Hansard

The debate has already shown that there is not an MSP in the chamber or anyone who is involved in making policy on children who does not believe that good-quality family support is the most important building block in our society. Although there may be many divisions between us as we respond to the current debates about what constitute appropriate definitions of family and marriage, there is no dispute at all about the need to do more to help groups that provide crucial support when families—of whatever shape or form—find themselves in difficulty. We have cross-party agreement on that but, as was the case in the drugs debate, the next stage will be the real test. Can we lift the debate, as Nanette Milne said, away from just warm words, and on to a level that involves meaningful action, however difficult and challenging that may have to be?

As with the drugs debate, we are talking about an issue that is hugely complex and pervasive, and no party can ever pretend that it has all the answers. It would be grossly naive and arrogant for anyone to assume that they had all the answers, but we can say that we must have the courage of our convictions and not just stand by and do nothing but, instead, take a lead from groups such as the Grampian Family Support Forum.

As several colleagues have said, the effects of addiction can make family life lonely and emotionally draining. The families who are affected need help; most often, they need it from within their most immediate communities. That is what makes the Grampian Family Support Forum so special. The same is true of the Fife alcohol and drug partnership and, in the case of kinship care, of family group conferencing. Such groups are crucial in opening up avenues of discussion and breaking down barriers of discrimination or ignorance among some sections of society.

As the Parliament knows, the forthcoming children’s services bill will be a major piece of legislation that will provide us all with an opportunity to do things differently and to tackle head on the complexities that we face. Members of the Education and Culture Committee have already faced some challenging questions as we have taken preliminary evidence from many experts who work on the front line of helping children and struggling families. That comes on the back of the hugely important debate about kinship care, on which, to be frank—as Neil Bibby said—none of us can take credit for progress, which has been slow. That is doubly alarming, given the promises that Parliament made on kinship care some years back. We have failed to make things much better, so it is essential that we start by understanding the exact nature of the problem, given the extent of the cross-party support and the political will to help.

In two recent Education and Culture Committee meetings, we have been challenged on the inherent problems in defining and measuring outcomes, and we have been challenged to appreciate the real barriers that prevent better progress. Perhaps most difficult of all is that we have been told that the evidence base is patchy and inconsistent. How can we deal with a problem when we cannot put our hands on all the necessary data? That question needs the most careful attention, and groups such as the Grampian Family Support Forum can be instrumental in ensuring that families—who might well be extremely reluctant to come forward in any other forum—can first be rediscovered, and secondly be helped confidentially.

We need to be clear that Parliament is setting out on a difficult and probably tortuous journey, during which it will be not just politicians who can make a difference, but the volunteers and professionals on the ground who have the first-hand experience that we have not. Debates such as this are so important because it is immensely encouraging to see that we have the necessary political will and cross-party support. I have great pleasure in supporting the motion in Nanette Milne’s name.

09:54