CARMARTHEN East and Dinefwr MS Adam Price has called for all carers, whether registered or not, to receive a one-off payment of £500.

His comments echo those of Delyth Jewell MS for South Wales East, and follows a Welsh Government announcement that social care workers in Wales will get a payment, at a cost of £32.2m.

However, the pair said the 370,000 unpaid carers in Wales who will not receive the money is worth an estimated £8.1bn to the Welsh economy, but because they are not registered as social carers they will not receive the same cash payment as paid carers.

Ms Jewell questioned what recognition there will be for unpaid carers who are not eligible for the scheme.

She said unpaid carers and those not on the register should be given equal pay and parity of recognition with paid carers and called on the Welsh Government to follow the same approach as the Scottish Government.

Scottish payments of £230.10 have been proposed as part of emergency coronavirus legislation by the Scottish Government and if approved by MSPs will be automatically paid to around 83,000 eligible carers in Scotland in June.

Adam Price said: "We're talking about a distinct equity issue here when it comes to parity of bonuses for care home workers. There are a significant amount of unpaid carers in Wales who deserve just as much praise and recognition as their paid counterparts. In the Carmarthenshire area alone there are 87 care homes, who are carrying out stellar work under truly different circumstances.

"If we look at the Scottish model, and apply their policy of issuing bonuses to unpaid carers, we are talking about 370,000 people who would receive this bonus as a thanks for their crucial work. This issue is about recognising who the real key workers are in society, and showing them our thanks as a nation."