Seòmar agus comataidhean

I congratulate the Education, Children and Young People Committee’s convener on securing the debate and the committee on being true to its word and keeping a sustained focus on the experiences of children and young people with additional support for learning needs.

As a former member of the committee who was involved in its work in this area, I thank the children and young people and their adults who shared their experiences with us. The committee was fortunate to hear directly from the inclusion ambassadors, who were supported by Children in Scotland, on how it feels when their school gets support right. I appreciated how openly and generously they spoke of their experience as pupils with additional support needs, and their experience of what works and what could be made better.

It feels right to share what they said with members. They told the committee that pupils feel really good when the support that is provided is correct and suits their needs. They let us know that it was hard to understand when somebody does not give them the support that they need, and they highlighted that it does not work well when there are not enough support staff to cope with the number of pupils who need support, which can lead to pupils feeling frustrated. That brings us back to the point that Willie Rennie made about support staff being moved around. Every time that that happens, a young person misses out, as a result of a support staff member being moved elsewhere.

As I have said, the committee met young people, the inclusion ambassadors and parents, carers and teachers in informal participation sessions to ensure that it heard directly from people with personal experience so that it could get a handle on the issues that they faced. The committee was extremely concerned by what it heard about people’s negative personal experiences of ASL provision, the implementation of the presumption of mainstreaming and the detrimental impact that that has had on some pupils with ASN and on their parents or carers, teachers and support staff.

It is important to say that the committee recognised the excellent work that was being done by teachers and support staff, but it was extremely concerned to hear about the pressures that they faced, which left them feeling overwhelmed and burned out. The issue of resource was a frequent theme, not only in relation to the number of staff and assistants who are available to support children, but when it comes to providing the flexibility to allow staff the time for on-going training and reflection on practice.

Parents often described the exhaustion that they felt in their fight to navigate systems in order to ensure that their children had the education that they were entitled to. There is no doubt in my mind that a gap exists between the legislation and policy that we have—and which are excellent—and what children and young people are experiencing. The strength of feeling from the committee’s report should be really clear: when a cross-party committee’s report uses words such as “intolerable”, the Government needs to take notice.

I will share an example of a bit of work from my local authority area. I had the pleasure of helping to facilitate discussions and actions between ASN support Ayrshire, which is a parents group, and North Ayrshire Council. ASN support Ayrshire had reached out to me, with parents expressing their struggle to access support for their children—support to which, again, they were entitled—and feeling that their opinions were not being valued, that they were not being heard by schools and that communications were becoming really challenging.

When I raised the issue with the local authority, it was very open to meeting and discussing things. I and a representative from ASN support Ayrshire, the executive manager for inclusion and child protection, and the principal educational psychologist had productive discussions at which training, parental engagement, communication, the E19 process, masking and areas of excellent practice were all talked about.

A suggested improvement was accepted to the E19 process with regard to parents being able to see the report submitted to the inclusion group and ensuring that all parents were aware that they could submit a statement and any additional information that they felt was pertinent. The council shared its proposed new literature with the ASN support network for its feedback, and monthly meetings and on-going collaboration are planned.

The committee’s report states that

“improvements can be made to current practice, without incurring additional expenditure”.

What I have just described is quite a good example of that. I am hopeful that those actions will make a difference to how parents experience their journey with children through the education system.

The committee’s report also recognises that

“where systems need to improve it is as important to understand where things are working as well as where there are challenges.”

The importance of that point, as we move forward, is that, where an implementation gap exists and people are being failed, despite good policy and perhaps world-leading legislation, more legislation and structural change might not be what is required to make things better for people. We have to be vigilant that we, in this place, are not simply labelling whole systems as broken.

In this and in previous committee inquiries, it has been clear that some of the best practice and results for children and young people were more about culture than about legislation. There is some learning in that for all of us and for children and young people in Scotland, and it is a lesson that we really need to learn quickly.

Ensuring that people’s homes are promptly adapted to meet their needs is a crucial part of avoiding unnecessary hospital stays. In a number of cases, my constituents have been let down and discharged to home environments that did not offer them dignity in their personal hygiene needs, or safe mobility. We can intuitively understand the negative impact of that on their rehabilitation—and that it might even cause readmission to hospital. What action will the Scottish Government take to ensure that the NHS, local authorities and housing associations fulfil their obligations to my constituents in that regard?

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to invest in supporting youth culture in the Cunninghame South constituency. (S6O-03719)

I welcome the fact that the Scottish Government is increasing funding for culture. Arts and culture are integral parts of a thriving community. This summer, I had the pleasure of visiting Impact Arts, where I saw at first hand the vital work that it does to provide artistic opportunities for young people, the positive impact that it has had on their wellbeing and the prospects that it opens up to them.

Does the cabinet secretary agree that money invested by the Scottish Government through Creative Scotland should be distributed across the country for the benefit of all, to ensure that the arts are developed for young people outside our main cities?

As well as providing benefits to the wider economy, housing plays a critical role in relation to economic opportunity for individuals and their families, and the impact that quality housing has on health and education is also well understood. With that in mind, will the Deputy First Minister provide an update on the work of the housing investment task force and the actions that are being taken to unlock housing investment that will bring economic and social benefit to our communities?

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the contribution that house building makes to the Scottish economy. (S6O-03657)

Children and young people with gender dysphoria can present with a range of complex psychosocial challenges and mental health problems, which can impact on their gender-related distress. Can parents and children in Scotland now be reassured, with services being provided in paediatric settings, that all issues will be explored fully in order to provide diagnosis, clinical support and interventions—medical or otherwise—that are appropriate for the age, stage and needs of the child or young person?

The cabinet secretary mentioned in her statement the broad impact that increased access to smartphones, screens and social media is having on young people in terms of mental health addiction and sleep deprivation. Digital technology and social media have provided an anonymous platform for unacceptable conduct that might not normally happen face to face. Obviously, that is a problem for wider society and is not just about young people. That said, however, can the cabinet secretary say more about how the guidance will help schools to support good, healthy behaviour online?

Too many families are on waiting lists for affordable housing. The most difficult housing casework that I deal with involves individuals and families who require adapted properties in order to live safe, full lives.

The motion that the Parliament passed noted the role that all levels of government must play in tackling Scotland’s housing emergency and the fact that the current situation follows a decade of austerity across the UK—austerity that, to be frank, the Labour Party manifesto seems reluctant or unwilling to reverse. Will the minister elaborate on the steps that must be taken by the next UK Government to remedy the current difficulties and help us to build what we need to ensure that the housing needs of all Scotland’s citizens are met in full?

As many as 3.8 million women were given the news that their state pension age would increase from 60 to 66 just as they were about to retire—when it was too late for them to do any proper financial planning. Such maladministration warrants not only an apology but action. It is an injustice for which women must be promptly and properly compensated by the UK Government.

I congratulate Clare Haughey on securing cross-party support for this important debate. She has consistently spoken up, both in the Parliament and in her community, for the women who have been so wronged by that maladministration.

I also wish to congratulate the WASPI women on their campaign so far. I was pleased to meet Ayrshire WASPI campaigners outside the Parliament as they rallied in the past month or so. However, it was terribly sad to hear that not all the women whom I had previously met are still with us. Their loss compounds the huge sense of injustice that is felt.

What was good to hear was that the women felt well supported by their Ayrshire MPs—in particular, Patricia Gibson, who has represented North Ayrshire and Arran with distinction. I know that it is not only WASPI women who hope that she will be re-elected.

The Scottish National Party will never abandon the WASPI women. We demand justice and compensation for them, and we will not rest until they have it. Clare Haughey’s motion rightly highlights cross-party commitments to delivering justice for the women who have been affected, and I know that there is cross-party support for them in the Scottish Parliament. Unfortunately, any action must come from elsewhere.

I could make arguments about fairness and equality for women, and note how a similar cohort of men would never have been treated in the same way. I could talk, too, about the impact of that injustice on families and children—on children missing out on quality time with their grandparents, adult children missing out on practical support with bringing up their own children, and ageing parents missing out on support and care. However, such arguments are likely to fall on deaf ears. For all those people, we need to take action. In my judgment, any UK Prime Minister—whether he comes with a red tie or a blue one—who continues with a two-child benefit cap and a rape clause will not be particularly persuadable on arguments about fairness for women and families.

Let me make an argument for righting that wrong and for awarding fair and fast compensation to the 1950s women, whom I hope will be valued by an incoming PM. The awarding of such compensation could result in millions of pounds going into local economies. Figures that have been provided to me by the Ayrshire WASPI women from the House of Commons library briefing paper on the topic show that if the 15,000 women in Ayrshire who have been deprived of a full six years of their state pension entitlement were to be compensated by only a quarter of what is owed to them, it would result in £150 million being spent in local communities. In our local economies, that would mean benefits for business and, in turn, employment and training opportunities.

Women told me that being able to retire would help them to take up volunteering roles, which would contribute to the community and to their personal wellbeing. They spoke of the employment opportunities that would open up for younger people when the WASPI women retired, of the health and wellbeing implications of retirement, and of the value of being able to spend more time with grandchildren and supporting parents to work, which brings more money into households and eases money pressures and worries. There would be clear economic and social benefits from righting that wrong.

In addition, more than 60 per cent of the money concerned would go back into the Treasury in income tax, national insurance and VAT paid by women and local businesses. Therefore, the net cost to the UK Government of doing the right thing would be substantially lower than the gross cost.