Meeting of the Parliament 04 February 2016
I am afraid that I do not agree with that. Given that we are talking about care today, I might reflect on the fact that we are providing a substantial package of support—some £250 million—half of which will go towards ensuring that those who work in the care sector are paid the living wage. I would have thought that Ms Lamont would welcome that, but I have heard scant welcome for it from the Labour benches. I regret that intervention, because I want to try to move forward on the basis of the broad consensus with which we have approached the subject today.
Local eligibility criteria will enable each local authority to determine whether carers’ identified needs call for the provision of support, taking into account the total resource that is available to meet local demand for support. However, I want to ensure consistency of approach across Scotland. I believe that that can be achieved through the national matters that will be set out in regulations and which will underpin local eligibility criteria. As I made clear in my response to the Health and Sport Committee’s stage 1 report, the national carer organisations’ work on nationally set criteria will help to influence the regulations relating to those national matters. I set that out again today.
I am committed to continuing to work with key stakeholders to share ideas and views about how local eligibility criteria should work in practice. That will inform development of regulations and guidance under the bill.
To be clear, we will look closely at the efficacy of the approach that is taken. I have retained a power in the bill so that ministers can, by way of regulations, introduce national eligibility criteria, if that is felt to be necessary down the line. I described that power earlier as one that we are holding in reserve. Let me be clear that the Government will not hesitate to use it should it find that it has to.
Finally, I will say a word about implementation. Resources to support implementation of the bill are set out in the financial memorandum. I have confirmed to the Finance Committee that the Scottish Government expects to use the maximum costs that are set out in the financial memorandum for planning purposes. Those costs are £19.4 million in 2017-18; they rise to £88.52 million in 2021-22 and on a recurring basis thereafter. I believe that that represents a substantial commitment to the bill.
The passage of the bill is only part of the journey. We have done much to support Scotland’s carers outwith the bill, and we will continue to do that. In the weeks and months ahead, a significant effort will be required to ensure that we, along with key interests, including carers and their representative organisations, pave the way for commencement of the bill in 2017-18.
There will be challenges ahead. I am committed to working collaboratively with stakeholders to undertake the necessary planning and to co-produce a significant number of regulations and guidance. I extend that offer to members—if they want to speak to me about any of these matters, I will always be willing to hear from them. I know that all parties have a genuine desire for the bill to be implemented successfully and to achieve the positive outcomes for carers that it aspires to achieve, to which we all collectively aspire.
I move,
That the Parliament agrees that the Carers (Scotland) Bill be passed.
16:09