Letter: Cost of caring
It is not clear whether he means unpaid carers or paid care workers; there is a difference.
E ither way, the term "carers" refers to the selfless 657,000 plus unpaid carers and young carers who provide emotional and practical support to family members with illness or disabilities who could not manage without that support.
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Hide AdThe key word here is unpaid – at no or very little cost to society. These people are the foundation of David Cameron's "big society" and in these dire economic circumstances, continue to save the statutory services in Scotland more than 7 billion per year.
As we get closer to the Scottish elections, we would remind Mr McGavigan that there are substantial numbers of unpaid carers who have a vote.
Come and visit one of the Carers' Centres in our network and meet these amazing people who underpin the delivery of statutory health and social care services.
In Glasgow alone, the support provided by teams in the Princess Royal Trust Carers' Centres, effectively prevents the council and health board from having to find around 20m to replace the care provided by the 2,000 unpaid carers and young carers they help to continue caring.
Emma Baird
The Princess Royal Trust for Carers
West Regent Street
Glasgow