Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 28 October 2010
28 Oct 2010 · S3 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Carers and Young Carers Strategy
The previous Scottish Executive introduced a strategy for carers in 1999 to improve the information on help and support for carers; to improve local services; to propose consistent national standards for carers short breaks; and to check that carers got the help that they needed. The plight of carers has undoubtedly been on the Parliament’s agenda since 1999, although progress can be difficult to measure on all issues and for all carers; that is why the point that was raised by Jamie Stone and Jackie Baillie on monitoring the strategy is so important.
It is, therefore, right to publish another carers strategy for Scotland to 2015 to examine and address the needs of carers in 2010. More work needs to be done to support carers. I welcome the strategy, particularly the investment in telecare and telehealth, where appropriate.
Yesterday I attended a meeting of the cross-party group on carers, which was ably chaired by Cathy Peattie, to launch its carers manifesto. We heard about the different experiences of three carers and the effect that being a carer has on their lives, opportunities and careers. One carer just wanted to go to the park with her family, but faced huge obstacles to doing so. Her family was refused help with certain aids and adaptations because they are homeowners. The father is in full-time employment, but the mother told us that he does not earn a huge amount—certainly not enough to make the necessary changes to their home to accommodate their child’s needs.
The second carer highlighted the language problems that her mother faced in receiving care, and her mother’s lack of confidence in receiving care. That led to the carer giving up her civil service career. The third carer spoke of the wonderful help, understanding and support that she received at her local carers group.
The experiences of those three carers confirm the need, if we need it to be confirmed, for a carers strategy, particularly the carers rights charter and the need to improve the quality and uptake of carers assessments and support plans, as well as other measures. A local carer who is well known to me has allowed me to use her name. Bunty Macdonald from Carrbridge asked me to highlight the fact that the biggest challenge she faced was the move from children’s to adult services. She asked that the minister take that on board.
Chapter 17 of the carers strategy sets out the benefits of advocacy support to carers. It is shocking that only three carer advocacy organisations exist in Scotland. As others have said, the carers manifesto also states that breaks are increasingly offered only as emergency relief, rather than as the on-going support that, as Jackie Baillie said, helps to prevent crisis situations.
In these difficult financial times, surely we need to focus on investing in services that save money elsewhere in the public sector. Research on specialist support for young carers illustrates that for every £1 invested in it, there can be a saving of more than £6 to the public purse as a result of better educational outcomes and fewer young people going into care.
The issue of kinship carers is regularly championed by my colleague Nanette Milne. The Citizens Advice Scotland briefing, which talks about the information and experience of kinship carers, is very helpful on that issue. The need for kinship care arises generally as a result of upsetting and stressful situations for both the child and the carer; 36 per cent of kinship care situations are a result of addiction problems, 24 per cent are due to bereavement and 15 per cent are related to neglect. Around three quarters of kinship carers are grandparents, and many give up employment to meet their responsibilities.
I was shocked when I read about the kinship care allowance in the Citizens Advice Scotland report. The allowance is paid by some local authorities but not all, and the rates vary from £23 a week to £148 a week for a child under four—the highest payment is six times greater than the lowest. As the CAS briefing states, 62 per cent of kinship carers are eligible for the allowance, but whether it is paid depends on where someone lives in Scotland. Although the payments are considerable, there is no doubt that they are less than the amount that would be required to pay for residential care. In the new strategy, I could find only one paragraph on kinship carers; I refer to paragraph 3.18, which states:
“They should receive a kinship care allowance from the local authority.”
Will the minister respond to that in winding up?
It is, therefore, right to publish another carers strategy for Scotland to 2015 to examine and address the needs of carers in 2010. More work needs to be done to support carers. I welcome the strategy, particularly the investment in telecare and telehealth, where appropriate.
Yesterday I attended a meeting of the cross-party group on carers, which was ably chaired by Cathy Peattie, to launch its carers manifesto. We heard about the different experiences of three carers and the effect that being a carer has on their lives, opportunities and careers. One carer just wanted to go to the park with her family, but faced huge obstacles to doing so. Her family was refused help with certain aids and adaptations because they are homeowners. The father is in full-time employment, but the mother told us that he does not earn a huge amount—certainly not enough to make the necessary changes to their home to accommodate their child’s needs.
The second carer highlighted the language problems that her mother faced in receiving care, and her mother’s lack of confidence in receiving care. That led to the carer giving up her civil service career. The third carer spoke of the wonderful help, understanding and support that she received at her local carers group.
The experiences of those three carers confirm the need, if we need it to be confirmed, for a carers strategy, particularly the carers rights charter and the need to improve the quality and uptake of carers assessments and support plans, as well as other measures. A local carer who is well known to me has allowed me to use her name. Bunty Macdonald from Carrbridge asked me to highlight the fact that the biggest challenge she faced was the move from children’s to adult services. She asked that the minister take that on board.
Chapter 17 of the carers strategy sets out the benefits of advocacy support to carers. It is shocking that only three carer advocacy organisations exist in Scotland. As others have said, the carers manifesto also states that breaks are increasingly offered only as emergency relief, rather than as the on-going support that, as Jackie Baillie said, helps to prevent crisis situations.
In these difficult financial times, surely we need to focus on investing in services that save money elsewhere in the public sector. Research on specialist support for young carers illustrates that for every £1 invested in it, there can be a saving of more than £6 to the public purse as a result of better educational outcomes and fewer young people going into care.
The issue of kinship carers is regularly championed by my colleague Nanette Milne. The Citizens Advice Scotland briefing, which talks about the information and experience of kinship carers, is very helpful on that issue. The need for kinship care arises generally as a result of upsetting and stressful situations for both the child and the carer; 36 per cent of kinship care situations are a result of addiction problems, 24 per cent are due to bereavement and 15 per cent are related to neglect. Around three quarters of kinship carers are grandparents, and many give up employment to meet their responsibilities.
I was shocked when I read about the kinship care allowance in the Citizens Advice Scotland report. The allowance is paid by some local authorities but not all, and the rates vary from £23 a week to £148 a week for a child under four—the highest payment is six times greater than the lowest. As the CAS briefing states, 62 per cent of kinship carers are eligible for the allowance, but whether it is paid depends on where someone lives in Scotland. Although the payments are considerable, there is no doubt that they are less than the amount that would be required to pay for residential care. In the new strategy, I could find only one paragraph on kinship carers; I refer to paragraph 3.18, which states:
“They should receive a kinship care allowance from the local authority.”
Will the minister respond to that in winding up?
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Trish Godman)
Lab
The next item of business is a debate on motion S3M-7272, in the name of Shona Robison, on the carers and young carers strategy.14:56
The Minister for Public Health and Sport (Shona Robison)
SNP
We came into government with a strong commitment to develop a new carers strategy for Scotland. The aim was to build on the considerable progress that had be...
Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD)
LD
Obviously, the Liberal Democrats welcome what the minister has just said, but how does she intend to audit the outcomes once the process that she describes h...
Shona Robison
SNP
There will be a robust auditing process, as there always is with the third sector. The third sector is well placed to be able to deliver innovative thinking....
Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab)
Lab
Like the minister, I welcome this debate on carers and the publication of the carers and young carers strategy.As the minister pointed out, some 657,000 peop...
Shona Robison
SNP
I have been quite up front in saying to carer organisations that in the current economic climate, funding such an entitlement is extremely challenging. We wo...
Jackie Baillie
Lab
I thank the minister for her honesty. In the context of the economic climate, perhaps we could discuss self-directed support. A commitment was made to extend...
Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Con
The previous Scottish Executive introduced a strategy for carers in 1999 to improve the information on help and support for carers; to improve local services...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Alasdair Morgan)
SNP
The member should conclude.
Mary Scanlon
Con
Finally, I hope that the Government will continue to support direct payments.15:23
Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD)
LD
This is one among a number of the issues that are debated in this chamber for which it is self-evident that there is a broad measure of cross-party support, ...
Shona Robison
SNP
I take it from that that the member supports pooled budgets, the level of which we are negotiating at the moment. I take it that the member supports that dir...
Ross Finnie
LD
I will be happy to support it provided that I can see the mechanisms that will support it. Allocating sums of money is helpful, and it would be churlish to s...
Bob Doris (Glasgow) (SNP)
SNP
Over the years, we have gradually continued to get a better picture of the job that unpaid carers do in Scotland, and of the scale of that job, and we contin...
Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab)
Lab
I welcome the comments that Bob Doris has made and I think that it is important that we get some consensus around this issue. Does he agree that one of the w...
Bob Doris
SNP
I thank Cathy Jamieson for her comment but, although that is the outcome at the local level, the premise is completely inaccurate. Way before the kinship car...
Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab)
Lab
I welcome the opportunity to debate carers issues. I fully support the motion in the name of the Minister for Public Health and Sport, particularly the closi...
Hugh O’Donnell (Central Scotland) (LD)
LD
As always, it is a privilege to speak in a debate about carers, because they are the unsung heroes of the society in which we live. It might not sit comforta...
Bob Doris
SNP
The member is quite right in what he says about resources and, of course, we always need more, but are the resources that are spent at the local level always...
Hugh O’Donnell
LD
I have some sympathy with the member’s point. All too often, and despite the person-centred planning approach, which many members in the chamber will know ab...
Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP)
SNP
I want to talk about a specific element of caring that Jackie Baillie touched on in her contribution: the thousands of older people who continue to care in t...
Cathy Peattie (Falkirk East) (Lab)
Lab
I welcome the carers and young carers strategy, the partnership approach to developing the strategy, and indeed the minister’s commitment to make it work. It...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
I call Cathy Jamieson. She has two minutes.15:59
Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab)
Lab
I will be brief, as I have only two points to put on the record. The first is about young people who are in families where drugs and alcohol are being misuse...
Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD)
LD
I am not returning to this place next May and this debate is a good example of why I will miss it—we have heard thoughtful speeches from all sides of the cha...
Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con)
Con
I welcome what has been an extremely important debate on the Scottish Government’s carers and young carers strategy, which follows on from a debate on the is...
Hugh O’Donnell
LD
I note what the member says about statutory provision of services. Generally, does she agree that, if there is a strategy in any area of activity for which a...
Margaret Mitchell
Con
Absolutely—and other members have made that point. I ask the minister to confirm how the outcome-based approach will help to address the current postcode lot...
Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab)
Lab
I am pleased to make Labour’s final contribution to this debate on the carers and young carers strategies. It has been an excellent debate, with good contrib...
Shona Robison
SNP
I thank all members who took part in the debate. There were a number of positive and constructive speeches. It is clear that all parties acknowledge the impa...