THE increase in the six-monthly allowance paid to unwaged carers will not be permanent, Labour has claimed.

From December, the allowance doubled to £462.80.

MSPs unanimously backed the Carer’s Allowance Supplement (Scotland) Bill in Holyrood on October 7, which brought in the increase.

Scottish Labour MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy said that no provision had been made in the 2022-23 Budget to continue to fund the higher rate, meaning that the payment will be halved from next year onwards.

She said: “The SNP rightly slammed the Tories’ cruel decision to scrap the universal credit uplift, but now they are doing the same for Scotland’s unpaid carers.

“Throughout the pandemic, unpaid carers have stepped up and stepped in, in the absence of a social care system that properly meets people’s needs.

“The pandemic is far from over and unpaid carers are still being left to plug the gaps.

“We will never be able to repay the debt of gratitude we owe them, but the least we can do is protect them from harsh cuts in this year’s Budget.”

Ms Duncan-Glancy said that the government “cannot abandon unpaid carers while a cost-of-living crisis rages on and our social care sector is at breaking point.”

“The Scottish government must recognise the value of unpaid carers and stick by its promises to support them,” she urged.

The government has denied the assertion, claiming: “This uplift isn’t going anywhere.”

A spokesman said that the increase had boosted financial support for Scotland’s carers by about 13 per cent compared to those in the rest of Britain, with payments provided to some 90,000 individuals annually. 

He added: “This is money we choose to invest in carers from our own fixed budget and this support will continue.”