The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.
All Official Reports of meetings in the Debating Chamber of the Scottish Parliament.
All Official Reports of public meetings of committees.
Displaying 1557 contributions
Health, Social Care and Sport Committee [Draft]
Meeting date: 11 November 2025
Joe FitzPatrick
I am trying to understand the point. You made the point that the Salvation Army is an organisation, and part of that involves, in effect, providing people’s homes. Are you saying that, when someone is dying in their own home, they should not be allowed to access the provisions of this legislation if they qualify and wish to do so? Should the Salvation Army be allowed to block people from carrying out, in their own homes, a decision that they have made? Or any other organisation? You mentioned the Salvation Army but it is obviously much wider than that.
Health, Social Care and Sport Committee [Draft]
Meeting date: 11 November 2025
Joe FitzPatrick
I am very sympathetic to what the member is trying to achieve in these amendments, but, given the way in which they are worded, it seems like the directive is less a voluntary thing and more something that has to be done. The amendments seem to be saying, “You must have an advance care directive,” whereas I believe very much that it should be a matter of patient choice. My concern is that, if patients do not want an advance care directive, they should not have to have one. I think that you said that that was your intention, so I wonder whether it would be better if the wording could be finessed and the amendment brought back at stage 3, in order to make it clear that the provision is not saying, “You must have this in order to proceed.”
Health, Social Care and Sport Committee [Draft]
Meeting date: 11 November 2025
Joe FitzPatrick
That is nonsense.
Public Audit Committee
Meeting date: 5 November 2025
Joe FitzPatrick
Before I ask my questions on resources, I want to pick up on a point that was made during the contribution from my colleague Graham Simpson. He was talking about the complexity of understanding whether the Promise is being delivered. He also read the quote about the urgency of the lived experience, which made me think that it is difficult to know when we have got this right, but it is absolutely clear when we have got it wrong, isn’t it?
When a care-experienced person’s journey is not what it should be, are we putting the urgency on that to, first of all, fix that for that person in the context of the Promise? Are we looking at how we make sure that it does not happen to someone else? When I have come across a care-experienced person who has not had a great journey, the first thing that I have said to them is, “Thank you so much for speaking up, because it is not just about you; it is about all the other folk who are likely to be experiencing it because the system is not working as it should.” Have we managed to join those dots?
Public Audit Committee
Meeting date: 5 November 2025
Joe FitzPatrick
Where you see good practice, is that being shared? Are other areas looking at that, or are they saying, “That is Glasgow, so we are not going to do that”? Have they managed to break that down to put the folk that this is about at the heart of decision making?
Public Audit Committee
Meeting date: 5 November 2025
Joe FitzPatrick
Thank you. I think that other colleagues have more questions in this area, so I will leave it open.
Public Audit Committee
Meeting date: 5 November 2025
Joe FitzPatrick
Thank you.
I will move on to resources. Key message 5 talks about the challenges of getting a clear assessment of what resources and skills are required. The report also talks about how local government spending has gone up and Scottish Government funding for the Promise has increased, but it highlights the challenges of understanding how that funding is being allocated. It is obviously complex to know where the money is going and how it is being spent. On page 32, you highlight the challenges that arise because of differences in local systems. If the children’s services are part of the integration joint board, as you have suggested, it is more difficult to get clarity. We need to add to that the NHS’s contribution. How do we understand how the money is managing to flow if we have all these different systems? While respecting that different areas will want to do things differently—that is important for local democracy—how can we get consistency of understanding how the money is spent, so that we can ensure that the funding that has been allocated is being used and we can monitor that?
Public Audit Committee
Meeting date: 5 November 2025
Joe FitzPatrick
It is good that there are really short timescales for some of the targets. Identifying the children’s services planning partnerships that do not have the Promise as a priority and making sure that they do is a responsibility for all of us on the committee. The Promise is not just about the Government, it is about all of society. As MSPs, we need to check that our children’s services are including the Promise as a priority, as it should be, and encourage them to do so if not.
Obviously, funding will always be a challenge. You mentioned that this is more than just about funding. Resources are wider than that. There are some suggestions of local partnerships where resources are redirected into more preventative spending so that the care experience can be improved without detriment to other parts of the system by changing the way we do things. Are there any examples that you would like to flag, particularly for folk listening in, of where that has happened and worked well? I guess that folk listening will be concerned that, if we are going to spend money here, that will be to the detriment of other areas. However, that is not always the case if we get it right. I know that it is not easy, so it would be good to hear where there are examples of good practice.
Public Audit Committee
Meeting date: 5 November 2025
Joe FitzPatrick
Do you expect the Government’s response to say how it will deliver on your recommendations, or do you think it will be more finessed?
Public Audit Committee
Meeting date: 5 November 2025
Joe FitzPatrick
Thank you. I guess that you were restricted to some extent, and the cabinet secretary would want a degree of focus. I assume that it would be her intention to act on your recommendations. Have you had any indication from the Scottish Government of when it will be able to respond to your recommendations?