Hansard

I rise in support of the motion in the name of the minister. I am heartened by the progress that has been shown in the getting it right pathfinder project in the Highlands. On the surface, good progress has been made. I do not wish to repeat too many of the points that members have made, but I stress the hard work of the professionals who have been involved in the project and of those who are still working outside it. I make no apology for putting those thanks on the record again.

From my point of view, as a member who represents a diverse and scattered Highland constituency, the report "How well do we protect Scotland's children?" and its findings raise slightly different issues that are more specific to rural areas. Many of the findings emphasise that roll-out is more challenging in more rural and isolated areas. That is no bombshell, but it should open our eyes to the specific needs of smaller and more scattered communities.

The report identified weaknesses across the board, to which Margaret Smith alluded in her speech. In addition to the practical issues, there are strategic challenges, which need to be addressed if roll-out across Scotland, including its many rural areas, is to be successful. Fundamentally, it comes down to whether systems and procedures that have been developed in a largely urban area can operate in rural communities and the remote corners that are peculiar to much of Scotland. Simple things such as the use of information technology can prove to be more burdensome in parts of constituencies such as mine, where we do not always have connectivity and, if we do, it is not always there all day long.

In rural areas, interagency communication, which we have discussed, can often be a challenge and it can be hampered completely by the fact that colleagues will be many miles from one another. They can be kept apart by inclement weather, and sometimes by roads being blocked altogether. The Government needs to ensure that the infrastructure and mechanisms for governance and planning that are currently in place are the right ones—they should ensure that GIRFEC is rolled out effectively and embedded across the whole of Scotland, including the Highlands, which means that it must address as a matter of urgency some of the findings of "How well do we protect Scotland's children?".

It is concerning, although perhaps not surprising, that the report concluded that

"Some children and families living in rural areas did not have the same access to services as those living in larger towns or cities."

I do not pretend to be an expert on what services work best, and how exactly they should be implemented, but I firmly believe that Scotland's children and young people should have access to appropriate services regardless of where they live. I have made that point in the chamber again and again. That is a challenge for the minister and his team, but I am confident that it is one that they will seek to address. Nothing that I have heard from the minister contradicts that.

That is not the only weakness that has been indicated. There were potential delays for children who were not already on the child protection register. In certain cases, when it was decided that a child could not remain at home, an assessment of the suitability of friends and relatives to provide care was not carried out before the child was placed with them. When a move had occurred, children were not always as well supported as they might have been, and the level of support that was provided to the carers varied. Because of the waiting lists for specialist support services, children have often not received the help that they need quickly enough. We must remember that we are operating in a period when budgets are more constrained and might potentially be contracted further, with more and more pressure being put on limited resources.

That takes me to some further points that relate to what Hugh Henry said and to what I have just said about limited resources. Members with more time served will recall the playlet that was put on in the old Parliament headquarters during the first session by young carers from east Sutherland. It was about children in school getting a heck of a ticking off by the teacher for not having done their homework. The fact was that, because they were young carers and because of the peculiar awfulness of their home circumstances—looking after drunken parents, siblings or whatever—they were simply unable to complete their studies. I see Margaret Smith and Hugh Henry nodding. That playlet was very moving at the time.

My plea is to remember that the children we are speaking about today all too often become carers at a slightly older age, but still as children. If there is not continuity of support, from the very good efforts that we have heard about from the minister and others today for children who, sadly, become carers, that is the ultimate betrayal. Children need the support to continue into the future.

The Young Karers East Sutherland—TYKES—and the young carers Caithness group are in the same situation with regard to funding. The funding of voluntary sector organisations, such as Crossroads East Sutherland, is very often uncertain. In fairness to the Scottish Government and the minister, I should say that I do not doubt the genuineness of their intent to ensure that worthwhile and thoroughly laudable organisations continue to be supported. That is not easy, but if the minister and the Government consider all such organisations in the round in Scotland, they might come up with cleverer ways of combining finance. The main point is that we must keep such organisations going.