Support for Parent Carers in the Scottish Borders
Do you have a child, or parental responsibility for a child, with additional support needs, a disability or life-limiting condition? If so, you are not alone.
The Borders Carers Centre offer dedicated one-to-one support, information, advice and a ‘helping hand’ to parent carers to navigate the maze of services ensuring both your rights and the rights of your children are recognised.
Our Services & Support
Need Support During a Hospital Stay? When a loved one is admitted to the hospital, it can be stressful. Our Hospital Support Service for Carers offers help during hospital admissions and discharge.
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Caring for others can be overwhelming. Our Counselling for Carers service offers a safe, judgment-free space to support your emotional well-being.
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If you or your loved one needs financial support, our grants and funding support for carers can help you access essential funds.
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If you are waiting for a service from health or social work, such as home adaptations or occupational therapy, we recommend you visit a local What Matters Hub to have a chat about your needs directly with the people you need to speak with. Find out more by clicking the link below.
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Our Carers Support Groups offer a safe space to connect with others who understand your journey.
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Our Advocacy for Carers service ensures your voice is respected in meetings related to your caring role. Click below to learn how we can support you.
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Our Carers Emergency Card provides peace of mind by ensuring your loved one is cared for if you’re unable to. Click below to find out more.
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Find out how you can be involved in your relative’s care and treatment with our good practice guide.
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Carers Self Referral Form
If you are aged 18 or over, and providing care for someone based in the Scottish Borders, please call us on 01896 752431 or complete the self referral form below0
Carers Support Plan
Contact us to arrange a Carers Support Plan to identify and support your needs.

Carers Training & Workshops
Testimonials
The parent carer liaison worker came to the meeting I had at School.
I really felt like my voice was heard for the first time.
Having a child with additional needs is exhausting, frustrating and very wonderful. I just wasn’t coping, and felt really unsupported. No-one was listening and then my Dr referred me to the Carers Centre. What a lifesaver. For all of us.
I’m still fighting, but now I feel like I have someone in my corner.
Latest News
Borders Carers Centre Annual Review
View the annual review for 2018/19.
Borders Carers Centre Annual Review
View the annual review for 2019/20.
TV Ad Campaign
A countrywide campaign for carers – Carers’ Wellbeing Campaign – was launched in partnership with NHS Inform and the Scottish Government.
Borders Carers Centre Annual Review
View the annual review for 2020/21
Parent Carers Legal Support
A website by a group of legal professionals was launched to help parent carers to understand and navigate their way through the guardianship process.
Borders Carers Centre Annual Review
View the annual review for 2021/22
Borders Carers Centre Annual Review
View the annual review for 2022/23.
Carers Week 2024
On June 11th, we held our Carers Week event – ‘Putting Carers on the Map’ at the Kingsknowes Hotel in Galashiels. See our video here
The Way Forward Report
Please see the report of our Carers Conference – The Way Forward.
Winter Covid Vaccine
Unpaid carers will not be called to receive the vaccine this Winter. Read more.
Borders Carers Centre Annual Review
Our 2023/2024 Annual Review is available now. Please see the previous Annual Reviews here.
Government must go further with review of Carer’s Allowance overpayments say Carers Trust
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Liz Kendall’s announcement of a review of Carer’s Allowance overpayments.
Carers and the Budget
Today the Chancellor announced that the earnings threshold for Carer’s Allowance will increase by £45 per week from April 2025. With Coalition of Carers In Scotland, we will be urging the Scottish Government to replicate this within Scotland’s Carer Support Payment ( which replaces Carers Allowance in Scotland) to ensure that carers in Scotland do not miss out.
Borders Carers Centre launch new website
A new website for the Borders Carers Centre!
Carer Support Payments replaces Carers Allowance
What is Carer Support Payment?In Scotland, Carer Support Payment has replaced Carer’s Allowance from the Department for Workand Pensions (DWP). Carer Support Payment is money for people who look after someone who isdisabled or who has a long-term health condition.Who can apply?To be eligible, a carer must be 16 or over provide 35 hours or more of unpaid care a week to someone of any age who is getting certain disability benefits earn £151 per week or less on average after some deductions live in an area where the benefit is available
Plans for a National Care Service in Scotland stall again
Along with the other National Carer Organisations in Scotland The Coalition have put together a statement expressing disappointment at the delay. We are urging all parties in the Scottish Parliament to work together on a solution that puts disabled people and unpaid carers at the heart of any future reform of social care. To read our statement in full: https://www.carersnet.org/national-carer-organisations…/
Grants available for families raising disabled children and young people
The Family Fund provide a wide range of grants to families living in Scotland raising a disabled, or seriously ill, child or young person on a low income. Their Scotland grant programme could help eligible families with essential grant items including kitchen appliances, bedding and furniture, computers and tablets, family breaks, sensory toys or outdoor play equipment. Apply here
Scottish Government’s draft budget
This week, the Scottish Government presented their draft budget for 2025/26 to the Scottish Parliament. We welcome the announcement that the Scottish Government are committed to matching the UK Government by raising the earnings threshold for Carer Support Payment and Carer’s Allowance to £196, which means carers can earn an extra £45 a week whilst receiving these benefits. If these proposals in the draft Scottish Budget are accepted by the Scottish Parliament then the changes to the earnings threshold will come into effect from April 2025.
Local Carers Enjoy Christmas Lunches
Local carers have enjoyed getting together to share lunch and their experiences of 2024 at a series of Christmas lunches across the region. Huge thanks our funders for making local carers Christmas lunch possible. When asked what this meant to them, carers said: “It means an awful lot. To be in a relaxed, undemanding place. Being normal with fellow carers for a couple of hours and to be able to enjoy a Christmas treat.” “It means the world to me to be able to celebrate Christmas with other carers. I can be myself and feel fully understood and supported by other carers. It’s an invaluable experience.”
Strategic Plan for unpaid carers sets out new vision for living well in the Scottish Borders
Strategic Plan for unpaid carers sets out new vision for living well in the Scottish Borders | Scottish Borders Council The Health and Social Care Partnership’s strategic plan for unpaid carers, as approved by the Integration Joint Board earlier in the year, has now been published. Supporting unpaid carers by getting services right for the cared for person is a strategic objective identified in the Partnership’s Strategic Framework 2023-2026. Living Well in the Scottish Borders – A Plan for Adult Unpaid Carers 2024-28 (Living Well) sets out a clear vision and approach on how the Partnership aims to meet this objective over the next four years by, for example, focusing on carer identification and recognition and the provision of information, advice and communication for carers. Living Well was created in partnership with the Borders Carers Centre and Unpaid Carers in the Scottish Borders and was informed by the Carers Needs Assessment, carried…
Carers Centre Manager Vacancy
We are seeking a creative, entrepreneurial individual with a successful track record of leadership, ideally as a Manager, to achieve our ambitions as the leading organisation supporting Unpaid Carers throughout the Scottish Borders. Please see full details and how to apply here
National Care Service (NCS) update
Last week, the Minister for Social Care – Maree Todd outlined the next steps for the National Care Service Bill to the Scottish Parliament. In summary, the plan to introduce a National Care Board and Local Care Boards will no longer go ahead. Instead, the Scottish Government will introduce a new non-statutory advisory board comprising of people with lived experience of accessing care, social care workers, care providers, trade unions, the NHS and local government. This new advisory board will provide guidance on social care improvement in Scotland, but we don’t have any further details about the specific remit of the group or how the board members will be appointed. Other provisions such as the Right to Breaks for Carers and Anne’s Law will still be included in the amended National Care Service Bill. Full statement here https://www.gov.scot/publications/ministerial-statement-future-of-the-national-care-service