Hansard

It is a real privilege to take part in the debate, and I thank the member for lodging the motion. I, too, welcome all the people in the public gallery. They have brought the average age of this Parliament down dramatically in the past half an hour.

I will just make one negative point at the start: it is disappointing that not all parties are in the chamber for this debate. If we truly respect young carers, there should be total cross-party support.

I, along with other members, have had the privilege of attending the Scottish young carers festival on a number of occasions. For me, it has been interesting to listen to their experiences and hear what happens in their part of Scotland. It is important that we give people a break, whether it be through weekends away, a summer holiday or a pizza on a Tuesday night. However, we have to go further and recognise that school is often a difficult place for carers.

On my last visit to the carers festival, I was struck most by the different practices in different local authorities. There does not seem to be a co-ordinated approach to how children who care for another sibling, a parent or someone else in the family are treated. I appreciate that this goes beyond the minister’s portfolio, but I think that it would be helpful to get guidance on what should be in a school statement. Are we putting enough emphasis on this sort of thing in job applications? Young carers often do have empathy, compassion and resilience beyond their years, but it comes with challenges that are not often recognised by schools, employers or society in general.

I want to briefly reflect on two points from my personal experience. When people provide care or are being cared for, it has an effect on the whole family. Whether it be a sibling or a parent, the effect does not just stop with them. Having spoken to my siblings, I know that, because of the time that my parents had to give me, they sometimes felt short-changed or that they could not have the same experiences. They are fairly resilient and have come through that, but we must look at this in a holistic way and recognise that caring for somebody in a family affects the whole family.

Secondly, we must recognise the number of unpaid carers who are simply not recognised. It brings us back to the point made in the opening speech in the debate that we do not really know how many unpaid carers there are in Scotland. Indeed, I suspect that we will never find out that number.

This morning, at breakfast, I told my two daughters that I would be speaking in this debate and that I might mention them. When they asked, “Why are you mentioning us?”, I said, “Well, you go far beyond what your colleagues at school do, whether that’s helping me untie my laces, putting on my coat or doing other things.” They do not recognise themselves as young carers, and I suspect that there are lots of people in our communities who provide care but who perhaps do not appreciate what they are doing and are not looking for recognition.

Finally, I thank all young unpaid carers for what they do. Without them, our society would not function. We in the Parliament and across Scotland need to respect them, not just with words on a Thursday afternoon but with action that makes a difference for them.