Meeting of the Parliament 11 December 2024
As Mr Kerr will know, I am a member of the governing party, but I am not a member of the Government. The minister has already stated that she will provide a full reply to the question that was posed earlier, and I am sure that Mr Kerr will be delighted to hear that reply.
For disabled adults, the lack of accessible toilets can result in social isolation. Ultimately, it may mean both that money is being lost to Inverclyde’s economy and that people and families are missing out on enjoying their local community. There is nothing wrong with going to different parts of the country to enjoy what they have to offer, but in my local authority area—I will not comment on other areas—we have three changing places toilets: at Craigend Resource Centre in the east end of Greenock; at the Greenock health and care centre; and at Tesco at Port Glasgow. The latter two are not places that people would go to for some leisure and recreation.
I therefore agree with Jeremy Balfour that changing places toilets are vital to enable many people to take part in society. They are crucial, and it is a disgrace that, on too many occasions, streetscapes, retail areas and community spaces are not designed with disabled people in mind. That was one of the reasons why, only two months ago, I held a round-table meeting with all the transport providers who deal with Inverclyde, as well as the local authority and Amey. That meeting came about because one of my constituents raised a wide variety of issues, and the issue of changing places toilets very much came up in the discussion. It also came up in the meetings that I had previously, alongside SNP councillors, with family members from the additional support needs network in Inverclyde.
I do not want to be too political—I listened to what Mr Balfour had to say, and to the non-political question from Mr Kerr. Nonetheless, it is a bit rich for the Conservatives to suggest that the SNP has failed disabled people due to financial mismanagement. To be frank, disabled people in Scotland will receive support that they would not receive if they lived in other parts of the UK—free prescriptions and free personal care are just a couple of examples. On benefits, Social Security Scotland has adopted a fairer, more person-centred approach to welfare.