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We talked a little bit about the development of Scottish carers assistance and considerations around eligibility for that. Does Rachael Hamilton believe that the UK Government should also consider eligibility criteria for carers allowance for the whole of the UK?

I do not want to be overly party political, but it is interesting to reflect historically. Three parties are lobbying us today to do more things, when not so long ago they did not want the Scottish Parliament to have powers over social security—but there we are.

Just for clarity, it is important to recognise that, within the fiscal framework, when the Scottish Government provides social security provision that reflects what the UK Government provides we receive a transfer of resource for that from the UK Treasury. However, anything additional that we do, such as the £20 million that we plan to spend as part of the bill, has to be met from our budget. That is us going above and beyond and doing the right thing, and it is important that people understand how it relates to the wider scenario.

I thank all the members who have contributed to this important debate. It is clear that there is cross-party support for the bill, which I very much welcome, and that we all recognise and appreciate the remarkable role that carers across Scotland play, day in and day out, and have played during the pandemic. We also recognise the impact that the pandemic has had on them. Pam Duncan-Glancy, Marie McNair and Rachael Hamilton all spoke powerfully on those points, based on their own or their constituents’ experiences.

I emphasised at the start of the debate, as I and other ministers have done many times before, that the Government is committed to building a social security system based on the principles of dignity, fairness and respect, which Parliament committed to in 2018. As part of that, the bill intends to offer further support to carers across Scotland who have been under additional pressure as a result of the pandemic. Through the legislation, we intend to make sure that we pay that additional amount in December, so that families have that resource for the festive period.

The first payment of the carers allowance supplement was made by Social Security Scotland back in 2018, and it increases the carers allowance by around 13 per cent. The payment that was made in June last year, and the payment that we envisage making in December, therefore provide an increase on top of an increase to the existing level of carers allowance.

Thank you, Presiding Officer.

Pam Duncan-Glancy raises a very important question that orientates around the introduction of Scottish carers assistance, which I will come on to later in my speech.

As I said, carers in Scotland who were in receipt of carers allowance received £690.30 more last year in comparison with carers in the rest of the UK. Carers in Scotland who have been continuously in receipt of carers allowance and carers allowance supplement since September 2018 will have received over £2,270 more than carers in the rest of the UK. Through our social security powers, we invest more than £350?million a year in supporting carers through carers allowance, the carers allowance supplement and the young carer grant.

Although the first coronavirus payment was part of a much wider package of support for unpaid carers, stakeholders have continued to call for a second payment to help carers with the strain that many have felt and continue to feel as a result of their enhanced role during the pandemic. That is what the bill is all about.

Section 1 of the bill seeks to increase the amount of the carers allowance supplement to be paid in December 2021. If Parliament agrees, a payment of £462.80 will be made in December to all carers allowance supplement recipients, instead of the planned £231.40. That is a further investment of around £20 million by the Scottish Government, taking the Scottish Government’s investment across the two coronavirus carers allowance supplement payments to around £40 million, all of which comes from our own budgets.

I welcome the opportunity to open the debate on the general principles of the Carer’s Allowance Supplement (Scotland) Bill. I begin by recognising and thanking the thousands of unpaid carers across Scotland, who make a remarkable contribution to our society.

As part of our wider commitments across Government, we are committed to supporting carers to protect their health and wellbeing, so that they can continue to care, if they wish to do so, as well as have a life of their own alongside caring. Across Government, we are committed to a variety of actions to support carers. For example, we introduced a £1.4 million holiday voucher scheme, which will provide thousands of vouchers for short breaks and days out to carers, people with disabilities and families on low incomes. The Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 introduced the right for all carers to an adult carer support plan or a young carer statement to identify their personal outcomes. We also recently accepted the recommendations of the independent review of adult social care, many of which are designed to improve carer support.

We recognise the added pressures that carers have had to deal with as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Many carers had to step in to provide care for disabled people that would normally have been provided by statutory services, such as schools and day care centres. As a constituency MSP, I have had casework on that issue and have seen at first hand the challenges that it has presented to families and individuals. Those challenges are why we delivered extra support to unpaid carers in receipt of carers allowance by increasing the amount of carers allowance supplement in June 2020, as part of the wider package of Scottish Government support to help mitigate the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

It has been three years since we gained the legislative powers to introduce social security benefits. When the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 was passed, our first change was to introduce the carers allowance supplement. That has improved the incomes of more than 90,000 Scottish carers. It increased carers allowance by 13 per cent, and eligible carers in Scotland received £690.30 more support last year than carers in the rest of the United Kingdom. [Interruption.] Of course I will take an intervention.

The important thing to recognise is that the bill will give us the power to consider what we do in future years. We do not know where we will be next year. We may be in a position whereby there is a need to reconsider the amount of support. The bill will provide flexibility in legislation for us to consider the circumstances in future years and seek to support unpaid carers through any additional supplement that the Parliament agrees to.

As Mr Briggs will know, the delivery of devolved social security benefits has taken place over the past three years. One of the first measures that we took, which was stipulated in the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018, was to deliver the carers allowance supplement. This year, as we did last year, we intend to give an additional supplement.

As I set out to the Social Justice and Social Security Committee last week, we are undergoing the process of appropriate stakeholder engagement and consultation on how we bring forward Scottish carers assistance. We are looking at a range of different measures around eligibility, and considering the experience of carers to make sure that we work collectively with other parties, and as a Parliament as a whole, to ensure that Scottish carers assistance helps the unpaid carers whom we all value and appreciate, and for whom, in due course, we want to deliver an enhanced benefit.

The member is right; we are working hard to address racism, prejudice and discrimination against the community. For example, some of the practical steps that we have taken include the development by NHS Fife and NHS 24 of an e-learning module, to be promoted to tackle the stigma and discrimination that some Gypsy Travellers experience when using national health services. Uptake of the module has been high. Work has also involved developing learning and development resources for Social Security Scotland, to support the needs of Gypsy Travellers when they access front-line services.

As the member will know, COSLA works with councillors across the country to raise awareness of the issues that Gypsy Travellers face, to ensure that they feel involved in their local communities.

First, we welcome Ms Whitham’s interest in this area, which she has had since her days as COSLA’s community spokesperson. She was also an active member of the Scottish Government’s Gypsy Traveller ministerial working group.

Due to the pandemic, the Gypsy Traveller action plan was extended to October 2022 to provide us with more time to deliver on the remaining actions and to build on the excellent work that has already been undertaken. Covid-19 and the pandemic crisis have already allowed us to make unexpected progress in some areas such as remote and distance learning and digital access, which have improved, and improving sites and accommodation. We will continue to work closely with the community, COSLA and partners to ensure that we meet our objectives and improve outcomes for our Gypsy Traveller communities.

As set out in this year’s budget, we are committing £3.5 billion to social security payments, which will reach more than 800,000 people. That money will go directly to the people in Scotland who need it most.

The latest Scottish Fiscal Commission forecast, which was published in August 2021, estimates that annual social security spending will rise to £5.2 billion in 2026-27, totalling £23 billion over the next five years.

The Scottish Government views social security as an investment in the people of Scotland and a fundamental human right, and we are committed to ensuring that everyone can access the financial support to which they are entitled.