 Maen nhw'n cael ei wneud i gychwyn i ddod yn gweithio ac i ddod yn cychwyn i'r parlymyg yn ysgolwyd. Yr eitem bwysig yma yn y ddigon, mae'n gweithio ar Ffodill 1, 3, 2, 6 i ddwylliant i gael roeddau o'i gael gan Gwyrddol i'r ddechrau 2015. Gwyrddol yn ei ddweud i gael ar ddwng ni i'n gweithio gan gweithio. I would be grateful if those members who would like to participate could press the request to speak buttons now please. A call on Rhoda Grant to open the debate. Seven minutes please, Ms Grant. Thank you, Presiding Officer. It's a privilege to secure this member's debate on carers week. Carers week is one of the most important weeks that we celebrate in the year. For too long, the work of Scotland's unpaid carers has gone unrecognised and unsupported. This week gives us the opportunity to highlight and pay tribute to our carers and the tremendous job they do. Carering is something that most of us will have to do. It's estimated that three in five people will have a caring responsibility at some point in their lifetime. There are over 759,000 unpaid adult carers and over 29,000 young carers in Scotland and they save the Scottish economy over £10 billion a year. In my region, in highlands and islands, there are an estimated 40,518 carers. Carers can often feel isolated, especially when they are distanced from services. Many carers have had multiple episodes of caring and are often caring for more than one person at a time. For example, caring for a child with disabilities and an elderly parent. This is done with love, but the stress of causes can sometimes be unbearable, and that's why we need to support our carers. I welcome the carers bill, a bill that will hopefully improve the lot of carers and give them entitlements in their own right. I think that we all acknowledge that this is a step in the right direction, but we also recognise that we will need to take many more steps before we get it right. Carers are concerned that, if the criteria for assistance is set locally, they will miss out because of limited local government resources. Councils are likewise concerned that if the criteria is set nationally without being funded, then other services will suffer. Carers must have support services and, if not, they may be unable to continue caring. We will attempt to amend the bill in a number of ways and far too many to go into here tonight to improve the lot of carers. One example would be to give the care inspectorate responsibility for inspecting the standards and provision of care services across Scotland. That will mean that supporting groups, information and advice centres for carers all need to meet national standards. Regardless of who sets the criteria, services will be subject to inspection to ensure that the promises made in the bill will become a reality. The theme of carers week is carer-friendly communities. A carer-friendly community is one where all aspects of the community are geared to meet the needs of carers, from health services to the workplace, from primary schools to university. Employers can sign up to being carer positive. Schools can allow young carers flexibility and support, for example, removing the need for homework while providing additional support at school. Colleges and universities can employ similar policies to enhance learning while supporting young carers in their role. We in the Labour Party support the Scottish Youth Parliament care fair share campaign that highlights the needs of young people in education. They call for changes to EMA guidance, so carers are guaranteed not to lose their EMA due to attendance issues. They extend SASS dependency grants so that carers get an extra £2,640 a year when in higher education, and they extend young Scots concessionary travel to young adults until they are 25, all of those who are caring. National carers organisations in their briefings for this debate also remind us that, as MSPs, we are uniquely placed to help carers. They ask us to scrutinise and amend legislation to make it carer friendly, not just the carers bill that is in front of us at the moment, but all other legislation that impacts on them and their loved ones. Carers information services where they are available are a godsend, and carers groups welcome the duty to provide advice and information in the carers bill. However, they are concerned that good practice that is available in some areas will be replaced rather than replicated all over. Carers are often financially disadvantaged. Many have to give up work costing both themselves and the economy, and that is why having carer friendly employers is so important. Work is not just important to the person's financial security, it is also often the only respite that they get from their caring responsibilities. Carers need to be able to decide how much time they commit to caring so that they can also have a life of their own working and socialising. Where that does not happen, we see carers break under the strain, meaning that the state ends up caring for two people instead of one. Carers, for the most part, want to care. They do not see themselves as carers first. They are mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, sisters and brothers, and they are often much more distantly related than that. In many cases, they are their friends and they also want to care and protect, and we need to help them to do that. The Marie Curie briefing for tonight's debate tells us about the needs of carers in a palliative care situation. That can be short-term when someone suddenly becomes terminally ill. It can put pressure on work commitments and financial responsibilities. Gaining a power of attorney can often take many months leading to bills going unpaid, and that leads to untold pressures on the carer. Carers may also have no knowledge at all about the condition of the person they are looking after and how best to look after that person in a terminal illness. They must have support and guidance to help them to do that. There are also many carers whose loved ones have life shortening conditions, who they have cared for for many years. As the condition progresses, their caring becomes more intense and the needs of the cared-for person change. It is important that services adapt their support to meet the needs of both the carer and their loved one. For those carers, bereavement support is extremely important. In many cases, they have forfeited many aspects of what we would call normal life to dedicate theirs to caring. Therefore, in bereavement, they not only lose a loved one, but they often also lose their reason for being. The period of time given to them to adapt is not long enough for a normal grieving process, far less for someone who has put their life on hold to care. We need to be more compassionate and supporting of them. I want to close by paying tribute to the work of unpaid carers. To people like Claire Lally, our carers champion, who is a carer herself but has dedicated, is absolutely dedicated to promoting carers rights and, believe me, is a force to be reckoned with. If we are all resolved to be carer-friendly and create carer-friendly communities, we can make a real difference to their lives. Thank you very much. I will now turn to the open debate and speeches of four minutes. Please join McAlpine to be followed by Joanne Lamont. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. I would like to congratulate Rhoda Grant on securing this timely debate on carers, which I am delighted to speak in as co-convener of the cross-party group on carers, although in this speech I will be speaking for myself. I would like to begin by acknowledging this Government's important work on behalf of Scotland's 759,000 carers. The investment in carers since 2007 has now reached £114 million and includes £14 million for voluntary sector short breaks, plus an extra 10,000 extra weeks respite, which was delivered by the concordant between Government and local authorities. There is also £28.9 million to health boards for direct support, including the establishment of carers services and carers centres offering advocacy. The Scottish Government also funds the Young Carers Festival each year, and every MSP who has attended the festival knows that it is a transformative experience for those who take part. In 2011, the SNP manifesto promised a carers parliament to ensure that this group had a powerful direct voice, and there have now been three such parliaments. It is the work of those parliaments that has resulted in the current carers bill, and I think that that reflects very well on how democracy works in Scotland. Constitutional change also affects carers. The Smith commission, for example, promised that the Scottish Parliament would, I quote, have complete autonomy in determining the structure and value of certain benefits, and those included carers allowances. However, in its current form, the Scotland bill going through Westminster defines carers as over 16 and not in full-time education or employment. That is completely unacceptable, and I am sure that many carers organisations, particularly the organisation representing young carers, find that unacceptable. The SNP has said that we could use the new powers to raise carers allowance to the level of job seekers allowance. However, as the Cabinet Secretary for Welfare, Alex Neil, told the Welfare Committee this week, any additional money that we give to carers will be treated as income under the Department of Work and Pensions. That could be clawed back. That is unfair to carers, disrespectful to the Parliament and contradictory to both the letter and the spirit of the Smith commission. Finally, I would also like to turn to the carers bill, which has, of course, been warmly welcomed by the sector. It enshrines for the first time carers' rights in law. I have read written submissions to the health committee on the bill, and I would like to highlight two of them. Mary Curie suggests that specific measures are required for carers supporting the term LL, as Rhoda Grant has already alluded to. I would like to point out one issue that the carers raise in that carers may only wish to take respite for a few hours rather than a few days. That strikes me as a very constructive suggestion, which is easily achievable. I would also like to highlight the submission from Enable. They raised the issue of emergency planning and future planning for lifelong carers. Those are often elderly parents of a disabled adult child. They have considerable worry and concern about their child's future, should an emergency arise. Or even in the short term, if they need to go into hospital and particularly elderly carers often have additional health needs. While some local authorities plan well for this, others do not. The previous minister, with responsibility for carers, Michael Matheson, funded a piece of work on this topic, carried out by Enable, called Picking Up the Pieces, which recommended that emergency planning for carers should be considered within all health and social care policies. However, emergency and future planning does not appear on the face of the bill as it stands. Enable strongly of the view that it should. Enable believes that provision should be made for emergency planning in the adult carers support plan and the young carers statement, which is established by the bill. The bill also introduces a duty to provide information and advice. Enable argues that that should include provision of information and advice in regard to emergency and future planning. In conclusion, I am delighted by the Government's track record on support for carers, but I am concerned that that progress could be undermined by UK Government welfare reform. I also warmly welcome the carers bill that is currently before this Parliament, and I would like to see it further improved with the introduction of the different and distinct measures advocated by both Mary Curie and Enable. Thank you very much. I now call Joanne Lamont to be followed by Nanette Mill. Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. I also congratulate Rhoda Grant on securing this debate and recognising the importance of the opportunity provided by carers week to recognise the work and the challenges faced by those who care. It is an opportunity, I think, to celebrate what people out of love do for those that they care for, but also to celebrate amazing people, likely lally, but others from across the parties who have spoken out and spoken up in the interests of carers have demanded that we listen and have ensured that not just their care needs are met but the needs of those that they care for as well. That is not something that is an issue for any individual particular party. I am very proud of the work that was done since the beginning of this Parliament, particularly, for example, establishing carers centres. I am particularly proud of the south-west carers centre in Glasgow, which does amazing work not just in terms of advocacy but offering support, a place to come where you can get support from those who are also under pressure, but developing ideas about how we can better support carers and those that they care for. It is a mark of this Parliament that, from the very earliest days, carers insisted that their voices be heard, and in those days where the Parliament was opening itself up, where people had already a clear idea about what needed to be done, that did create progress and opportunities. I hope that we can continue with that on a cross-party basis, because it is important that we listen to the direct experience of people, rather than allow ourselves to be drawn, as we too often are, into competition about how much we care. I think that there is a challenge for us all that we should not allow ourselves to patronise carers with warm words and nothing more. For some, the reality is that I wrote a piece about how people driven by love cared for their loved ones and was chastised by one woman who contacted them. She said that, in fact, her choice was not that she was caring because she had to and felt guilty because she was trapped. Her situation is as much valid as any other. We should not simply romanticise it, although we know how much it is driven by care. We recognise that there are people who are trapped in circumstances where they need the support in order to do what they feel they need to do and not feel guilty about it being a burden on them. However, we do know overwhelmingly that carers do what they do because they want to. It is our challenge as a society to support them in doing that. We should not take advantage of that sense of responsibility. Somehow support to a family can be reduced because they will never walk away. A system of a brinkmanship that relies on people's love for their care for one that they will accept even diminished care and support. We need to know that that process is happening in our communities and we must do all that we can to make sure that it does not happen. Equally, it is important to understand that, even where there is support, even where there is respite, if people do not have confidence in leaving their loved one there in the care of someone else, they will not take that support. That is why it is important to properly value paid carers because those who are unpaid carers will not trust them unless they see that the quality is there. They will not take time off for the rest of their family if they are not confident that the respite is being offered is safe and secure. It is important that we put that in the context of the broader debate about what care should be like. It is about high-quality respite provision. It is about flexibility. The little bits of caring that makes a difference getting to go to church or to the library, time out to go and shop, time for families with a disabled child to spend time and focus on the other children in the family. Those little bits of flexibility need to be built into the system, too, in order for carers to be able to do their jobs. In relation to young carers, we must recognise that there are some young people caring and it is inappropriate care because the system is not supporting people with addictions, drug and alcohol problems and children are being left to care in those circumstances. We need to redouble our efforts to make sure that that support is being put in place. We need to recognise the consequence for educational attainment and therefore it is important that there is provision in schools, homeschool links, the kinds of supports that allow a child to come into school and which are reducing in our schools as we speak. We need to look at how we make sure those provisions are there. Ultimately, my plea is that we can prove that we have all in the time that we have had power done great things for carers, but we need to look now at what is happening with budgets and the consequence of those for people in our communities. There is a silent suffering and there is an intolerable burden being brought to bear on carers and we should all be open to that. All of us can prove that it is somebody else's responsibility. All of us condemn the cuts at UK level, condemn the welfare choices that are being made, but we also have a more serious responsibility in this Parliament to look at what we are spending our money on. Are we denying cash to local government and, as a consequence, a diminution of the services that people require? Across the chamber, we respect and admire those who care. Across the chamber, we too should take joint responsibility, looking at what we can do to make sure that they are not continuing to do the job that we want them to do in a way that is unsupported. I think that that can be a mark of celebration in carers week if we again unite in making sure that we talk about what we can do to make a difference, rather than the things that perhaps divide us on other issues. Thank you. I thank Rhoda Grant for lodging the motion before us this evening. It's also a very timely debate, given the fact that the carers bill is going through Parliament at the present time and will shortly complete its stage 1 process. For nearly 50 years, Carers UK has been at the forefront of campaigns to secure a fair and equitable deal for carers who contribute so much to society. Through successful lobbying, we've seen in 1967 the introduction of the dependent relative tax allowance. The first time legal rights for carers were established in law. It was followed in 1976 by introducing invalid care allowance, and throughout the last 30 years, changes have been made to recognise the needs of carers in their own right, pension rights for carers and, in 2013, a safeguard to protect carers' allowances when other benefits face cuts in tough economic times. I was interested to learn the genesis of what may be termed the carers movement was a lady called Mary Webster who in 1954 gave up her job as a congregational minister to care for her parents. Over the next decade, she made the public aware of the isolation and financial hardship often faced by carers, successfully leading to legislative changes, giving that much-needed financial support. Despite dying tragically young in 1969 at only 46 years of age, her legacy as a champion for carers' rights continues. In that respect, we've seen the recent establishment of carers champions, for instance in Edinburgh and in Glasgow, acting as an independent voice listening to carers and working closely with social services. In my home city of Aberdeen, support, advice and information for carers is provided by voluntary service Aberdeen, so there does seem to be a growing culture of recognition that those who care for a loved one do need the necessary help in juggling many responsibilities such as continuing in employment. But there are still many carers who go unrecognised and it's important that these people are identified and made aware of the support that they're entitled to. The group of carers who do a fantastic job for their families without statutory support are informal kinship carers, many of whom rescue their grandchildren as babies from chaotic home circumstances and are then left literally holding the baby without the support given to carers of children identified as looked after. I'm pleased that efforts are now underway to help this group of carers. Many young people have family caring responsibilities which can take away their childhood if they're not given proper support. It's important that they are recognised as young carers and given the understanding they deserve and are helped to lead as normal a young life as possible. This year's carers week, which is made possible by carers Scotland and carers trust Scotland, involves other charities as noted in the motion. One such charity which plays a huge part in making carers week a success is Mary Curie, whose focus primarily is on people who look after loved ones with terminal illnesses. Mary Curie makes a very good point that those individuals often do not realise or recognise that they are carers. Rather they would see themselves as people looking after someone they love at the end of life. The vast majority of people would prefer to die at home or in a homely setting, yet over 50% die in a hospital. Research has found that having a carer was the single most important factor making it possible for a person to die at home whereas living alone or being unmarried increased the likelihood of a person dying in a hospital. Caring for someone at the end of life can be both physically and emotionally demanding and is often accompanied by a carer struggling to come to terms with the loss of a loved one. The health of those carers can often be affected and they may have very specific needs and requirements which need to be considered in the care and support made available to them. Therefore, Mary Curie has launched the Mary Curie helper service, the Mary Curie support line and bereavement support services to help people access practical, emotional and financial resources and to get the right information and support at the right time. Mary Curie's briefing notes makes a few points regarding the carers bill which would seek to make amendments to the bill and I'll examine those in discussions with colleagues when we reach stage 2 of the parliamentary process. Finally, as has been mentioned, there will be thousands of events taking place across the country as part of carers week and I wish all involved every success in their efforts to raise awareness of the vital contribution that carers make in communities right across Scotland. We must remember that those events can be great fun. Once again, my thanks to Rhoda Grant for securing the debate. Thank you very much. I now call Mark McDonald to be followed by Claudia Beamish. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer, and I congratulate Rhoda Grant on securing this debate. I myself had tabled a motion on carers week as well, although I didn't mark mine for members' business so I congratulate her on securing the debate in carers week. I thought about what I was going to say this evening, Presiding Officer, because I think that Johann Lamont makes a very good point, is that often we speak in debates in this chamber and those outside watching in often see what they consider to be warm words and platitudes. I thought what I would do instead was to talk a little bit about what actually happens and what actually is involved because I am a carer, probably the secondary carer for my son. My wife would be considered as primary carer. It occurred to me reading some of the comments on social media, the impact that caring has on other people and how much of it I recognise myself. The realisation, for example, that there is a strong likelihood that my son will require care and support from us for the rest of his life. There is a strong requirement that that will be the case and many other people are in that situation of having a child who they know is going to be dependent upon their care and also the care of the state for their whole life. They won't experience some of the things that many parents will experience in relation to their children. Obviously, there is hope that there will be other experiences, but many of the things that people would take for granted as being a parental experience are not always experienced. There are other things that arise. One of the things that is often said is that it is different for myself as a carer because I am an MSP, I have a comfortable income. That certainly helps in a number of areas and helps for others who are in that position. Indeed, when my mother was caring for my grandparent, she was fortunate that my father was earning an income and was able to ensure that there was financial support available. Many people are in those situations. Many people are not, however. Income will provide only in some areas. The fact that our life is one of constantly broken sleep, for example, until my son was prescribed with melatonin, one of us would have to be in his room until around about midnight 1 in the morning before he went to sleep because, if we did not, he would be through waking up his then-baby and toddler sister and that would create broken sleep for her. Obviously, he would then be up again at 4 or 5 in the morning, so three to four-hour sleeps were becoming a regular occurrence. That is the same for many people. Many people have to get up through the night in order to administer medication to loved ones. Many people often have to sleep in the morning in the same room as loved ones, creating difficult conditions for themselves. That is why, when we look at the legislation that is being put in place, I welcome the legislation that is being brought forward. We also have to look beyond the provision of a carers statement and the carers support plan because where support is identified as being necessary but is not already available locally, what provisions can we put in place to ensure that that is part of the thinking of local authorities and health boards? Sleep counselling is one of those examples. It is not always available at a local level but, in many instances, it can be absolutely vital in ensuring that, where there are impacts on the sleep patterns of parents and of siblings, sleep counselling can be a really important assistance. If there are not trained sleep counsellors available at a local level, having it listed as being something that would be required to support an individual is fine on paper. How do we put it into practice? That is something that we all need to think about when we move that forward because it is fine for us to put the funding in place for support measures. It is fine for us to put in place the support plan for carers. What we then have to ensure is that when that support plan is in place, the things that are identified as being required by carers can be delivered because that is what carers expect from the legislation is that the support plan won't just be provided, it will also be acted upon. I would draw my remarks to a close at that. I would simply say that, while I welcome the opportunity to have this debate in carers week, we shouldn't forget that for Scotland's carers, every week is carers week. Thank you. Finally, in the open debate, Claudia Beamish. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I extend my thanks to Rhoda Grant for welcoming carers week into the Parliament in this debate. Every year, I'm impressed by the effort put into promoting carers rights and raising awareness of the fantastic work carers do. This year, the scope of events across Scotland is brilliant, as we've heard from other members. As an ex-young carer, I'm committed to standing up for carers and, along with Joan McAlpine, a convener of the cross-party group, the unexpected responsibility that comes with caring for somebody can impact detrimentally on a person's health, education, employment, relationships, in fact, all aspects of life. Their contribution is huge, not just to the person whom they are looking after, but to the country, saving the NHS an estimated £10.3 billion a year. As they care for others, we must care for them. The theme of building carer-friendly communities is a fantastic one this year. A compassionate community with a clear understanding of the demands placed on unpaid carers could make the world of difference. The Scottish Youth Parliament figures show that only 45.5 per cent of those in work felt able to tell their employer about their young adult carer status, and 55.4 per cent have less time with friends, and so can feel very isolated. A carer-friendly community would help carers to feel comfortable in identifying themselves as carers. We should all use this week to raise awareness among employers, GPs, local services and systems to ensure that they can be accommodating and alleviate some of the daily pressures that carers face. In my region of South Scotland alone this week is filled with fundraisers like bag packing with the Dumfries and Galloway carers centre and activities and workshops with Scottish Borders Voluntary Care Voice or having a cup of tea with support in mind Scotland at their pop-up cafe. Of course, those organisations operate all year round. I recently visited Lanarkshire carers networks and new facilities to meet their board and some young carers. I believe that the minister went to that in Hamilton recently as well. It has been the forward thinking of this and other networks that have contributed to driving some of the national policy forward while also offering a range of support services for carers. The Borders Voluntary Care Voice holds an annual forum and I'm pleased to have attended ever since I've become an MSP which is an excellent place for carers in rural and remote areas to inform MSPs of their issues. One of the issues that came up is what Mark McDonald raised in his contribution about sleep counselling and often in rural areas it's very difficult to find the right support for carers. Carers have been effective in driving forward change for better recognition and support alongside other organisations. A great example of the successes is the Scottish Youth Parliament's Care Fair Share campaign last year. Thanks to the hard work of youth members young and young adult carers in education have more flexible options for funding assistance because I understand that perhaps the minister will correct me if I'm wrong on this, that the educational maintenance allowance now recognises young carers as vulnerable and therefore entitled to a more flexible learning agreement and furthermore that the student awards agency for Scotland now includes carers in eligibility for dependents and loan parents grants. Before I make some brief remarks on the carers bill I would like to also identify myself and analyse my friend and colleague Joanne Lamont as she was an ex-convener of the CPG for carers and the comments she made in this debate. This is indeed a seismic time for Scotland's unpaid carers and the carers bill promises to make a significant difference but there are a number of issues which carers and their representative organisations have highlighted and last week I was delighted to welcome the minister to the CPG for carers and to share some of these concerns. What seems like a minor change can be vital to someone responsible for a loved one's care. To be consulted in the planning of discharge from hospital would minimise surprise and confusion. A specific duty to enable carers to take short breaks has been shown which have been shown to make such a huge difference to mental wellbeing is also vital and support in the creation of the emergency future plan which has already been mentioned in this debate and we refuse the what ifs that can keep a carer awake at night. Furthermore carers are calling for consideration of a national eligibility criteria to stop the postcode lottery of basic supports. I very much hope the minister will listen to these points and consider some Scottish Government amendments to the carers bill which I'm sure organisations and members of the cross-party group would be happy to work on with the Scottish Government if this is appropriate. I again thank Rhoda Grant for bringing this members' debate to the chamber as part of carers week. Many thanks. Can I now invite the minister to respond to the debate? Minister, you have seven minutes or so. Thank you very much. I also join with us in thanking Rhoda Grant for initiating this debate today. Welcome carers week and the contribution of carers to society. All members who have spoken have done so with genuine respect for carers and young carers. I hope that members will forgive me for highlighting one contribution, in particular that of my friend Mark McDonald whose personal testimony and his continuing experience have greatly enriched this debate. I thank him and all members but I thank Mark for his particular contribution today. Carers week is an important juncture. It's a reminder of our need to focus on the outstanding work carers do. I was very happy to take part this year with Carers Scotland to publicise carers week. It was a top Calton hill which might seem a strange place to do it in first glance. Of course, Carers UK said it's 50th anniversary this year and the chief executive Helena Herquots is this year climbing 50 hills one for each year of the organisation's existence. I did point out to her that day that Edinburgh has seven hills like Romans, she could get a few done in one day and she took me up on the suggestion. It is right that we recognise that carers and young carers are integral to our society. They provide vital care and support to their families, friends and neighbours often in very challenging circumstances. That's the very reason we have introduced the carers bill to Parliament. I know that's been the focus of much of the debate. I can speak a little bit more about that just now we have introduced this bill because we want to accelerate the pace of change by building on what has already been achieved. Implementation of the bill will help to ensure that carers are given the opportunity to balance their care and responsibilities with their life goals, resulting in better health and wellbeing and to have a life alongside. I thought that Johann Lamont in particular spoke very eloquently about the necessity, the human necessity for trying to achieve that aim and through the bill we will introduce the adult carer support plan that will be available to all adult carers given of each carer's personal outcomes. The young carer statement will do likewise for young carers and will take account of the fact that young carers have very specific and different needs from adult carers. Those adult carers and young carers are identified as having needs to be able to access support through the information advice services that local authorities will be under a duty to provide and access general services in the community. If any remaining needs are eligible for bespoke support, such as short breaks, advocacy training would be offered to carers who need to meet the identified criteria. The bill includes specific provisions to ensure that local authorities must include carers and young carers in discussions about support for themselves and services for the people they care for. Their expertise is invaluable in making sure that adequate and appropriate services are put in place. Rhoda Grant suggested in ways that she might like to see the bill amended. Annette Milne spoke of the suggestions from Mary Currie. Claudia Beamish rightly referred to the fact that I came along to the cross-party group. Just last week, I think it was, and we had a discussion about some of the potential changes that people would like to see there. Joan McAlpine, who is the co-convener of the cross-party group, thanked both Joan McAlpine and Claudia Beamish for their work. Joan McAlpine also made a suggestion about emergency planning. I recognise that this is an issue of concern to carers and I am sympathetic to the arguments that were put forward by Enable and the national carers organisations. The Scottish Government officials are currently working with Enable to understand their proposals in more detail how they would work and we will consider them in due course. I should point out that I have already committed to making provision for emergency planning and regulations but we will be very happy to hear what Enable has to say. We are not yet past stage one on issues that have come forward in working with the various members of the health and support committee to take the bill forward. I meant to mention as well Claudia Beamish. When I referred to Claudia Beamish she asked about the educational maintenance so let me mention that in passing. It is the case that to make clear the particular challenge that young carers face, Michael Matheson in his then role as the Minister for Public Health, along with full consideration of flexibility for young carers. The Government's vision is of a flourishing, optimistic and innovative Scotland tackling inequalities and promoting equality of opportunity remain our major challenge. We work at Scotland where people have control of their lives and are empowered to make choices. Carers, whatever their circumstances should enjoy the same opportunities in life as people without caring responsibilities and should be able to achieve their full potential as citizens. To Ann Lamont. One of the ministers accepts an issue about carers who want to work. One of the difficulties is, for example, if they are caring for a child, if the supports are not in the school that is appropriate to the child's needs very often the school fails and therefore as a consequence the parent is able to work. What discussions have you had with the education secretary on those matters but what the level of support is now being offered to children with special needs in school? The education secretary said, I'll do that and I'll get back to her and I'll let her know where we get to with that contact. Building carer friendly communities, the theme of this year's carer week, Rhoda Grant mentioned that, is very much in line with the Scottish Government's vision, I spoke of a second one. Scotland has a growing population of older people successfully living longer but often doing so with a range of complex and multiple physical and mental health care needs. There are more children with complex health needs or disabilities who need to support Scotland's carers so that they in turn can support the many people who they care for across the country. We have of course spent over £140 million since 2007 in supporting carers. 47 per cent of carers live in the most deprived areas caring for 35 hours a week or more. This is almost double the level in the least deprived areas carers experiencing considerable disadvantage need and equally, however, a wider work to tackle health inequalities in the wider context of tackling economic disadvantage. That brings me on to the concerns that Joe McAlpine raised about the impact of the UK Government's welfare reform agenda. I call on the UK Government to devolve the powers needed to support Scotland's carers. The Smith commission did state, as Joe McAlpine pointed out, that the Scottish Parliament should have complete autonomy and determine the structure and value of the benefits that they set out at paragraph 49 of their report, and that included carers allowance. However, in its current form, the Scott Bill appears to restrict how the Scottish Government can support carers by defining them as over 16 and not in full-time education or employment. In addition to the roll-out of personal independence payments will impact carers currently receiving carers allowance and disability-loving allowance with some expected not to be eligible for any support at all under the new system. Of course, this Government has called on the UK Government to delay the roll-out of PIP. That is a good example of why we have done that. Agenda supporting carers will always be important to the Government. Let me conclude if I thank all those individuals and organisations involved in carers week, all those who take great effort to care for the people across the country. This week of activity is hugely evolving and highlighting to everyone in Scotland the invaluable role that carers and young carers play in supporting the people they care for. I thank Rhoda Grant once again for securing this debate this evening. Thank you very much. That concludes Rhoda Grant's debate on carers week 2015. I now close this meeting of Parliament.