What Carers of West Lothian does

Carers of West Lothian is a registered Scottish charity (SC019628) founded in 1990, headquartered at Sycamore House, Quarrywood Court, Livingston, and operating with a staff of roughly 15. Its functional mission is to deliver practical and emotional support services to unpaid carers — including adult carers, young carers, young adult carers, parent carers, and dementia carers — as well as to disabled people, across the West Lothian council area in Scotland. The organisation is funded entirely through charitable grants, donations, and local authority / public-sector funding streams, and all services are provided free of charge to beneficiaries.

The service portfolio covers six beneficiary segments and a set of high-traffic offerings including self-directed support, counselling (805 hours delivered in the past year), hospital-based support, short breaks, community passes, and the CoWL Card benefits scheme. Distribution is delivered through in-person appointments at the Livingston office, a phone line (01506 448000), email, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and the charity's Squarespace-hosted website. There is no proprietary digital platform; the technology stack is limited to a content website, email/communications tooling, and standard telephony. External validations include EFQM Qualified (2023), Cyber Essentials, Carer Positive Employer, Living Wage Employer, and SCVO membership.

The go-to-market model is community-led: beneficiaries reach the charity via direct outreach, local word-of-mouth, peer support groups, events, and referrals from an established partner network (West Lothian Council, West Lothian Advice Shop, NHS 24, Breathing Space, Samaritans, Mind, ChildLine). Impact is reported in terms of financial outcomes secured for beneficiaries (£392,486 in three months; almost £1.2m in the last year with West Lothian Advice Shop) rather than revenue, and the organisation has no commercial revenue streams, no venture or equity funding, and operates without disclosed annual income figures.

Name

Carers of West Lothian

Legal name

Carers of West Lothian

Website

https://carers-westlothian.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Carers of West Lothian is a Livingston-based Scottish charity (SC019628, founded 1990) providing free practical and emotional support to unpaid carers, young carers, and disabled people across West Lothian, funded through grants, donations, and local authority partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Carer and Disability Support Services

NAICS

Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (624120)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Family Caregiver Coaching, Education & Support (HSABAIAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Family Caregiver Relief & Coaching (Respite-Integrated) (HSABAGAJ), Memory Care Respite (Short-Term) (HSABAEAD)

Keywords

• Carer support services
• Unpaid caregiver support
• Disability support services
• Community welfare support
• Peer support groups

Headquarters

HQ city

Livingston

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Charitable Funding and Grants: As a registered Scottish charity (no. SC019628), Carers of West Lothian is funded through charitable grants, donations, and potentially government/local authority funding to support their operations and service delivery to unpaid carers and disabled people in West Lothian.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Carers of West Lothian provides free, direct practical and emotional support services to unpaid carers, young carers, parent carers, dementia carers and disabled people across West Lothian, Scotland. Its service portfolio includes counselling, peer support groups, self-directed support, hospital-based support, short breaks (Time to Live), community passes, CoWL Cards and information and advice services, delivered via in-person appointments, telephone, email, WhatsApp and online channels from its Livingston headquarters.

Product overview

Carers of West Lothian operates as a single integrated support service providing practical and emotional assistance to unpaid carers, young carers, and disabled people in West Lothian, Scotland. The organization offers a comprehensive portfolio of services including Adult Carers Support, Young Adult Carers Support, Young Carers Support, Parent Carers Support, Dementia Carers Support, and Disabled People Support. Most-visited services include Self-Directed Support, Counselling, Hospital Based Support, Short Breaks (Time to Live), Community Passes, and CoWL Cards. Additional offerings include Peer Support Groups for peer connections and social opportunities, Carer Videos featuring testimonials, and newsletter communications for registered users. The service portfolio is unified under the CoWL brand and delivers support through multiple channels including in-person, phone, email, WhatsApp, and online registration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Adult Carers Support
• Young Adult Carers Support
• Young Carers Support
• Parent Carers Support
• Dementia Carers Support
• Disabled People Support
• Self-Directed Support
• Counselling Service
• Hospital Based Support
• Short Breaks (Time to Live)
• Community Passes
• CoWL Cards
• Peer Support Groups

Quantifiable outcome

• £392,486 in financial gains secured for carers and disabled people within 3 months
• +2 more outcomes

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• West Lothian CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWest Lothian Council is a key strategic partner. The organisation works with West Lothian Council on various initiatives including the West Lothian Advice Shop partnership that helped secure almost £1.2m for carers in the last year. The council provides funding and referral pathways for carers and disabled people in West Lothian.
• NHS 24supportingGTM or Marketing PartnerNHS 24 is shown as a referral and support partner on the Carers of West Lothian website, providing integrated health information resources for carers and disabled people in Scotland.
• Breathing SpacesupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerBreathing Space is a partner providing confidential phone and web-based service for people experiencing low mood or depression. Listed as a referral resource for carers on the website.
• SamaritanssupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerSamaritans provides emotional support and a listening ear for people in distress. Listed as a partner resource for carers accessing support services.
• MindsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerMind is a mental health charity providing advice and support. Listed as a referral partner for carers seeking mental health and wellbeing support.
• ChildLinesupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerChildLine provides confidential support for children and young people. Listed as a partner resource for young carers accessing support.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Carers Trust Scotland: National network of local carer-centre charities across Scotland. Operates an overlapping service model (information, breaks, advocacy) and shares the same funding ecosystem and policy environment as Carers of West Lothian.
• Independent Age: UK charity providing advice, befriending and grants to older people and their carers. Comparable information/advice and emotional-support services and shares grant-application competition with regional carer charities.
• Carers UK: National membership charity advocating for unpaid carers and providing information, training and policy influence. Overlaps on information/advice delivery and operates in the same policy and statutory-funding environment.
• Age Scotland: Scottish national charity supporting older people and their carers with advice, befriending and community programmes. Broadly comparable beneficiary overlap (older carers and the people they care for) and operates in the same Scottish policy/funding environment.
• Alzheimer Scotland: National dementia-specialist charity providing information, support groups, and counselling. Overlaps with Carers of West Lothian's Dementia Carers service line and shares the West Lothian referral and funding landscape.

Regional players

• Sense Scotland: Scotland-based charity supporting people with complex disabilities and their carers. Comparable disabled-people support and family-carer services within the same Scottish regulatory and funding context.
• ENABLE Scotland: Scotland-wide learning-disability charity offering personalised support and self-directed support advice. Directly comparable Self-Directed Support offering and serves disabled people across the same Scottish local-authority footprint.

Emerging players

• Befriending Networks: UK-wide membership body supporting befriending and peer-support programmes. Comparable in delivery model (peer support groups, social-isolation alleviation) for carer and disabled populations, though operating as an umbrella rather than direct service provider.

Direct peers

• Crossroads Care Scotland: Scotland-wide charity providing respite breaks and carer support services. Directly comparable core offering — particularly the Short Breaks / Time-to-Live programme — and competes for similar grant and council funding.
• VOCAL (Voice of Carers Across Lothian): Edinburgh-based carer support charity serving unpaid carers across the Lothian region. Highly comparable mission, beneficiary population, and service mix (advice, counselling, peer support, training) operating in adjacent Lothian local-authority areas.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/carers-westlothian

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Carers of West Lothian