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Plenary, 28 Feb 2002

28 Feb 2002 · S1 · Plenary

Item of business

Education (Disability Strategies and Pupils' Records) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Matheson, Michael SNP Central Scotland Watch on SPTV

I will continue the consensus by warmly welcoming the bill. However, it is important that what the bill can achieve is kept in context.

As Jackie Baillie said, we should all cherish the right for any child to have education. Sadly, over the years, many disabled children who have sought to go to their local primary or secondary school have found themselves left at the school gate as the school was not suitable for them because of their disability. Anything that seeks to end such discrimination against young people is welcome.

I will refer to a couple of sections of the bill that require clarification. Section 1(2)(b) refers to "associated services". It appears that that term is a reference to extra-curricular activities that take place within the school campus. It is important to keep in mind that schools can undertake extra-curricular activities outwith the school campus, such as going to a museum. I am aware that museums and other service providers are covered by the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and that it is difficult for the minister to address the issue. However, we may need to put something in guidance alongside the bill to ensure that when the section is being interpreted it is clear that extra-curricular activities outwith the school campus are also to be considered; when the children go to the museum or elsewhere, a child who has a disability should not be left behind because of a lack of suitable disabled facilities.

Like Jackie Baillie, I welcome the fact that the minister is seeking at stage 2 to lodge an amendment to section 1(3) on alternative formats for the provision of accessibility strategies.

Section 4 makes provision for obtaining records and for those who are providing the records to supply copies and

"to charge such fees as they think fit"

although it adds in brackets

"(not exceeding the cost of supply)".

The Justice 1 Committee has been debating a similar issue in relation to the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Bill. Concern has been expressed that it may be much more costly to obtain such records in an alternative format than it would be to get a photocopy of the records. It is essential that disabled people are not put off requesting the records in an alternative format. The minister might want to reflect on the issue and consult her colleagues who are dealing with the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Bill, because we are anxious to ensure that a charging mechanism that is introduced under that legislation also meets the needs of disabled people and does not discriminate against them in terms of cost.

I will mention a couple of wider issues. I welcome the fact that the bill deals with access to school buildings and the curriculum. Only yesterday, the Deputy Minister for Health and Community Care, Mary Mulligan, and I met an organisation called Playback, which works with young people who require equipment to access facilities such as schools. It is all very well for schools to have disabled access provisions and to talk about access to the curriculum, but many young disabled people cannot get the wheelchair that they require to go to school. As an example, Playback mentioned a young girl who had to wait for more than a year to get the right wheelchair to go to school.

If we are to make school buildings and the curriculum accessible, we must ensure that service providers such as the national health service meet the needs of young disabled people by providing them with equipment that will allow them to use the facilities that the bill will make available.

I want to refer to the continuing problem that a number of local authorities experience in relation to children with special educational needs who are in facilities that are outwith their area. Local authorities cannot accommodate all children in their area. During a recent briefing by Falkirk Council, which a colleague attended, the director of education highlighted the fact that the cost of placing young people with special educational needs outwith the local authority area has increased by 50 per cent in the past year. That trend puts considerable pressure on local authorities that are trying to meet the needs of disabled people who require special educational establishments.

Although I welcome the bill, we must ensure that there is proper joined-up thinking and working in Government departments to ensure that there is a proper package for disabled children, irrespective of which school they attend or which local authority area the school is in. I hope that the minister will take this opportunity to ensure that there is a proper strategy for disabled children, not one that covers only the curriculum and school buildings.

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Plenary, 28 Feb 2002

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