Running this year from 8th – 14th of June, Carers Scotland had a busy and varied Carers Week, marking this year’s theme, ‘Building Carer Friendly Communities’, and recognising progress made for unpaid carers and also the work still to be done.
Before Carers Week 2026 had even begun, our Policy and Public Affairs officer, Joe McCready attended the Scottish Kidney Federation Conference on Saturday 6th June. The event brought together patients, carers and healthcare professionals to share experiences, discuss key issues, and highlight ongoing work to support those affected by kidney disease. Joe spoke about new findings from the Carers Week report and encouraged those who were in attendance to think about unpaid carers and how they can be better supported by the medical community.
Carers Week kicked off officially on Monday 8th June, with the publication of the Building Carer Friendly Communities report, which highlighted new findings around unpaid carers and their communities. 45% of people in Scotland who are currently caring say they do not feel their role as an unpaid carer is understood and valued by their community. Additionally, 32% of current and former carers who felt that organisations or services were not carer friendly said this had impacted their physical or mental health.
In order to help combat these issues, Carers UK also published ‘Building Carer Friendly Communities: a blueprint’, which contains guidance for various areas of our communities to be more inclusive and supportive of unpaid carers.
We were delighted to see Carers Week acknowledged during First Minister’s Questions on Tuesday, where MSP Carol Mochan pressed for greater recognition of unpaid carers.
On the Wednesday, we published an article for Carers Week, kindly submitted by Lesley MacCulloch, who is an unpaid carer living in Central Scotland. In the piece, Lesley gave her thoughts on this year’s Carers Week theme, ‘Building Carer Friendly Communities’, relating it to her personal experiences caring for mum, and shared her opinions on small things we could all do to recognise the unpaid carers in our communities. You can catch up on Lesley’s article here.
Our Carer Positive team held an event in partnership North Lanarkshire Carers Together aimed at employers, exploring cultural challenges for unpaid carers. Together we had discussions with speakers from Circles Network and Raishelee Care Home to expose the persistent cultural barriers faced by carers from diverse and minoritised communities, reminding us that support must be inclusive to be meaningful.
On Thursday, carers were able to attend a free introductory session from Menopause Support, designed for those experiencing menopause or supporting someone who is. The session was very informative, covering what menopause is, common symptoms, long-term health considerations, and management options.
Carers Scotland’s Senior Employment Manager, Hayley Burton, also attended the Future Carer event at Strathclyde University, which brought together unpaid carers, researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and innovators to share perspectives, explore new ideas, and connect lived experience, academic research, and practice. Hayley spoke with experts from across the globe to think creatively and realistically about what carer‑friendly communities might look like in the years ahead.
Finally, we released the briefing ‘Carer Friendly Communities and Short Breaks’ in partnership with Shared Care Scotland, presenting how short breaks access and provision can be further developed by communities that are carer friendly.
Of course, our work for unpaid carers extends well beyond Carers Week and we are already hard at work promoting this year's State of Caring survey.
The annual State of Caring survey is a hugely important part of the work we do at Carers Scotland. By taking part, carers' voices can be heard by policymakers, health and care services, employers and the wider public to create real change and make life better for unpaid carers.