Purpose of the policy

The Carers (Scotland) Act 2016, which is due to be enacted on 1st April 2018, places legal duties on each local authority to set local eligibility criteria. It defines this as "local eligibility criteria are the criteria by which the local authority must determine whether it is required to provide support to carers to meet carers' identified needs". The legislation also sets out a duty on each local authority to publish its local eligibility criteria. The purpose of this policy is to set out clear guidelines that aim to ensure the equitable allocation of social care resources to the adult and young carers of service users living in East Dunbartonshire. The policy aims to serve as a procedure for staff and as a reference document for elected members, carers, service users, members of the public, third sector and other stakeholders.

Lead Reviewer: Kelly Gainty

Participants: Fiona McCulloch (Planning and Performance Manager); Kelly Gainty (Adults and Community Care Support Worker); Gillian Healey (Team Manager - Planning and Development); Lynsay Haglington (Planning and Development Officer); David Aitken (Joint Services Manager - Adult Services); Claire Carthy (Manager - Children and Families); Julie Murray (Inclusion Officer - Education)

Impact Assessment

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• Does the policy explicitly promote equality of opportunity and anti-discrimination and refer to legislative and policy drivers in relation to equality
• What is known about the issues for people with protected characteristics in relation to the services or activities affected by the policy?
• Do you expect the policy to have any positive impact on people with protected characteristics?
• Do you expect the policy to have any negative impact on people with protected characteristics?
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Does the policy explicitly promote equality of opportunity and anti-discrimination and refer to legislative and policy drivers in relation to equality

The policy refers to the HSCP's legislative duties under the impending Carers Act (Scotland) 2016 which includes the introduction of an eligibility criteria for carer support. All persons, identified to the HSCP as carers, will be affected by this policy, irrespective of whether the carer has a protected characteristic or not. "The Policy applies to all carers including young people identified as carers. The assessment of the carer's needs are clearly distinguished from any consideration of available resources for the implementation of the support plan. After the assessment and application of eligibility criteria..." (Eligibility Criteria Policy). "Eligibility criteria are a method for deploying limited resources in a way that ensures that resources are targeted to those in greatest need, while also recognising the types of low-level intervention that can be made to halt the deterioration of people in less urgent need of support. This must be applied strictly in line with risk and need and cannot be simply based against wishes, preferences or quality of life elements". (Eligibility Criteria Policy).

What is known about the issues for people with protected characteristics in relation to the services or activities affected by the policy?

All
The Policy will provide opportunity for all carers, including young carers, to have their needs identified in a Carer's Support Plan/Young Carer's Statement and a determination of whether those identified needs meet the eligibility criteria to receive social care support. This eligibility criteria will apply to all carers, irrespective of whether they have a protected characteristic or not. The eligibility will be determined by assessed need.

Source: Carers (Scotland) Act 2016

Sex
In Scotland, carers aged 16+, 59% are women and 41% are men. Women are more likely to be carers than men until retirement age when equally 19% of both women and men are providing care in the oldest age groups (75+), more men than women (12% and 9% respectively) provide care. In Scotland, 58% of carers providing 35 + hours of care per week are female, 42% male; In Scotland, 62% of male carers providing 35 + hours per week of care are aged 25 - 64. This compares with 69% of women carers.

Caring can impact on an individual's ability to look after their own health and wellbeing. Research has found that women with intensive caring responsibilities are less likely to visit their GP than non-carers which indicates that they tend to prioritise the needs of the cared for person over their own.

Source: Scottish Government: Carers Scotland Bill EQIA - May 2017; Scottish Health Survey 2012/2013; Scotland's Census 2011; Scottish Health and Care Experience Survey 2012/13.

Gender Reassignment
No national data was available about carers or young carers under this protected characteristic grouping. This is an area that requires to be developed both nationally and locally regarding the recording of carers who have this protected characteristic.

Race
In Scotland, 96% of carers are of a "White Scottish / British / Irish" ethnicity, while 4% are of "other" ethnic backgrounds. On the whole the White Scottish/British/Irish ethnic group are more likely to be carers (9.6%) than other ethnicities (5.1%). This may be due in part, to different age structures in these populations. In the White Scottish/British/Irish group 38% are aged 50 and over and in the "other" ethnic groups, 13% are aged 50 or over. The Pakistani community who make up 0.9% of Scotland's population is the largest BME group. This is followed by the Chinese community with 0.6% and then by the Indian community with 0.5%. The Gypsy/Traveller population account for 0.1% of the total population. 8.7% of the Pakistani population in Scotland provide some form of unpaid caring. This compares with 4.3% of the Chinese and 5.5% of the Indian communities. There is increasing evidence that Gypsy/Travellers experience significant health inequalities, high infant mortality rates, premature deaths and higher than average rates of major long-term conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Source: Scottish Government: Carers Scotland Bill EQIA - May 2017; Scottish Health Survey 2012/2013; Scotland's Census 2011; Scottish Health and Care Experience Survey 2012/13.

Disability
Persons with disabilities will benefit positively from the introduction of this policy because their unpaid carer/s will be able to request support from the Health and Social Care Partnership (if eligible). Those carers with assessed critical or substantial needs may receive support which will support the carer to continue in their caring role. As of June 2017, there are an estimated 788,000 people in Scotland who are caring for a relative, friend or neighbour. This includes 44,000 who are under the age of 18.

41% of carers have a long term health condition. [13] This is highest amongst those who are aged over 50 but at 52% is the same proportion as non- carers; 22% of carers aged 0-24 compared to 11% of non-carers have at least one long term health condition; 30% of carers aged 25-49 have at least one long term health condition compared to 21% non-carers. The percentage of carers with one or more long term health condition increases with the number of hours caring - from 36% of those caring for 1-19 hours to 50% of those caring for 35+ hours. Around 7% of people who provide care describe their health as "bad" or "very bad". This increases to 14% of for those carers providing 50 or more hours of care per week. 47% of carers in the most deprived areas care for 35 hours or more which is almost double that in the least deprived areas (24%). Nearly 6% of carers report a long-term mental health problem; compared with 4% of non-carers. Young people are more likely to report they have a long- term mental health condition than non-carers.

Source: Scottish Government, Unpaid Carers – Implementation of Carers Act – August 2017;

Sexual Orientation
A publication released in 2007, sampling Edinburgh and the Lothians, by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) Centre for Health and Wellbeing reported that 0.8% of respondents were in a full- time caring role. The LGBT Youth Scotland written response to the consultation provided further evidence of issues affecting LGBT people. Many LGBT carers or the LGBT people they are caring for may have reduced social networks, due to a lack of acceptance by family and friends of their sexual orientation or gender identity. If LGBT carers experience these reduced social networks, they may have less support than other carers and rely more heavily on support from agencies. Many LGBT people fear potentially experiencing homophobia, biphobia and transphobia from services or have previous experience of discrimination from a service. There is often a lack of visibility of LGBT identities within services (such as staff knowledge of the issues affecting LGBT people, promotion of inclusive posters or websites, and explicitly stating that the service is LGBT-inclusive), which are necessary to counter LGBT people's expectations of discrimination or a lack of confidence that service services are able to meet their needs.

Source: Scottish Government: Carers Scotland Bill EQIA – May 2017;

Religion and Belief
No national data was available about carers or young carers under this protected characteristic grouping. This is an area that requires to be developed both nationally and locally regarding the recording of carers who have this protected characteristic.

Age
“…data shows that being a young carer tends to be associated with poorer health and well-being. This is true for self-reported health, long term conditions or disabilities and mental health conditions. This is likely to have implications for other areas of young carers' lives, such as education and employment. Although those providing more hours of care appear to have worse self-reported health, it is not possible to say the extent to which this is directly related to caring responsibilities. Other factors such as deprivation, gender and support networks are also likely to have an impact. Research suggests that young carers may face challenges in participating in social or leisure activities and may feel isolated as a result. However, it is also important to note that young carers can be positive about their caring role and feel that it brings benefits.” The age group where someone is most likely to be a carer is 50-64 years old. It is estimated there are 44,000 young carers aged 4-18; 4% of children aged 4-15 are young carers; an estimated 22,000 - 36,000 young people. Older people (aged 65 and over) are most likely to provide intensive care (35 + hours per week) with over half of these carers doing so. In the 2011 Census, 10,000 young people aged under 16 were identified as carers. Of these 77% reported caring for up to 20 hours per week; 10% 20-34 hours per week and 13% more than 35 hours of care per week. 3% of people aged under 25 in the 20% most deprived areas in Scotland provide care in comparison to under 2% in the least deprived areas. 28% of young carers in the most deprived areas provide care for 35+ hours per week whilst this is the case for 17% in the least deprived areas.

Source: Scottish Government, March 2017, Young Carers: Review of Research and Data

Pregnancy and Maternity
No national data was available about carers or young carers under this protected characteristic grouping. This is an area that requires to be developed both nationally and locally regarding the recording of carers who have this protected characteristic

Marriage and Civil Partnership
No national data was available about carers or young carers under this protected characteristic grouping. This is an area that requires to be developed both nationally and locally regarding the recording of carers who have this protected characteristic.

Social and Economic Status
No national data was available about carers or young carers under this protected characteristic grouping. This is an area that requires to be developed both nationally and locally regarding the recording of carers who have this protected characteristic. However, please see reference to Travellers under ‘Race' characteristic.

Other marginalised groups (homeless, addictions, asylum seekers/refugees, travellers, ex-offenders
No national data was available about carers or young carers under this protected characteristic grouping. This is an area that requires to be developed both nationally and locally regarding the recording of carers who have this protected characteristic. However, please see reference to Travellers under ‘Race' characteristic.

Do you expect the policy to have any positive impact on people with protected characteristics?

Do you expect the policy to have any negative impact on people with protected characteristics?