Scottish Liberal Democrats will increase carer support payment by £400

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has today used a visit to a community centre in Muirhouse to say that “carers deserve better” and announce how his party will deliver change with fairness at its heart.

The party’s manifesto will commit to:

• Giving unpaid carers a fair deal by increasing Carer Support Payment by £400 a year for unpaid carers.
• Creating Young Carers’ Leads for schools and colleges, giving every young carer someone who they can turn to for help balancing learning and caring for their loved one.

According to Carers Scotland’s State of Caring: The Cost Of Caring 2025, 48% of unpaid carers have cut back on essentials like food and heating, 35% of unpaid carers have taken on debt and 39% of unpaid carers report poor mental health and 30% poor physical health.

Speaking while helping the charity set up their Easter Fun Day, Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

“Scottish Liberal Democrats are the party of care and we get stuff done for carers. We won the right for family carers to earn more and passed the Carer’s Leave Act giving new rights to 2.4 million carers across the UK. My colleague Ed Davey has spoken movingly about his own experience as a carer, first as a teenager nursing his mum during her long battle against bone cancer and now as a father for his disabled son John.

“Family carers are the backbone of support for thousands of Scots. Without their love and commitment, our health and social care services would collapse.

“But they are telling us they are struggling to make ends meet and don’t have the support they need. Family carers, young and old, deserve better.

“We will increase Carer Support Payment by £400 a year for unpaid carers, and give every young carer someone at school who they can turn to for help balancing learning, life and caring for their loved one.

“Wherever you are, every vote for the Scottish Liberal Democrats on the second peach regional ballot will deliver change with fairness at its heart. Scotland’s carers deserve better and with the Scottish Liberal Democrats you can vote for it.”