Falkirk & Clackmannanshire Carers Centre - Carer Participation Development

The Falkirk Council area has a population of around 160,000 people, it is estimated that around 23,500 of these people are unpaid carers (Falkirk HSCP, 2023). Clearly understanding the needs of local people who undertake a caring role must be a significant consideration in effectively engaging with and working in partnership with communities. People undertaking unpaid caring roles are uniquely impacted by the themes of the Falkirk Plan, the ‘State of Caring: The cost of caring in Scotland 2025’ report published by Carers UK in November 2025 highlights some key challenges faced by carers in Scotland: 

• Nearly half of carers have cut back on essentials like food or heat to make ends meet.
• Nearly a third of carers reported their mental health to be bad or very bad.
• Two in five reported reducing working hours or giving up employment to manage their caring responsibilities. 

Likewise people undertaking caring roles experience some unique barriers to participation and engagement. Falkirk & Clackmannanshire Carers Centre deliver a Carer Participation Development function for carers in the Falkirk area, providing a robust support mechanism to ensure that carers voices can be heard in the context of local planning and decision making. They provide support to Carers Representatives so they can fulfil their role on Falkirk’s Integration Joint Board in addition to wider engagement through monthly Carers Voice meetings where Partner representatives often attend to receive valuable views and feedback on the lived experience of carers in the Falkirk area. 

Sharlene Ramage, Carers Participation Development Worker, shared how their bespoke participation development support helps build individual’s capacity to participate: 

“Some carers find it particularly difficult to get involved in local consultation or engagement exercises because of their unpaid caring commitments which can take up a huge amount of their time and energy. We support individuals to improve their understanding of how local decisions are made and the mechanisms for them to engage and influence, as well as facilitating opportunities for partners to hear directly from local carers to remove some of the barriers. We already have a Carers Voice meeting planned which will provide an early opportunity for carers to discuss the development of the new Falkirk Carers Strategy with representatives from Falkirk Health and Social Care Partnership. We encourage all carers to be aware of and learn more about their rights so they can increase their confidence in advocating for their needs and the needs of the person they care for. Many people are surprised to hear just how many local people have unpaid caring responsibilities, it is a significant number of local people and it is crucial they have the opportunity to shape how services across the Falkirk area operate.” 

Falkirk & Clackmannanshire Carers Centre have a wealth of expertise in engaging with carers, they shared some key points to consider when designing any consultant or engagement exercise to help ensure that local carers have the chance to participate: 

• Clearly state how their participation will make a difference, spare time is precious and carers should feel sure participating is worthwhile.
• How the practical tasks of unpaid caring look varies from carer to carer, so provide a range of options to get involved: in-person and online and on varied days and times.
• Be mindful of language to help reach ‘hidden’ carers, not everyone who provides unpaid care will identify as a carer, you could also use wording like ‘looking after a friend or family member’.

Falkirk & Clackmannanshire Carers Centre encourage all local people who have unpaid caring responsibilities to learn more about the challenges that Falkirk Community Planning Partnership are tackling and to have their voice heard on the things that matter most to them.

To find out more about the support available for Falkirk carers please contact Falkirk & Clackmannanshire Carers Centre by phone on 01324 611510 or by email: centre@centralcarers.co.uk

To find out more about opportunities to participate in Falkirk Community Planning Partnership activities please get in touch by email: communityplanning@falkirk.gov.uk