UofG Centre for Public Policy

23 April 2026: Following her blog published last week that set out the issue, Dr Louise Lawson argues that unpaid care, largely carried out by women, remains undervalued and marginal in most Scottish party manifestos, despite its major social and economic impact.

Blog by Dr Louise Lawson 

Imagine a manifesto that places care at its core. A manifesto that recognises changing demographics, fluctuating care needs across a lifetime, and the complex realities of caring¹. Such a vision would prioritise not only childcare, but all forms of care, paid and unpaid, and support both those who provide care and those who are cared for. It would commit to building a care infrastructure in which carers are recognised, visible, and valued rather than taken for granted.  

My particular interest is unpaid carers², many of whom balance multiple caring roles, either through choice, necessity, or a combination of both. Of the 400,000 unpaid carers of working age in Scotland, a substantial majority are women, highlighting the gendered nature of unpaid care and its links to lower workforce participation, income inequality, and higher stress³. In the imagined manifesto, caring wouldn’t be treated as a barrier to decent work, but as a shared responsibility that employment adapts around, backed by real protections and flexibility. Crucially, care would be a genuine choice, supported by social security, income protection and wider help. Childcare and social care would be recognised as essential social and economic infrastructure, deserving sustained and deliberate investment.  

Turning to the real world, I examined the main party manifestos to understand how they position care and what policy proposals they offer. Unpaid care emerges as a central pledge only for the Scottish Liberal Democrats, while the Scottish Greens frame it as part of a broader structural approach. For SNP and Scottish Labour, care appears sporadically, whilst care is largely absent in the Scottish Conservative and Reform UK manifestos. 

The Scottish Liberal Democrats devote the most attention to care. Commitments to unpaid carers include increasing the Carer Support Payment, introducing an earnings taper to remove the cliff edge, and improving access to rights and support. In more bold moves they call for paid carer’s leave across the UK, for caring to be made a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010, employer duties to make reasonable adjustments, guaranteed access to support and rights information, and the swift rollout of a universal right to breaks and respite.  

The Scottish Greens recognise unpaid care as real work and as a structural feature of the economy rather than a private family matter. They are the only party to make a commitment to progress towards a Minimum Income Guarantee⁴. They highlight how low pay and precarity are embedded in sectors such as care and childcare, disproportionately affecting women, and fair work is presented as essential to reducing inequality. They plan to raise social care workers pay, review the Carer Support Payment to improve eligibility and adequacy, and support carers’ rights to breaks and regular health checks. 

Across the SNP’s 50 proposed “Next Steps” in its manifesto, care is notably absent. Unpaid care is only mentioned in a brief paragraph in its Health section referencing the right to breaks and annual health checks. There is no specific acknowledgement of the structural barriers women face in relation to employability and fair work. The manifesto omits reference to the Carer Support Payment yet makes a general commitment to a more compassionate approach to social security framed around whole‑family support. 

Scottish Labour’s manifesto similarly offers no upfront commitment to care. Its section on the NHS acknowledges unpaid carers through commitments to improve access to respite and support for health and wellbeing, but attention is limited and, like the SNP, does not propose any changes to the Carer Support Payment. The rights of social care workers receive more attention, with promises around minimum wage increases, improved career pathways, and a National Care Service “worthy of its name”.  

The Scottish Conservatives and Reform UK offer scant pledges. The Conservatives propose merging the Carer Support Payment and Carer Supplement to simplify benefits and note that carers may need tailored employment. They offer no substantive social ‑care proposals, focusing instead on hospital performance. Reform UK’s manifesto is the shortest; of its five core pledges none address care. Although they state their economic plan would “immediately improve things for carers,” the only specific measure is replacing the Carer Support Payment cliff edge with a tapered withdrawal, reflecting a narrow emphasis on making work pay. 

Across the 2026 Scottish election manifestos, unpaid care remains at the margins of policy for most parties despite its scale and economic importance. How parties frame care and the policy choices they make shape women’s work, labour ‑market participation and equality. Until unpaid care is recognised as a structural part of Scotland’s economy, unpaid carers, especially women, will keep absorbing the costs of a system that relies on them but marginalises them. 

Author 

Dr Louise Lawson is a Lecturer in Urban Studies and Social Policy at the University of Glasgow. Her research explores the gendered dynamics of women’s paid and unpaid work, caring inequalities and poverty. Her perspective is shaped not only by her academic background but also by her lived experience as a parent and unpaid carer.  These roles shape her commitment to challenging the systems that undervalue women’s work, advocating for meaningful change in how care and inequalities are understood and addressed. 

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References

1 Will I care? The likelihood of being a carer in adult life, 2019 carersrightsdaynov19final-2.pdf UK | Carers UK
2 Unpaid carers can be broadly described as someone who is providing unpaid care and support to a family member, partner, friend, or neighbour who is disabled, has an illness or long-term condition. The definition tends to exclude children unless they have additional needs, although the provision of childcare is relevant to policy debates around unpaid care.
3 Carers Census, Scotland, 2023-24 - gov.scot
4 Minimum Income Guarantee: report - a roadmap to dignity for all - gov.scot

First published: 23 April 2026