Meeting of the Parliament 09 January 2024
I thank Mr Balfour for his on-going work to promote the importance of changing places toilets, which has allowed us time in the chamber to discuss those toilets and to educate about their importance, and for his time, which many others have noted, as co-convener, along with Mr Paul O’Kane, of the cross-party group on changing places toilets. The debate has raised a number of interesting cases and ideas, and I look forward to discussing the issue in greater detail with members of that cross-party group tomorrow evening.
A significant amount of work is required before the fund can be opened. We have heard the criticisms of the process in England, and we are keen to learn from the challenges that are faced there. We are also keen to agree with the CPG and other interested parties, such as PAMIS, on things such as scoping, eligibility and geographic distribution of the fund—that is a crucially important aspect of getting it right for Scotland—and to determine the funding model and the management of the fund. There is also a need to create material that accompanies the fund, such as application guidance, upkeep and registration material. It is not simply a case of waving a wand and putting the money into the system.
I do not think that Mr Balfour intended to mislead the Parliament in his opening speech, but there has been no “betrayal” of disabled people by the SNP Government. We made a pledge in our manifesto rather than in our programme for government for 2020-21 to invest £10 million over the current parliamentary session. That commitment is on track despite the many funding pressures that we face and that we discuss here day in, day out. I have been very clear that the fund will begin to pay out next year, at the start of 2025.