Meeting of the Parliament 09 January 2024
The minister says that she is delivering on her commitment, but the Government has not spent a penny of the £10 million. It is not delivering on anything when it does not spend an amount that it announced with great fanfare, which meant so much to so many people.
I have seen for myself the difference that it makes to families when they are able to have a day’s outing to some attraction or venue and know that they will be able to properly look after a family member who has profound needs. Without the use of changing places, those families would not be able to enjoy being together outside of the home. I have seen for myself what it means to parents, carers and siblings to be able to enjoy time together with all members of their family. Changing places toilets make that possible. It is transformative and not just something that is nice to have—it is indispensable and essential.
One of the most memorable days that I had when I served as the member of Parliament for Stirling was the day that I was invited to attend the opening of the new changing places facilities at Blair Drummond Safari and Adventure Park. I cannot speak too highly of Blair Drummond safari park, which is a business that adds so much enjoyment to the lives of so many people. I met families that day who were going to be able to make good use of the new changing places facilities. That is something that I will never forget, because I could see in the faces of the parents, carers and siblings just how much it meant to visit the safari park together as a family. It was made very clear to me that there was no possible way in which that day’s outing would have been possible if it was not for changing places. Things that we might all take for granted were accessible and available to those families.
I pay tribute to PAMIS and the dedicated work that it does on behalf of profoundly disabled people and their families, especially in the area of changing places.
To govern is to choose; it has always been about priorities, and that is especially true when it comes to something as necessary as making it possible for profoundly disabled people to leave their homes, be with their families and create special times and special memories. The older we get, the more we realise how important making memories is.
I have some dear friends who had a profoundly disabled son. I saw the lengths that they were prepared to go to as parents and as siblings to make their son and brother an inclusive part of the time that they spent together, making memories as a family. Sadly, their son and brother passed away suddenly, but they have very happy memories to look back on and to draw consolation from.
Therefore, I call on the minister to make good on the commitment that the Government made to families such as my friends who are depending on the delivery of the public investment in question. I think that the minister should explain, for clarity, where the £10 million is. Has it been spent somewhere else? Does it still exist as a budget line? If the money has been reallocated, she should please tell us. It is a fundamental question. Please can we have a straight answer? Where is the £10 million? That is how strongly I feel about the issue. Let us see some energy and action from the minister on the issue. I say to her: show some leadership.
I hope that the minister will take the opportunity to make it absolutely clear that she will immediately begin to deliver on what was promised to those families. They are looking to us in this Parliament for help, and we should not, and must not, fail them.