Letter: Cost of caring

The Princess Royal Trust for Carers would like to express its deep concern over Colin McGavigan's unhelpful comment about carers being "the great unwashed" (your report, 7 October).

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.

The 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