Chamber
Plenary, 09 Jan 2003
09 Jan 2003 · S1 · Plenary
Item of business
Child Protection Review
I hope that the summit will do that. The recommendations will need to be examined hard, because if they are taken as they are, they will increase bureaucracy and the work load.
The second matter that I want to address is recruitment. There is a clear problem recruiting to children's social work vacancies. The fact is that many recruitment exercises meet with little or no success. I also have concerns about the recent tendency to hire unqualified workers. I know that such people can undertake many tasks, but we need an assurance that the need to supervise those workers will not simply increase the burden on already hard-pressed qualified workers.
The third point concerns the image of social work, but it is not a party or even a politician's point. All of us have a role to play in trying to give greater esteem to the social work profession. In saying that, I am thinking in particular of the media. Social work needs the level of esteem that is given to other professions. The clear fact is that social workers have become the whipping boys or girls for the failures of society. Mr Jenkins referred to that. Social workers are damned if they do and damned if they do not. They are treated as fair game—perhaps I should have said unfair game—when society looks for someone to blame.
A classic example of that happened in the recent tragic case in Inverness. Last night's television and today's papers rushed to judgment, highlighting the need to investigate the social workers involved. Is it any wonder that recruitment is bad and morale at an all-time low? We have a duty to give the social work profession more support. Rational criticism is, of course, needed in cases in which it is justified, but we do not need the sort of criticism that we saw last night and again today.
My final point is on crime. It will hardly surprise members to learn that I do not agree with anything that Bill Aitken said. There is increasing unease out there about how the youth justice system is working. The link with child protection is that the same reporter, the same children's panel members, the same social workers and, as Scott Barrie said, sometimes the same children who are involved. Both systems suffer from the problems that we are discussing today. Unfortunately, in the eyes of an increasing number of people, both the youth justice system and the child protection system are flawed.
The second matter that I want to address is recruitment. There is a clear problem recruiting to children's social work vacancies. The fact is that many recruitment exercises meet with little or no success. I also have concerns about the recent tendency to hire unqualified workers. I know that such people can undertake many tasks, but we need an assurance that the need to supervise those workers will not simply increase the burden on already hard-pressed qualified workers.
The third point concerns the image of social work, but it is not a party or even a politician's point. All of us have a role to play in trying to give greater esteem to the social work profession. In saying that, I am thinking in particular of the media. Social work needs the level of esteem that is given to other professions. The clear fact is that social workers have become the whipping boys or girls for the failures of society. Mr Jenkins referred to that. Social workers are damned if they do and damned if they do not. They are treated as fair game—perhaps I should have said unfair game—when society looks for someone to blame.
A classic example of that happened in the recent tragic case in Inverness. Last night's television and today's papers rushed to judgment, highlighting the need to investigate the social workers involved. Is it any wonder that recruitment is bad and morale at an all-time low? We have a duty to give the social work profession more support. Rational criticism is, of course, needed in cases in which it is justified, but we do not need the sort of criticism that we saw last night and again today.
My final point is on crime. It will hardly surprise members to learn that I do not agree with anything that Bill Aitken said. There is increasing unease out there about how the youth justice system is working. The link with child protection is that the same reporter, the same children's panel members, the same social workers and, as Scott Barrie said, sometimes the same children who are involved. Both systems suffer from the problems that we are discussing today. Unfortunately, in the eyes of an increasing number of people, both the youth justice system and the child protection system are flawed.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Mr George Reid):
SNP
The next item of business is a debate on motion S1M-3748, in the name of Cathy Jamieson, on the review of child protection, and two amendments to that motion.
The Minister for Education and Young People (Cathy Jamieson):
Lab
The new year is traditionally a time to look back and reflect, but also a time when we make our resolutions for the future and signal the changes that we wan...
Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con):
Con
Will the minister give way?
Cathy Jamieson:
Lab
I am almost finished.We are not just listening to young people, but hearing them loud and clear and acting on their concerns.Presiding Officer, I am disappoi...
Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
From the outset, I say that we welcome the review and its recommendations. It can only be good that the issue is being debated and addressed at a national le...
Bill Aitken (Glasgow) (Con):
Con
I apologise to the minister and to Irene McGugan for missing part of their speeches, although I explained my absence to them beforehand.The report of the chi...
Cathy Jamieson:
Lab
Does the member care to explain the comments that were attributed to Tory spokespersons yesterday? They did not welcome the funding that was announced to sup...
Bill Aitken:
Con
I personally did not issue that release. In any event, the obvious sense of that is that resources are finite, so such resources as are made available must h...
Scott Barrie (Dunfermline West) (Lab):
Lab
Does Mr Aitken agree that cases involving older young people who are in their teenage years can be quite complex, in that the grounds for referral will often...
Bill Aitken:
Con
I disagree in part with Mr Barrie's original premise. I agree that it quite frequently happens that younger offenders can offend because they have been offen...
Ian Jenkins (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD):
LD
I start by welcoming the various and wide-ranging announcements that the minister has made today. Child protection issues almost always come to public attent...
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
SNP
We have until 16:38 for open debate. Seven members have requested to speak, which means speeches of four minutes, although I will accept extra time for inter...
Scott Barrie (Dunfermline West) (Lab):
Lab
It is now almost six years since the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 came into force, which totally updated our child protection system from the one laid out in...
Alasdair Morgan (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) (SNP):
SNP
I will talk mainly about social work, because my experience of that is twofold. My wife is a social worker from the days when such a thing as Edinburgh Corpo...
Cathy Jamieson:
Lab
Does the member accept that the forthcoming summit, which will bring together all the agencies that are involved, is designed to deal with some of the recomm...
Alasdair Morgan:
SNP
I hope that the summit will do that. The recommendations will need to be examined hard, because if they are taken as they are, they will increase bureaucracy...
Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con):
Con
As the debate is important and concerns a vital subject, it is depressing that the benches are so empty. Perhaps yesterday's excitement was too much for memb...
Cathy Jamieson:
Lab
The member's colleague, Bill Aitken, has already disassociated himself from the remarks that were made by whoever issued his party's press release yesterday....
Murdo Fraser:
Con
My colleague Bill Aitken has just confirmed to me that he disassociates himself from the remarks that were made. I think that it was my colleague Brian Monte...
Scott Barrie:
Lab
Will the member give way?
Murdo Fraser:
Con
No, I am in my last minute and wish to make another point.Mr Barrie will be pleased to hear that I wish to congratulate the Executive on one particular aspec...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Mr Murray Tosh):
Con
You certainly are.
Murdo Fraser:
Con
I will just conclude with one final point.
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
Con
No, there really is no time for that. I think that you have had your cut. I would be obliged if you would take your seat so that I can move on to Jackie Bail...
Murdo Fraser:
Con
Thank you, Presiding Officer.
Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab):
Lab
Thank you, Presiding Officer. I am sure that that will come as a relief to other members.
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
Con
That comment was not entirely helpful.
Jackie Baillie:
Lab
I always want to be helpful. Let me return to the substance of my speech."It's everyone's job to make sure I'm alright" is not just the title of the review, ...
Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
This is a topic of huge concern to every human being in the country. The fact that any child suffers physical or mental abuse, either deliberately or acciden...
Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD):
LD
I welcome the steps that the Executive has taken to try to deal better with the problem of child protection. I shall try not to rehash some of the excellent ...