Hansard

For people who have just walked into the public gallery to listen, I point out that they are in the right debate—it is about “Gearie”, even if some people might think that we should be saying “Garioch” or “Gayrioch” or something else. Maybe that is easy for people from the north-east, but it is an important point, because in the north-east we have a lot of people from abroad and from other parts of Scotland and the United Kingdom, and they need to understand the local language, which is not always easy. Garioch is spelled differently from the way it is said.

I thank Alison McInnes for bringing the debate to the chamber. Home-Start Garioch is important. I remember meeting Mhairi Philip and some of her colleagues in the Parliament some months ago at a presentation of the Home-Start UK Scottish manifesto. It was good to see them here and to find out about the network in the region, which is very strong. That network is getting richer and richer, with people working in partnership.

In January 2014 I went to north-east Aberdeenshire and I saw what Home-Start was doing for families in Fraserburgh, Banff and Buchan and across the area. It was opening new facilities with Children 1st. It is important to see different organisations working together to support families and children.

At that time I was with the local MP, Eilidh Whiteford, and it was important for us to understand that families are changing. A lot of people are coming to the north-east from eastern Europe and a lot of languages are spoken there. People are working hard, and they do not have as much time as they would like to understand the local environment and schooling, so maximum support is important.

That is particularly the case when parents have separated. I spent 10 years as a single parent, and I know that it is very important to have support when people do not have a connection with the people around them. Those organisations are doing a fantastic job.

There is a network across the region. Home-Start Aberdeen has done very well this year, with a new chair, Roberta Eunson. It moved from Mastrick to Alford Place. It will be the beneficiary charity for the coast-to-coast bike ride that will be undertaken by BP staff.

Other areas are important, such as Deeside. My friend Linda Clark has been heading Home-Start Deeside for a long time. It provides support to a lot of families across the Deeside valley. It is a charitable organisation, of course, that helps vulnerable families. Deeside is a rich area, but there are pockets of poverty. In rural Aberdeenshire we find that help is needed by young families and families in which the parents are separated.

Home-Start Deveron is based a bit further north. It looks after Banff, Huntly, Macduff, Portsoy and Turriff. It is doing a fantastic job for the area. All the Home-Starts are on Facebook now; it is a lot easier to find them than it used to be.

Home-Start Kincardine is based in Stonehaven and offers a lot of support to families there. I talked about Home-Start Dundee before.