Cole-Hamilton challenges First Minister on support for family carers 

Speaking in the Scottish Parliament during this afternoon’s session of First Minister’s Questions, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said: 

“Presiding Officer, we need to fix the care sector in our country, but the SNP have now wasted £30 million and four years on the wrong solution. I hope very much that this ministerial takeover of social care will now be allowed to wither on the vine.

“Presiding Officer, family carers are the backbone of support for thousands of Scots.

“Without their love and their commitment, our health and social care services would collapse.

“But just a third of them say they have the support that they need.

“Thanks to the Liberal Democrats, they now have the right to Carer’s Leave, to better balance work and caring responsibilities. And thanks to Ed Davey, carers in England will now be allowed to earn more at work before they lose their Carer's Allowance.

“They deserve that same deal here in Scotland – the right to earn more, to make life a bit easier, without the fear of having that government support taken away from them.

“So, with this crucial benefit being fully devolved to Scotland this winter, will the First Minister lift the earnings limit and end the cliff edge that is forcing so many carers into poverty?”