Chamber
Plenary, 05 Mar 2008
05 Mar 2008 · S3 · Plenary
Item of business
Wheelchair Users <br />(Human Rights)
I could not have put it better myself.
The consensus is that the wheelchair service in Scotland is underresourced. The review of the service made 40 recommendations and an analysis showed that an initial £6.6 million per year is needed to upgrade the wheelchair fleet. Yes, that is serious money, but not in the great scheme of things. Governments must make hard and difficult choices. I appreciate that there are limits to the public purse, but vulnerable people all over Scotland are being penalised. Financial consideration should not be the key issue. We need a system that meets users' and carers' legitimate requirements. The existing system is a barrier to social inclusion and social justice.
I have not sat where the minister is, because I was never a member of the front bench, but I did sit in the chamber and listen to her speak when she was on the Opposition benches. She could have been standing where I am tonight making the speech that I am making if I had been sitting where she is. That is the challenge.
In December, an action plan will be presented to the minister. I hope that she will take cognisance of what is said tonight. The system needs money. Users' and carers' human rights and social justice needs must be addressed in the action plan.
This debate is not about getting at the minister: her officials will have told her that I corresponded with her predecessors in the previous Administration from the day that I stepped into the Parliament. I genuinely hope that the debate will, at last, be about fixing the situation.
The consensus is that the wheelchair service in Scotland is underresourced. The review of the service made 40 recommendations and an analysis showed that an initial £6.6 million per year is needed to upgrade the wheelchair fleet. Yes, that is serious money, but not in the great scheme of things. Governments must make hard and difficult choices. I appreciate that there are limits to the public purse, but vulnerable people all over Scotland are being penalised. Financial consideration should not be the key issue. We need a system that meets users' and carers' legitimate requirements. The existing system is a barrier to social inclusion and social justice.
I have not sat where the minister is, because I was never a member of the front bench, but I did sit in the chamber and listen to her speak when she was on the Opposition benches. She could have been standing where I am tonight making the speech that I am making if I had been sitting where she is. That is the challenge.
In December, an action plan will be presented to the minister. I hope that she will take cognisance of what is said tonight. The system needs money. Users' and carers' human rights and social justice needs must be addressed in the action plan.
This debate is not about getting at the minister: her officials will have told her that I corresponded with her predecessors in the previous Administration from the day that I stepped into the Parliament. I genuinely hope that the debate will, at last, be about fixing the situation.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Alasdair Morgan):
SNP
The final item of business is a members' business debate on motion S3M-1028, in the name of Trish Godman, on Scottish wheelchair users and their human rights...
Motion debated,
That the Parliament commends The Herald for alerting the public to the ofttimes severe distress and denial of human rights inflicted upon Scottish wheelchair...
Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab):
Lab
At one point in a training session, I had to spend half a day in a wheelchair. It was an experience that I will not forget. I remember not so much what I cou...
Hugh Henry (Paisley South) (Lab):
Lab
I commend Trish Godman for encouraging and facilitating this important debate. I hope that she will join me in welcoming to the Scottish Parliament my consti...
Trish Godman:
Lab
I could not have put it better myself.The consensus is that the wheelchair service in Scotland is underresourced. The review of the service made 40 recommend...
Bill Kidd (Glasgow) (SNP):
SNP
I thank Trish Godman for initiating this debate on an issue that is significant to all those who depend on wheelchairs to live their lives in as dignified an...
Jim Tolson (Dunfermline West) (LD):
LD
I am delighted to speak in this important members' business debate, and I commend Trish Godman for securing it. As a Liberal Democrat, I am absolutely commit...
Jackson Carlaw (West of Scotland) (Con):
Con
This is one of those occasions on which the motion seems to say it all. Trish Godman lodged a comprehensive statement summarising the issue at hand and spoke...
Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab):
Lab
Members have already indicated that this is an important debate. If Mr Carlaw was hesitant about following Trish Godman's speech, he should consider how I fe...
Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD):
LD
Johann Lamont's concluding remark about setting the debate within the context of human rights is exactly right, and my remarks will be within that context. I...
Cathy Peattie (Falkirk East) (Lab):
Lab
The member raises an important point. Does he agree that people who work in public services should get disability awareness training? Such training is import...
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
SNP
Before the member responds, I say that I have been fairly relaxed, but the motion is fairly specific and it is not really about access issues. I ask the memb...
Jamie Stone:
LD
The motion's title is about wheelchair users and their human rights. If I am incorrect to address my remarks to that issue, I will—
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
SNP
We are debating the motion. The fact that it has a title does not mean that we do not debate the motion. I ask the member to refer in his remarks to the moti...
Jamie Stone:
LD
Very well. With that guidance from the chair, I conclude my remarks by saying that disabled access to bus travel in Caithness and the north of Scotland leave...
Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP):
SNP
I am a member of the Equal Opportunities Committee, and I was also a member of the committee in the previous session, when Cathy Peattie was the convener. We...
Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab):
Lab
I join others in congratulating Trish Godman on securing the debate. Wheelchair services have been the subject of motions—Trish Godman has run with several i...
The Minister for Public Health (Shona Robison):
SNP
I congratulate Trish Godman on securing the debate. I assure her that I will of course take cognisance of what has been said and of members' views. The issue...
Trish Godman:
Lab
Will the extra money to health boards be ring fenced? We want the money that is being provided to go exactly where it should go. Perhaps some things could be...
Shona Robison:
SNP
I am coming to that.I realise that people who use the services now want real progress. Service providers are considering and implementing several recommendat...
Meeting closed at 17:43.