Meeting of the Parliament 25 September 2014
That is absolutely right.
We do not have jurisdiction over the issue in this Parliament; there probably is not even jurisdiction over it in the UK Parliament. However, we should, across all parties, discuss the matter with our European Union colleagues because it could be dealt with through the European single market and therefore could be raised legitimately in the European Parliament.
I was very struck by the personal experiences in Liam McArthur’s and in Margaret McDougall’s families. Liam McArthur’s speech raised the importance of good facilities when travelling. Mark McDonald also mentioned that Scotland’s airports are doing a lot to help people with disabilities to navigate their way through them. I did not know that, so that was very good to hear.
I return to my point about PAMIS and its changing places toilet facilities campaign, as well as my point about financial inclusion, because those are particularly important issues. Not everyone in our communities can afford a holiday—we are talking about tourism—but being able to spend time on days out with family or friends makes a real difference to the quality of people’s lives and that opportunity is really restricted for people who do not have access to such changing and toilet facilities.
With the news that there is not one of those facilities in the refurbished national museum of Scotland—I think that Mark McDonald raised that—I wonder whether the Scottish Government could commit to doing an audit of the changing places facilities throughout Scotland and finding out where the gaps are in the tourism industry, shopping facilities and other facilities for a day out. That might be a good step forward from today’s debate.
16:50