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Plenary, 27 Mar 2003

27 Mar 2003 · S1 · Plenary

Item of business

Great Northern Partnership

Boyack, Sarah Lab Edinburgh Central Watch on SPTV

I think Brian Adam misunderstands the purpose of SIPs and the way in which they operate. I have yet to be lobbied on that issue, although voluntary organisations and charitable groups are speedy in beating a path to my door when they think they do not have enough money. The key issue is that SIPs add to local communities and give them a voice.

Elaine Thomson has talked about an area-based SIP, but I want to highlight the work of the Edinburgh youth social inclusion partnership, which is a thematic partnership. It cuts across some of our most disadvantaged communities and ensures that the voices of young people are heard by those who make policy and decide on local services. As a local MSP, I am keen to support the work of that SIP.

Part of that work is ensuring that there is a dialogue between young people and the people who provide facilities. I have recently been at discussions on leisure facilities and transport. It can be quite challenging to be approached, as I have been, by young people who have a list of ideas about areas in which they want local services to improve. It is our job as politicians to see how we can improve the facilities that those young people depend on. Although that can be challenging, it is part of the overall approach to delivery of social justice throughout Scotland.

SIPs do not duplicate local services—they change them. They challenge local service providers and act as an advocate for local people and, particularly in my patch, for young people who would otherwise be totally excluded.

It is easy to label young people as troublemakers who create problems. However, we need to do a real job of work by examining the problems that they experience. They are vulnerable; in my area, they are often not allowed to use local sports facilities or cafes—indeed, they cannot afford to use them—because a very small number create problems. As a result, they are all labelled as troublemakers or as people who create hassle. That is not the case, and it is important that our local youth SIP challenges such views. Although young people are seen as threatening, they are the biggest group of victims of crime. Their voices must be heard by policy-makers, but that would not happen if it were not for the local youth SIP, which pulls together or changes the work that the police, social work and local communities carry out.

That is not duplication; instead it is an essential part of the armoury with which we can tackle social exclusion, give the most vulnerable and socially excluded people in our society a proper voice and ensure that local services do not ignore their needs. That is why I support Elaine Thomson's motion and the work of the youth SIP in my constituency. I want to see more rather than less of that kind of work. The SNP is making a big mistake with its commitment to abolish SIPs.

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Plenary, 27 Mar 2003

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