Ms Lamont says we are ending up in a position in only supporting people once they are in crisis, ignoring preventative interventions.

The Labour MSP says the often repeated commitment to human rights and equality must be adhered to.

She says we cannot shrug our shoulders at what is a manifest injustice.

The Labour MSP says she wants a commitment to act from the cabinet secretary.

According to the Scottish government , externalFree Personal Care is a legal entitlement for people aged 65 or over who have been assessed as having personal care needs that require services to be put in place. 

Free Nursing Care is similar but is available to people of all ages who are assessed as requiring nursing care services. 

The policy allows such people to access personal and nursing care without being charged.

The Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 sets out a detailed list of personal care tasks that cannot be charged for. This includes: assistance with personal hygiene, eating and drinking, immobility problems, management of medication and personal safety.   

The term ‘social care’ is used to describe care services in your community provided by your local authority. 

Scottish Labour MSP Johann Lamont says the fact that the cabinet secretary is responding to the debate shows the importance of it.

Ms Lamont says she does not pretend to be an expert on these issues and thanks the experts who made submissions for the debate.

The Labour MSP says for every story and issue that has been raised there is a human being behind it.

She says there is a danger in debates that MSPs settle for looking for those to blame but says there is a role for the Scottish government to play in care charges. 

Ms Lamont says the amount of money collected from older and disabled people has risen by four times more than inflation. 

She says this is a tax that others do not have to pay. 

Image source, Frank's Law Campaign

Ms Lamont praises the Frank's Law, external campaign to stop the age discrimination which exists for people in Scotland under the age of 65.

Its website says anyone under the age of 65 who requires personal care for their Dementia, Motor Neurone Disease, Parkinson's, Multiple Sclerosis, Cancer, Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (or any other degenerative brain disease) has to fund the cost of the care themselves.

The campaign is named after the late Frank Kopel and was started by his widow Amanda Kopel in 2013.

The Labour MSP also praisese Scotland Against The Care Tax, external campaigns for both social and personal care to be free for all.  

Ms Lamont uses her motion to say disabled people and people with long-term conditions are increasingly paying more for social care services.

The Labour MSP says campaign groups, including Scotland Against the Care Tax, and Frank's Law, are concerned about the effects of this charging.

Image source, Thinkstock

She says social care is essential to enabling these people to enjoy their human rights

According to the Glasgow Pollock MSP the current local authority charging regimes may be discriminatory in applying different rules to people of different ages without sufficient objective justification.

In addition, Ms Lamont  calls for exploration of the ways of making social care charging fairer with a view to ending the practice altogether.

Image source, bbc

Labour MSP Johann Lamont will now lead a debate entitled 'Care Tax in Scotland'

The Scottish government motion as amended is agreed to, with 92 MSPs backing it and with 29 against.

Image source, Scottish Parliament

Image source, Scottish Parliament

The Scottish Greens amendment is rejected with 6 MSPs backing it, 97 against and with 18 abstentions.

Image source, Scottish Parliament

The Scottish Labour amendment is unanimously agreed to.

Image source, Scottish Parliament

The Scottish Conservative renewables amendment is rejected, with 30 MSPs backing it and 91 against.

Image source, Scottish Parliament

That ends the Scottish government debate on renewables.

We now move to decision time.

Mr Wheelhouse concludes saying there has been a significant number of job losses in the oil and gas industry.

The energy minister says the government is working hard to help the transition of these people into workers in the renewables sector.

He calls for consensus on renewables.

Energy Minister Paul Wheelhouse says he does not want to be drawn on setting renewables targets today.

Mr Wheelhouse says the underpinning research must be done first.

He says the work of WWF, Friends of the Earth and RSPB is being closely looked at.

Energy Minister Paul Wheelhouse says there is a degree on consensus across the chamber in certain areas.

Mr Wheelhouse says the government will support the Labour amendment but not the Greens amendment.

He says Scotland's renewables industry is a success story.

Image source, Science Photo Library

Tory MSP Maurice Golden says Scotland's renewables industry has grown with more benefits and he says much of this is down to Scotland's place at the heart of the union.

Mr Golden says we should applaud job creation and he accepts more could be done.

He says the benefit of public subsidies must be spread across communities.

Mr Golden says the UK government subsidies have changed because the sector has reached financial maturity.

Scottish Conservative MSP Maurice Golden says it is important to recognise the role of renewables technologies in combating climate change.

Mr Golden says reserved matters should be debated in Westminster not Holyrood.

He says Scotland is blessed with its natural resources which will ensure the country can remain one of the leaders in renewables.

Ms Beamish says renewable energy is a national asset.

She says a vision is needed and a larger strategy must emerge from it.

Image source, WWF Scotland

Producing half of Scotland's energy needs using renewable technology by 2030 is an achievable goal, according to a report.

Actions required to meet that target have been set out in a study for WWF Scotland, Friends of the Earth Scotland and RSPB Scotland.

The environmental groups have now called on the Scottish government to bring forward the necessary policies.

Ministers said the report was a "useful contribution" to the energy debate.

The report, based on independent analysis by Ricardo Energy and Environment, is called "The Energy of Scotland: Heating, moving and powering our lives from now to 2030, external".