Meeting of the Parliament 04 February 2016
Legislation can take a long time to work its way on to the statute books, but it is just the tip of an iceberg. Underneath it, a host of people and organisations from all walks of life strive to improve situations that impact on them in different ways. That is especially true for the Carers (Scotland) Bill. Only a few short weeks after being elected in 2007, I was invited along to meet the South Lanarkshire Carers Network, which spoke about its aspiration for a carers bill. Just over a year ago, I joined Robert Anderson, who is the chairman of the South Lanarkshire Carers Network, and Jamie Hepburn, the minister, to officially open the network’s new headquarters. The organisation was started in 1990 by Robert.
Robert Anderson characteristically says that the MBE that was awarded to him is a testament to solid partnership working, which is something that we have seen with the bill. When he accepted his MBE last January, he said:
“Above anything else I hope receiving this MBE underlines to people in a caring role that they are not alone—and help and support is available to them.”
Robert knows what it is like to be someone’s unpaid carer. His wife, Nan, suffered two strokes. Sadly, after many years of caring for her, Robert said goodbye to Nan just a few weeks ago. He said:
“I was a full time salesman at the time but was suddenly thrust into a new world, with new responsibilities, from cleaning the house, managing finances to helping with my wife’s needs. It was then I realised that there wasn’t a lot of support or information available for people in my situation—especially when the chips are down … The caring role often feels overwhelming and can leave the person feeling very isolated, as they can soon become cut off from peers and friends because of the demands. I realised things then needed to change”.
He also said that he has been profoundly impressed by the depth and scale of commitment of everyone involved.
Unpaid carers are immensely giving and generous. For those who do get paid, the bill, along with the budget, brings the prospect of a decent pay improvement. While Westminster makes a great hue and cry about its fantastic new national wage of £7.20 an hour, the Scottish Government has taken on the guidance of the Living Wage Foundation and increased the rate to £8.25. That is a difference of £36 in an average week—a huge difference to people who take on a caring role as their profession.
As I said, for some people the origins of the bill go back almost a decade, and probably go back many more years for others. It has been two years since the formal consultation on legislation to support carers and young carers in Scotland, and a great deal of input has been taken on board. We heard that in many contributions this afternoon.
As we have heard—and as the Scottish Government has recognised—there are an estimated 745,000 adult carers, with 44,000 young carers. It is easy for us to look on and admire carers and take them for granted; they deserve better than that. They deserve to lead a fulfilling life, to be properly paid and to get professional and accessible support and advice. If my mother had had such support 30-odd years ago when she was looking after my father, who had motor neurone disease, we might have had a much easier life when we were growing up. However, we managed, which is what happens. We have grown up a lot from that outdated perception of the dutiful, stoical and unpaid carer who never reached breaking point and had no recourse to state support of any kind.
Since 2007, there have been many interventions and much investment in this area, and that work has been manifested in this bill, which sets out a very practical and important way of giving carers a better deal and proper recognition. The Scottish Government has, in the evolution of the bill, been working towards improving outcomes for carers with a range of initiatives such as the reshaping care for older people change fund; the voluntary short breaks fund, which has helped more than 32,000 carers; and the carer information strategy. With health board funding, significant progress has been achieved on carer identification and support; indeed, that was one thing that the South Lanarkshire Carers Network did very well.
I pay tribute to the South Lanarkshire Carers Network; to COVEY Befriending, which is an organisation that supports young carers in my constituency; and to all the organisations that we have heard about this afternoon. However, this is just the start of another journey. I hope that the bill gives carers the life that they need—the responsibility is on us to ensure that we deliver it.
16:41