• The Conservatives have stated in their manifesto that they value the work that unpaid carers do to support their loved ones.  

• The Conservatives state that they will continue to stand behind carers.    

• The Conservative Party aims to accelerate the rollout of Universal Credit, and move anyone still on outdated benefits onto Universal Credit. 

• The party also aims to support a high-quality and sustainable social care system, building on their additional investment of up to £8.6 billion over the last 2 years. 

• The Conservatives have stated that they will attract and retain a high-quality care workforce, and make reforms to shape the market for older people’s housing and support unpaid carers.  

• They will also implement planned reforms to cap social care costs from October 2025. 

You can read the full Conservative manifesto on their website.

• The Green Party has stated that their MPs will push for an investment on £20 billion to: 

• Introduce free personal care elsewhere in the UK (similar to what was brought in by the Scottish Government), ensuring dignity for older and disabled people 

• Increase pay rates and introduce a career structure for paid carers to rebuild the care workforce. 

• They aim to increase Universal Credit and legacy benefits by £40 per week, and restore the value of disability benefits, with an immediate uplift of 5%.  

• The Green Party wants to reform intrusive eligibility tests like PIP and the unfair targeting of carers and disabled people on benefits.  

• The Green Party wants to ensure that local authorities are properly funded to provide enough financial support to anyone unable to afford residential care (particularly the accommodation element). 

You can read the full Green manifesto on their website.

• Regarding devolved issues, Labour plans to support the Scottish Government to partner with international bodies, such as to collaborate on global health initiatives. 

• The Labour Party will review Universal Credit to tackle poverty. They also aim to end mass dependence on emergency food parcels. 

• Labour has stated in their manifesto that they are committed to having the views and voices of disabled people at the heart of the party’s work. They aim to introduce the full right to equal pay for disabled people. 

• Labour plans to reform the social care sector, addressing the inconsistent standards, chronic staff shortages and people who are not always treated with the care, dignity and respect they deserve. 

• In the long term, Labour will introduce reforms to create a National Care Service which will be integrated with the NHS but focused on locally delivered care services. To achieve this, they plan to shift resources to primary care and community services over time. These services will include supporting people to live independently at home for as long as possible, guaranteeing the rights of those in residential care to see their families, and exploring how to best support working-age disabled adults and the ageing population. 

 You can read the full Labour manifesto on their website.

• The Liberal Democrats plan to increase Carer’s Allowance and expanding eligibility by: 

• Raising the amount carers can earn and introducing an earnings taper to end the unfair cliff-edge 

• Reducing the number of hours’ care per week required 

• Extending it to carers in full-time education 

• The Liberal Democrats also aim to introduce a statutory guarantee of regular respite breaks for unpaid carers, and introduce paid carer’s leave, building on the entitlement to unpaid leave.  

• The Liberal Democrats have stated that they plan to make caring and care experience a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010, to strengthen the rights of people who are in/have been in care. This would also require employers to make reasonable adjustments to enable employees with caring responsibilities to provide that care. 

• The Liberal Democrats aim to introduce a Young Carers Pupil Premium as part of an ‘Education Guarantee’ for young carers.  

• They want to support children in kinship care and their family carers by:  

• Introducing a statutory definition of kinship care 

• Building on the existing pilot to develop a weekly allowance for all kinship carers. 

• Regarding devolved matters, the Liberal Democrats will: 

• Continue to back city deals in Scotland by bringing together all spheres of government.   

• Allocate to the Scottish Parliament all the powers set out in the Scotland Act 2016, many of which have already been used by the Scottish Parliament, with others delayed at the request of the Scottish Government.

You can read the full Liberal Democrat manifesto on their website.

• The SNP will continue to call for the full devolution of social security powers, in order to put the foundations of independence in place. Until then, SNP MPs will call for the UK Government to:  

• Scrap proposed punitive welfare reforms for sick and disabled people which will take support away from some of the most vulnerable people in our communities, and halt DWP repayment demands on Carer’s Allowance.   

• Devolve Housing Benefit and Local Housing Allowance which will allow the Scottish Government to take an innovative approach to tackle child poverty, expand the delivery of social housing and to help fund and encourage investment in house building.  

• Support veterans by following the approach of the SNP Scottish Government and ensure that the War Disablement Pension is exempt from the assessment of income for veterans who require social care services.    

• Reverse the cut to Pension Credit that means older couples in Scotland could be £7,000 worse off per year

• Maximise Pension Credit uptake by following Scotland’s lead and introducing a comprehensive benefit take-up strategy for all benefits.  

• Scrap the sick pay threshold to ensure lower paid workers have access to statutory sick pay and scrap the four-day waiting period to allow those who need financial support through illness to access it sooner.  

• The SNP will call for the reversal of recent moves by the Conservatives to stop care workers from overseas bringing their families with them to work in the UK, as these workers are a vital part of the health and social care sector.  

• The SNP seeks to strengthen human rights protections for all. They will call on the UK Government to respect international law and strongly oppose any attempts by the UK government to withdraw the UK from the ECHR (European Convention on Human Rights) or change the Human Rights Act which is integral to the devolution settlement for the Scottish Parliament. 

You can read the full SNP manifesto on their website.