Highlands and Islands MSP marks Carers Week

With today, Monday, marking the first day of Carers Week, June 8-14, Highlands & Islands MSP Maree Todd has paid tribute to carers throughout Orkney for their “invaluable contribution to society.”

The annual campaign for Carers Week aims to raise awareness of the challenges unpaid carers face whilst recognising the huge contribution they make to society. This year’s theme for Carers Week is — Making Caring Visible.

Paying tribute, Ms Todd said: “I am forever in awe of our carers.

“Looking after someone can be hard work and quite often carers can forget to look after themselves. Carers Week works well to make the role of carers more visible to the wider health and care system, and through this, the need for support can be recognised.

Commenting on the additional pressures for carers due to COVID-19, Ms Todd said: “Carers make a huge contribution to families and communities throughout Scotland and with the current public health crisis, they find themselves under increased pressure.

“With this in mind, I’m pleased to see the Scottish Government kickstart Carer’s Week with the announcement that £300,000 from the £350 million communities funding is to be given to support young carers across Scotland.”

According to Ms Todd, Young Scot is set to receive £200,000 of the funding to provide online subscriptions and e-vouchers for young carers and £100,000 has been allocated to the expansion of the Time To Live small grants scheme.

This funding is in addition to the Scottish Government’s Coronavirus Carer’s Allowance Supplement payment of at least £460.20, which will be paid to all eligible carers later this month. This one-off payment is in addition to the regular six monthly Carer’s Allowance Supplement.

The Highlands and Islands MSP added: “Carers play an intense role in society and this can be made even harder due to financial difficulties. This additional payment will make a difference to carers throughout Orkney who make an invaluable contribution to society.”

Information regarding support for carers can be found on the Carers Week website: www.carersweek.org/about-us/supporters