Hansard

I thank Paul O’Kane for initiating this really important debate regarding young carers action day, and I thank all the members for being here to discuss young carers and the absolutely vital contribution that they make to society.

I value young carers action day because it not only puts a spotlight on the important issues that young carers face but allows us to hear directly from them. I am so delighted that more than 150 young carers are here in the Parliament today. It was an absolute pleasure to chat with many of them outside at the photo opportunity this morning. I am really pleased that they are speaking about what they need from us as decision makers, and that they are listening and learning about how they can create change.

On the point that Mr Balfour raised, I know that my colleague Gillian Mackay from the Green Party will be very well known to many people in the carer community. She will undoubtedly be very sorry that she is unable to attend the Parliament today because of unexpected personal circumstances.

I am absolutely delighted that the Parliament has been given the opportunity to acknowledge the positive role that young carers play in their families and in our society. However, it is important that we also take time to reflect on some of the pressures that they face.

This year’s young carers action day theme is “geezabreak”—that is my very best Scots, which is not bad for a Highlander. The contributions of young carers in Scotland are absolutely vital and are deeply appreciated, so it is really important that they receive the support that they need to take a break from their caring role, and it is equally important that they feel supported to pursue their educational and work aspirations.

Like many members in the chamber, I have been honoured to hear at first hand from young carers, this morning and at last year’s Scottish young carers festival, just how important rest and respite are for them—not only for their wellbeing, but to enable them to be children, first and foremost.

In a similar debate marking last year’s young carers action day, I welcomed the launch of Carers Trust’s young carers covenant. At that time, I committed to engaging with my ministerial colleagues about the possibility of the Scottish Government signing up to it. Over the past year, consideration has been given to making that commitment in order to understand what it would mean for the wide range of policies across Government that are relevant to young carers. I am absolutely delighted to confirm today that the Scottish Government will be formally committing to the young carers covenant and the 10 outcomes that are contained within it. Doing that will make us the first Government in the UK to do so, and we hope that it will serve as an example to other organisations to do the same.

The outcomes within the covenant align with our policies and actions, including those in our national carers strategy. Work is already under way in many areas, including those that are linked to this year’s young carers action day’s theme and to the motion. Those outcomes are that young carers have time for themselves, are able to thrive in education and can access and succeed in employment or training opportunities.

I am grateful for this opportunity to mention some of the work that we are undertaking to achieve those outcomes and to support young carers. The Scottish Government recognises the demand on young carers and is working to support their access to breaks, hobbies and opportunities for time for themselves. I have been very grateful for the cross-party support for our proposed legislation to establish a right to breaks for carers in what is now the Care Reform (Scotland) Bill. I will not split hairs with my colleague Brian Whittle, but primary legislation is absolutely necessary to give carers that right, rather than just to fund their breaks.

Ahead of that legislation, we are increasing the voluntary sector short breaks funding in 2025-26 by a further £5 million, to a total of £13 million. That is expected to support up to 15,000 additional people, including young carers, in taking short breaks away from their caring responsibilities. As part of that, we are increasing funding for the Young Scot young carers package to £400,000 in 2025-26. That means that the package can provide more opportunities for more young carers to access some form of respite and to enjoy time with family and friends. I absolutely echo my colleague Colin Beattie’s point: we need more young people to be aware of that package, and if the uptake was 100 per cent, that would be great.

Alongside those measures, we continue to fund the annual Scottish young carers festival. It is an amazing and important event to help young carers to have a break, to pursue new opportunities and to have fun.

All those initiatives are highlighted in our national carers strategy. Now into its third year of implementation, the strategy sets out our approach to addressing issues facing carers, and our long-term vision for building a sustainable future for young carers. We recognise in the strategy that young carers’ education and their future prospects are incredibly important. That is why we fully fund an education officer at Carers Trust Scotland and will continue to work with education colleagues to ensure that young carers are seen and supported in school.

Through that collaborative work, the Scottish Government, Carers Trust Scotland and Education Scotland produce an e-learning module for all education staff to help them to better understand how they can identify and support young carers. The module is fully accredited by Education Scotland. I would be more than happy to write to the member with more details of what we are doing to support the outcome of that collaboration.

It would be remiss of me not to mention school nurses, because they play a vital role in the health and wellbeing of school-age children and families in our communities. We have completely transformed their role over the past few years to address health needs in school-age children at an early stage. Their work centres around 10 priority areas, one of which is young carers.

We have been working with Skills Development Scotland and employers on projects such as carer positive to ensure that, when young carers are ready to join the world of work, there continues to be flexibility and support for them.

All the work that I have just mentioned has been guided by young carers telling us what they need. That is why it is so important that they are here in the Parliament today, making sure that their voices are heard. We will continue to listen to young carers in shaping our work.

On the issue of data, the carer population surveys, including for young carers, are published annually, based on the Scottish health survey. Those data are based on about four years of survey results—I am sorry: they are based on four years of results, not “about four years”, so I had better be accurate when we are talking about data—to improve accuracy. The results rely on people recognising themselves as carers, which is amplified for young carers, because the surveys are completed by adults. We are including questions on caring in the schools health and wellbeing census, and we are working to raise awareness among teachers of the importance of noting whether a student is a young carer in the SEEMiS Group’s survey.

One of the big contributors to the underestimate in the data is the fact that many of our young people do not identify as carers. As was quoted by Martin Whitfield, they say that

“it’s just what we do.”

I also love that Martin Whitfield mentioned love, as it is very appropriate for today’s debate. I am grateful that he highlighted that people care with love.

In closing, I acknowledge members’ powerful contributions. Some spoke directly for their constituents and some brought caring to life by reflecting on their own experiences.

Most important is that I acknowledge the huge contribution that is made by young carers right across Scotland. I reiterate the Scottish Government’s commitment to doing what we can to make sure that young carers have access to the support that they deserve when they need it.