Scotland’s Carers and the General Election

For carers, it can be tricky to see exactly what impact Westminster politics has on Scotland. Health, housing and social care have been under the control of the Scottish Parliament since 1999. More recently, the Smith Commission proposed that the majority of carers’ benefits and disability benefits should also be devolved for carers and their families in Scotland. This could be a big step for carers if it is done well, as the Scottish Parliament will hopefully be able to reverse the damaging impact that Westminster’s welfare reform and spending cuts has had on carers’ lives.

“we need to make sure that the needs of unpaid carers remain high on the agenda”

So with all these changes afoot, what is the point of Westminster for carers in Scotland? Well, funding still comes to Scotland from decisions made by the UK Government. Whilst negotiations about further powers for Scotland are still taking place, we need to make sure that the needs of unpaid carers remain high on the campaign agenda both during and after this General Election, especially with the Scottish Election happening in 2016. Campaigning for the Scottish Election will be affected by what happens on 7^th May, and in Scotland the Carers Trust will continue to work with all political parties to ensure unpaid carers are a high priority. Currently, National Carer Organisations are calling for the NHS to have a duty to identify carers, as well as ensuring that integration of health and social care services needs to deliver real change for carers, who deserve quality care and support themselves. Encouragingly, as the parties’ manifestos have been released over the past few weeks, some specific policy promises for carers have been mentioned by several parties. SCVO’s manifesto comparison table gives more detail about how the manifestos measure up for the third sector. Whatever happens in the days after the election, Carers Trust Scotland will continue to make sure that carers and their families get the support they need now and in the future.