Meeting of the Parliament 01 March 2016
I, too, welcome the bill and congratulate Sandra White on introducing it. I do not thank her so much for telling me how much of an internet sensation Cameron Buchanan has become since his YouTube appearances.
This debate is personal to me because, as most members know, my wife, Stacey, has multiple sclerosis and mobility issues. Unless, like Cameron Buchanan or Stacey, people live with mobility issues, they do not understand the frustration. It was quite funny listening to Mr Buchanan talk about his frustration if there is an obstacle in his way and how polite he is in getting around it. My wife may be many things, but I assure members that, in such situations, polite would not be one of them.
The debate is about people having the decency to allow others to go about their business and get from one end of the town other. I am often reminded of the time when, as a member of Renfrewshire Council, I became the Renfrewshire access panel member for the council—ironically, Derek Mackay appointed me. At the access panel, I heard at first hand the difficulties that people had. They were not just the problems that I knew of; let us not kid ourselves: although they are part of my life, it is Stacey who deals with them daily, not me.
There are 47 access panels throughout Scotland and they know what is best for the people in their areas. They know about mobility difficulties and the problems that people with such difficulties encounter. I would encourage more local authorities and others to work with them to find solutions to those problems. The volunteers involved will be willing to work with them to make a difference.
The umbrella organisation for access panels is the Scottish Disability Equality Forum. The people who are involved in that body have wonderful taste, because they made me its national patron. The forum has mentioned something that Ken Macintosh touched on, which is that the issue is not so much to do with hitting someone with a big stick as it is to do with education. The forum believes that it could educate drivers and help them to understand that the lack of thought that they have for, say, 10 minutes might be what causes someone to miss a doctor’s appointment or a hospital appointment or to be unable to do something connected to their business or their work.
I can understand why people get frustrated when faced with such situations. A number of years ago, I attended Renfrewshire access panel’s open day, at which people had the opportunity to find out what it is like to be a disabled person, which I, obviously, knew about from Stacey’s experience. The then provost, Celia Lawson, accessed the council headquarters, Renfrewshire house, in a wheelchair, to see what it was like, and I used a pair of spectacles that made me visually impaired. The funny thing was that, when I got into Renfrewshire house, I nearly battered my head off one of the television screens because Renfrewshire Council had not thought that someone with a visual impairment would be 6ft 3in.
The Scottish Disability Equality Forum should be a statutory body in the planning process. We must work with the people who are involved in the forum, because they know the individuals who are involved, they know their areas and they know what they want to do.
We need to encourage the bill and put forward the policy. Doing so would send a message to people in Scotland that we are trying to help them. That is not about having a blunt instrument; it is about ensuring that we can educate drivers and that everybody—because this is a debate about equality—is able exercise their right to get from one end of our communities and towns to the other. That is why I back Sandra White in the debate and wish her all the best. I can see the difference that the policy would make to people’s lives.
17:32