🧵 1/3 Congratulations to Coalition of Carers in Scotland (COCIS) for this important research, which should make policymakers at the local level reflect on how to enhance #transparency in the budget process.

South Lanarkshires 23% is woeful given the many carers I know who are seeking support. I’ll be asking why there is such an underspend in such a critical area during a punishing cost of living crisis. John Ross Councillor Maureen Chalmers

Kudos to Coalition of Carers in Scotland (COCIS) for their FOI research, identifying that, of Carers Act funding awarded from Scot Gov to South Lanarkshire Council, only 23% of has been allocated by SLC for that purpose. What is SLC doing with the rest of that Carers funding? news.stv.tv/scotland/scotl…

Brilliant FOI by Coalition of Carers in Scotland (COCIS) £25m would be pretty useful for short breaks and care…

Excellent investigation into missing public funds for Scotland’s unpaid carers by Coalition of Carers in Scotland (COCIS) 👏🏻👇🏻

‘The budget is there, we’re not getting it. Who is?’ This is disgraceful!
Laura Alderman Coalition of Carers in Scotland (COCIS)

EXCL: £25m of funding for carers was not spent by councils last year. FOIs submitted by Coalition of Carers in Scotland (COCIS) to all of Scotland's 32 councils found spending is not being tracked & in some funding was allocated elsewhere. Carers say the findings are 'sickening.' More STV News at 6pm

1. Of the £88.4m allocated to local authorities in Scotland for carers support, we found that only around £62m has been used for direct/indirect carer support. This in itself is astonishing, but the real story is actually how difficult it has been to track carers act funding...

West Coast Today - News - Carers' rights session in Ardrishaig. It was great to take part in this and support carers to know their rights westcoasttoday.co.uk/news/carers-ri…

Another fantastic session delivered by Making Rights Real for our fabulous #HumanRights Defenders from carer organisations. Lots of learning and discussions about how to make human rights real for carers in Scotland! #HumanRights #CarersRights

Absolutely welcome this letter from the Minister, reminding councils and HSCPs of the purpose of the Carers Act funding and also requesting greater transparency over how the Carers Act funding is allocated locally. gov.scot/publications/c…

📢CALLING ALL WOMEN IN SCOTLAND📢

👩Our Women's Survey 2024 is here, and we want to hear from you!

⚖️Help us call for greater gender equality in economic policymaking.

🏆Includes chance to enter the prize draw.

✍️Fill out the survey here: smartsurvey.co.uk/s/AFDTXT/

Tomorrow MSPs will debate whether to proceed with the NCS Bill. Its by no means perfect, but it does give us the best opportunity to deliver on much needed reforms in social care. Without an NCS Bill, I think it's unlikely that we will see any real change for carers in Scotland.

Ayrshire carers and Supported people, can you help? Let us know if you can attend or need any support to participate.
If you cant attend but would still like to contribute your thoughts then please get in touch #WorkingTogetherForChange #SDS

The third Cost of Living payment of £299 will be made between 16 February and 22 February if you receive tax credits only.

All other eligible households will start to receive their Cost of Living payment from 6 February.

For further information: carersnet.org/cost-of-living/

Carers rights not yet realised
Coalition of Carers in Scotland (COCIS) reveals that despite carers now being ‘far more aware’ of their rights than in 2018, many of those rights are not yet being realised in practice.
Read on👇
Carers Scotland Shubhanna Hussain Richard Meade 𝙺𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚗 𝙷𝚎𝚍𝚐𝚎 💚
healthandcare.scot/stories/3662/c…

.Coalition of Carers in Scotland (COCIS) put out a survey on Carers' Rights and they’ve published their findings from over 1,000 Carers across Scotland. One issue highlighted is that although Carers are more aware of their rights, these are not always being met by authorities. Read the results below.👇

Coalition of Carers in Scotland (COCIS) have published some important research on barriers faced by unpaid carers, trying to access their rights.
It's not a happy picture 👇

In Scotland if a carer meets the local eligibility threshold, then the local authority has a *legal* duty to support that carer. In reality however, the threshold is often set too high to provide any meaningful support, or it is ignored until carers reach a crisis...

In Scotland, carers have the right to be included in the hospital discharge discussions for the person that they provide care and support to. Carers tell us that this rarely happens in practice, and health boards across the country are ignoring their duty to include carers.