Hansard

I congratulate Karen Gillon and the other members of the Education, Culture and Sport Committee on the work that they have done in progressing the bill to establish a commissioner for children and young people.

At the start of her speech, Karen Gillon talked about "wise words" in reference to Sir Walter Scott. I give special mention to Ian Jenkins and thank him for his many wise words in the committee and the chamber. [Applause.] He is about to stand down from the Parliament, but I emphasise how much I have valued his support and how widely respected, I believe, is his contribution to the work of the Education, Culture and Sport Committee and the Parliament.

The Education, Culture and Sport Committee responded to a request from the Scottish Executive to consider the case for establishing a children's commissioner in Scotland, but I guess that the committee decided to go one better than that by driving forward and creating a children's commissioner. The committee made the case effectively and has progressed a bill that will ensure that Scotland will have a commissioner for children and young people. I think that MSPs from all sides of the chamber will strongly support the bill; indeed, I am reliably informed that what might appear to be the rather unusual combination of Margaret Ewing and Jim Wallace pushed—during the progress of the Children (Scotland) Bill in 1995—Lord James Douglas-Hamilton to introduce a children's commissioner.

In the final week of the parliamentary session, it is worth reflecting for a moment on Parliament's achievements. Parliament's creation has allowed us to consider children's issues in a way that was not possible previously. Many would argue that there was a gap of too many years after 1995—until the new Parliament—before children's issues returned to being high on our list of priorities. The creation of the Scottish Parliament has allowed us to introduce legislation that will meet the needs of children and young people—children should be at the heart of Parliament's agenda. The Executive is committed to building a Scotland in which every child matters and in which every child and young person can realise their potential. That is why we all support the establishment of the new commissioner.

The commissioner for children and young people will help to give a powerful voice to the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children in Scotland and will help to tackle child poverty and exploitation. Too many tragic and harrowing cases of the system failing children in Scotland still occur. It is important that we support all children and young people, but the commissioner will be able to make the greatest impact by focusing on our most vulnerable children.

I welcome the bill's emphasis on involving and consulting children and young people. I was interested in what some young people said when they were asked about the role of a commissioner for children and young people. They said that they wanted a commissioner who would "change people's attitudes", and who would

"help children be heard in Scotland".

They wanted a commissioner who would

"promote the rights of children. Make sure everyone knows."

One participant said that

"children might have ideas which could change Scotland but how will they know"

if nobody asks.

The Parliament has a good record on including children and young people, but it must go further. A commissioner for children and young people will help us all to drive forward the agenda. It is vital that our commissioner engages with children and young people to find out what matters to them and what their priorities and concerns are. Only by doing that effectively will a commissioner reflect the views and priorities of children and young people.

It is important that the commissioner should do all that is reasonably possible to include children who might be harder to reach, such as children who might have communication difficulties, whose first language is not English, who are from an ethnic minority or who have disabilities.

The commissioner will need to build strong links with other agencies to avoid duplication of work and to ensure that he or she adds value and is used in the most effective way. I am sure that a commissioner will want to build on the expertise of existing organisations and to develop solid co-operative working arrangements with other agencies and ombudsmen. A strong focus should be placed on the commissioner's work with the many excellent voluntary sector organisations that work with young people.

I am convinced that a commissioner can make a major difference to the lives of children and young people; the bill sets the framework for that. Today marks the end of the bill process and the start of a major new development for Scotland's children. I am pleased to support the establishment of the first commissioner for children and young people in Scotland.