, and has since attaining that age remained a pupil at that or another school.

3 Meaning of “adult carer”

In this Act “adult carer” means a carer who is at least 18 years old but is not a young carer.

“Personal outcomes” etc.

4 Meaning of “personal outcomes”

(1) In this Act “personal outcomes”, in relation to carers, includes outcomes which would, if achieved, enable carers to provide or continue to provide care for cared-for persons.

(2) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations make further provision about personal outcomes, including provision about—

(a) which outcomes may be personal outcomes,

(b) the matters to which a relevant authority is to have regard in considering which outcomes may be personal outcomes.

5 Meaning of “identified personal outcomes” and “identified needs”

(1) In this Act “identified personal outcomes”, in relation to a carer, means the personal outcomes which are identified as relevant to the carer.

(2) In this Act “identified needs”, in relation to a carer, means the needs for support (if any) which are identified in order to meet the carer’s identified personal outcomes.

(3) In this section “identified” means identified by virtue of section 8 or 14.