Prioritise Research in to MND

The Scottish National Party (SNP) have committed to making funding available for three research PhDs in to MND. Scottish Labour commit to investing in funding research for a cure for MND and to ensure that Scotland is leading the world in this vital research. The Scottish Liberal Democrats will support a range of actions to improve care and research for people with MND. The Scottish Greens will continue to support health research in Scotland and want to improve it by making sure clinical trials publish their full methodology and findings.

Ensure the needs of people with MND are met now

All parties, with the exception of UKIP, have pledged to pay social care workers at least the living wage. The Scottish Greens will push for local authorities to introduce the living wage plus of £9 an hour, and make changes to working conditions including paid travel time and skills training. Scottish Labour will guarantee that a social care package will be in place within a week.

The SNP have said they will provide guidelines and timescales around adaptations to be made to homes because of disability or illness. The Scottish Conservatives want to put in place better partnership working between the NHS, housing associations and local pharmacies to stop delayed discharge from hospital because homes have not been suitably adapted.

Scottish Labour have committed to providing dedicated neurological care and support services delivered by specialists either at home or in residential care. They have also pledged to re-write the neurological care standards.

Support Carers

All parties, with the exception of UKIP, have committed to raising Carers Allowance to at least the same level as Job Seekers Allowance. The Scottish Greens want to increase it to £93.15 a week and RISE want to put in place a living income which would be paid at £200 a week for carers who do more than 35 hours of care a week. The Women’s Equality Party state their reasoning for raising carers allowance is to reflect the contribution that carers make to the Scottish economy. They also want to put in place a Minister for Women and Equalities who would have responsibility for providing support for working carers. Scottish Labour would put in place a Carers Commissioner to champion the rights of carers.

There are various commitments from most parties about adequately funding the Carers Bill and keeping an eye on implementation, particularly around short breaks, concessionary travel expenses and health checks.

Alleviate the financial burden of MND

There are new powers coming to Holyrood through The Scotland Act (2016) including over Disability Living Allowance (DLA) Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Attendance Allowance and Carers Allowance. Most of the parties want fairness and dignity to be at the heart of the new system. Scottish Labour, The SNP and The Scottish Greens have pledged to put in place long term awards for people with chronic or degenerative conditions so there is no need to be reassessed year on year for these benefits. The Scottish Conservatives would consider devolving these powers further to local authorities.

The Scottish Liberal Democrats have pledged to end personal care charges for people with dementia and MND. The SNP have said they will investigate the introduction of free personal care for people with a diagnosis of dementia and that they will put in place national guidelines for care charges. RISE and Scottish Labour oppose care charges.

If you have any further questions about MND Scotland’s manifesto, please do not hesitate to contact our Policy Officer, Kirsty MacAlpine on Kirsty.macalpine@mndscotland.org.uk or at 0141 332 3903.