Scotland
Shared Lives in Scotland
In Scotland Shared Lives can support those aged 16 and over.
Shared Lives carers in Scotland can support up to two people at any one time.
There are 12 schemes in Scotland offering live in, short break or day support. In 2024- 25, 526 people were supported across 12 schemes by 589 Shared Lives carers.
Shared Lives is available in 16 local authorities in Scotland, from Dumfries and Galloway in the South to Shetland in the North. With interest from Health and Social Care Partnerships in other areas, Shared Lives has the potential to be available to many more people.
Shared Lives schemes are registered and inspected by the Care Inspectorate. The latest Care Inspectorate reports show that all Shared Lives schemes in Scotland have at least a grade 4 (good) for the care and support they deliver. 75% have a rating of grade 5 (very good) or 6 (excellent).
Read the latest Scotland state of the Shared Lives sector report.
Information for professionals
The key pieces of legislation, regulations and standards in Scotland for Shared Lives schemes are:
Shared Lives carers and scheme workers are not required to register with the Scottish Social Services Council, although social workers do.
Adult social care: independent review (2021) highlights Shared Lives as an alternative to residential and institutional care, and how it could be used more extensively across Scotland to support those with learning disabilities and to offer respite for unpaid carers of those with age-related support needs.
Shared Lives supported parenting project
In 2020 the Scottish Government committed to thousands of care experienced children and adults to #KeepThePromise
It concluded ‘where children are safe in their families and feel loved they must stay – and families must be given support together to nurture that love and overcome the difficulties which get in the way.’
Parents with a learning disability are more likely than any other group to have their children removed from their care: 40-60% of parents with a learning disability have their children removed.
In response to this, and with funding from the Promise Partnership administered by the Corra Foundation, Shared Lives Plus led a project to develop Shared Lives services in Scotland for parents with a learning disability, enabling them to care for their child and live within a Shared Lives carer’s family home.
