AN ALLOA teenager has backed a national campaign to call for more support from the First Minister towards carers.

Teigan Galletly, 18, has spoken out in support of A Scotland That Cares, a campaign which looks to urge the Scottish Government to address and act on the deep undervaluation of carers in Scotland.

Teigan helps care for her younger brother Sean, who has autism, and has backed the campaign to raise awareness of the vital work carers do across the country.

“I love my caring role,” Teigan said. “It gives me bonding time with Sean. I’ve been really lucky that being a young carer hasn’t affected my education.

“My school was really supportive and I’m now at university studying adult nursing. But there are lots of young carers and families who haven’t had the same support we’ve had.

“People are really struggling, financially and emotionally, especially with the cost of living crisis.

“That’s what I’m backing the A Scotland That Cares campaign which is calling for care and carers to be placed higher up the Scottish Government’s agenda.”

Teigan has become involved in the campaign since polling revealed that the bulk of Scotland believes that carers are undervalued despite the work they do.

This poll was carried out by YouGov and showed that one in three adults in Scotland have care responsibilities, while 74 per cent of Scottish adults feel car work is not valued highly enough by the Scottish Government.

Lewis Ryder-Jones, Oxfam Scotland Advocacy Adviser, said: “Care matters deeply to us all.

“Scotland’s communities and economy is underpinned by the invisible yet invaluable efforts of people like Teigan who look after others.

“The Scottish Government has a golden opportunity to make a transformative and world leading commitment to carers by placing them at the heart of its vision for the country: it must take it.”

Further polling demonstrates strong public support for a new national outcome on care, with 64 per cent of Scottish adults backing it.

Campaigners say it wouldn’t be the solution to all problems, but a step in the right direction towards fair treatment and recognition for carers.

Teigan added: “Creating a new, dedicated national outcome on care is something that should have been done years ago, but carers – especially young carers – always get pushed to the back of the queue.

“But we are important, and we do matter. The Scottish Government has a long way to go to really value carers, and those they support.

“If I could say one thing to the First Minister, it would be: you can’t keep forgetting about us, you have the power to change our lives, so why don’t you?”