Hansard

I, too, thank all the young carers in the public gallery. It is a delight to have them with us today. I give a special shout-out to the South Ayrshire young carers I met outside. They were really kind to spend some time with me—it was much appreciated.

I thank my colleague Paul O’Kane for bringing the debate to the chamber. It is absolutely right that we make time in this place to discuss such an important issue. Paul O’Kane has been a champion for carers in the current session of Parliament, bringing the issue to the chamber and working cross-party and outwith the Parliament in the way that other members, including Willie Rennie, have spoken about, as well as working with many organisations and charities to raise the voices of carers and ensure that we see lasting change. Again, I thank Paul O’Kane for giving us the opportunity to talk specifically about young carers today.

Other members have mentioned the data and statistics, so I will not go over those again. I simply highlight that, with more than 30,000 young carers under the age of 18, it is incumbent on us to support them. I thank Carers Trust for the work that it does in gathering all the information. As others have said, it is important that we have that information, to ensure that we understand the issues, and that we use it to guide us on the solutions that we need in order to provide adequate support to all our invaluable carers, particularly our young carers.

The debate is in response to young carers action day, and I commend young carers for the contribution that they make to our society when they are caring for their loved ones. As we know, young carers often do not recognise themselves as carers, and many do not think twice about what they do. We owe them a great deal of gratitude.

Dumfries and Galloway Carers Centre, in my region, wrote to me to ask for my support for young carers action day 2025, which I am delighted to give. The theme, “geezabreak”, focuses on the importance of providing breaks and respite for young carers and, as others have said, the need for schools and employers to better support them in school and work.

From previous debates and my meetings with young carers, I am aware that the reality for many young carers in Scotland is that caring responsibilities can dominate their lives. Young carers often do not realise that and continue without support. Sara Jackson, the young carers manager at the Dumfries and Galloway Carers Centre, works directly with young carers and explained in correspondence with me that the damaging impact of a lack of support and burnout means that many young carers are often at breaking point and their reality can be quite difficult. What stood out for me in her correspondence was the suggestion that, although young people need a break through getting straightforward respite from their caring responsibilities, they also need a break in that they must be given equal opportunities to thrive, as others have touched on. That is why Carers Trust Scotland is urging schools, trusts, colleges and universities to step up. It would be great to hear about that from other members, as well as getting a commitment from the minister to work across Government on that.

As politicians, it is our responsibility to work together to ensure that that happens, so that young carers feel confident in the support that is available to them and their loved ones. I commit to doing that. I hope that the debate spurs us all on to do more together in response to the needs of our young carers in Scotland. It is incumbent on us to do that.

I thank everyone who has spoken or is about to speak in the debate.