Hansard

I start by saying to Stuart McMillan, who referenced free prescriptions, that 96 per cent of all prescriptions in England are free, so it is likely that all the people he was talking about are in receipt of free prescriptions. That is a very important point in terms of verification and fact checking.

I thank Jeremy Balfour for bringing the motion to the chamber, and I pay tribute to him for his campaigning work on behalf of not just people who need changing places toilets but, more widely, the disabled community in Scotland. He is a real champion—a terrier—for that group, and he has rightly raised issues in the chamber tonight that should be treated with great soberness by the minister.

However, I am really confused about the intervention that the minister made on Jeremy Balfour, because she seemed to indicate that there is money but would not say how much there is. I feel as though we might have wasted our time and breath on all these speeches, because she might be about to announce that there is £10 million in this year’s budget. If so, I wish that she had said that, so that we could have spent our time congratulating the Government on finally fulfilling the commitment that was made so long ago. However, at this point in time, we do not know whether that is the case, and we are left waiting to hear her speech. Accordingly—you will be pleased to hear, Presiding Officer—I will wrap up my speech pretty rapidly, because we want to hear what the Government is going to say. I hope that the minister will not do what she has done tonight—almost teasing us—again. Alexander Stewart said that the Government has been leading us down the garden path on this issue for a number of financial years, and I would not like to think that the minister has done that tonight.

Jeremy Balfour talked of his proudest moment as a parliamentarian. One of my humblest moments during my time as a parliamentarian, which occurred early in my experience as an elected member, was when Jamie Muir and his team at Blair Drummond safari park asked me to be present for the official opening of their changing places toilet. Also present at that event were people whom PAMIS had brought along: people with various needs that meant that changing places toilets were genuinely transformative facilities. I can honestly say, looking back at all the things that I have done as an elected member of the House of Commons and the Scottish Parliament, that I do not think that I will ever forget the faces of the people at that opening and the joy that they felt at being able to visit the safari park and not suffer the indignity of having to find a relatively clean space on the floor where a member of their family could look after them in an intimate way. I know that a number of members here today will have seen people experiencing the joy that people feel when they are able to visit somewhere without suffering that indignity.

We are talking about the sense of dignity and the sense of independence that changing places toilets create. I think of two quotes in particular when I think of those two aspects. The first is about dignity:

“Using a changing places toilet means I don’t have to lie on the floor in a public toilet. It makes me feel valued and respected. It’s the difference between staying at home and being able to go out and enjoy life.”

The second quote concerns the sense of independence and self-reliance:

“It’s the only reason we can go on holiday or visit certain places. Without changing places it just wouldn’t be possible. Having access to these facilities means fewer compromises and more opportunities for spontaneity. When I know there’s a changing places toilet nearby, I don’t have to plan every outing so carefully. It gives us freedom.”

I salute PAMIS for its 32 years of successful campaigning, and I salute my friend Jeremy Balfour for his campaigning.

I will now sit down and hear the minister tell us what she should have said when she intervened on Jeremy Balfour earlier, which is that there is money in the budget this year for changing places toilets.