Carers (Scotland) Act 2016

“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.