Plenary, 04 Dec 2003

Meeting date: Thursday, December 4, 2003

Official Report 710KB pdf

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Unity Enterprise (Glasgow Airport)

The final item of business today is a members' business debate on motion S2M-578, in the name of Trish Godman, on Unity Enterprise at Glasgow airport. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.

Motion debated,

That the Parliament commends Unity Enterprise, a registered charity, which provides education, training, work experience and other assistance to young people and adults who have disabilities and disadvantages of one kind or another; notes in particular the helpful and practical assistance given by a group of such young people and adults to passengers at Glasgow Airport, especially the help shown to those individuals who have to use wheelchairs, in relation to shopping requirements, visits to cafes and toilets and the company offered to passengers in allocated areas; believes that this is both a comfort to travellers and offers a useful introduction to the workplace for those who are themselves disadvantaged, and therefore considers that the Scottish Executive and other appropriate agencies should do what they can in order to extend similar services to other airports, bus terminals and railway stations.

It gives me great pleasure to speak to my motion on Unity Enterprise. Naturally, I will behave myself and will finish on time.

If we are honest about our job, there are times when we feel that we have had enough, because it is like hitting our heads off a brick wall. We never do it right; sometimes we do not even do it wrong—things are just bad and we get bad vibes from people. We go to people, we help them but we get no answer and no kind of support. I suppose that one could say that the same applies to most people's jobs.

Meeting a particular person or group can change that and, more often than not, the change is not down to us but down to them. I think that that is what happened to Hugh Henry and me when we went to Glasgow airport and met the members of Unity Enterprise. It was excellent to see people with disabilities assisting passengers and families of passengers in numerous positive and helpful ways. Like many others, I have been quite rightly told by people who are disabled that the last thing they want is charity. They seek the right to play a full part in their communities—in employment, leisure, culture and social activities. That is the value statement of Unity Enterprise.

Hugh Henry and I saw that in operation at Glasgow airport. Travellers were pleased to be helped in various ways by people with learning difficulties who are earning a reasonable income for the work that they do. For the past two days, testimony to that has been visible in the Parliament's foyer, where there have been copies of letters of appreciation sent by those who have been helped.

Unity Enterprise is an inter-church voluntary agency. It is not a happy-clappy do-gooder outfit; it is a serious way of addressing an issue that Parliament should be involved in. It seeks to help people in communities who are unemployed or who have disabilities or mental health problems. There are Unity Enterprise projects in West Dunbartonshire, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, Inverclyde, Glasgow, East Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire, East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire and Argyll—indeed, in most parts of Scotland.

Let us take a quick look at the range of opportunities and work that is available in those areas. In Inverclyde, there are catering options at the Fitzgerald centre and an exclusion from school project, which is about encouraging children not only to return to school, but to go on to work in Inverclyde. I know that my colleague Duncan McNeil has been supportive of those two projects. A housing support service has been established in Patricia Ferguson's constituency of Glasgow Maryhill, which she supports as an MSP. A project that involves visiting long-stay patients in hospital has been established in Renfrewshire and Inverclyde. Many of those patients are isolated from friends and family, who have to travel some distance to hospitals.

The independence options project concerns employment opportunities in East Dunbartonshire and West Dunbartonshire. It provides retraining and helps people to achieve national certificates and finally—we hope—employment. The furniture options project provides woodwork skills. That project is located in Clydebank, which is in my colleague Des McNulty's constituency. A travel cafe and travel agency have been established in the Trongate in Glasgow. That wide range of projects is very much part of our social inclusion agenda.

I am especially encouraged by the emphasis that is given to employment opportunities. Wendy Alexander, in whose constituency Glasgow airport is situated, is interested in that subject. Those opportunities take the shape of work-experience placements, sheltered employment activities, supported employment in part-time and full-time jobs and even encouragement to take self-employment opportunities, when that is appropriate. Of course, becoming involved in the labour market has many benefits.

The minister and his colleagues will be in broad sympathy with the aims of Unity Enterprise and other voluntary agencies that do similar work, but I want to know what practical, financial and legislative measures the Scottish Executive can take to assist such agencies. The Minister for Transport is to reply to the debate, but a minister who is responsible for enterprise, education, communities or equal opportunities could have replied, because Unity Enterprise's work covers all those subjects. The Executive departments that deal with those subjects must work together to help and support agencies such as Unity Enterprise.

For too long, we have ignored or overlooked the legitimate needs and aspirations of people with disabilities and health problems. I remind members that last year's Madrid declaration for the European year of disabled people says that disability is a human rights issue, that people with disabilities have long been invisible citizens and that local authorities, employers, trade unions and others should do all that they can to ensure that such fellow citizens enter the labour market as equals and that their employment is based on equality in relation to terms and conditions of employment and to promotional opportunities.

The Madrid declaration prompted the motion, which compliments Unity Enterprise on the work of its members on behalf of people who have been invisible for too long. I hope that such voluntary agencies can rely on the full support of the Parliament and a Scottish Executive in which all departments work together.

I congratulate Trish Godman on securing this important debate on a subject that is dear to the hearts of all of us—not just the hearts of people who are present, but the hearts of people who could not stay behind for the debate. I do not say that just because Renfrewshire Council's area and the Glasgow airport area are my old stomping grounds. As Trish Godman said, Unity Enterprise's work is not confined to Renfrewshire and Glasgow airport—it reaches out all over Glasgow, to Inverclyde and other areas.

I compliment Unity Enterprise on its work. Perhaps Johann Lamont will comment on that, because today she brought together 40 or 50 carers from throughout Glasgow. It was interesting to see carers' reactions to questions. Tonight, we are debating people who have learning disabilities and who may be cared for, but who are doing a marvellous job of caring for other people. The people to whom I have spoken in the confines of the airport about the work that is done there say that the project is excellent.

Like Trish Godman, I ask whether the Minister for Transport is the right minister to respond to the debate. Perhaps the Minister for Communities or the Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning could respond, as Trish Godman said.

The Executive has a strategy for carers, which was discussed at today's meeting with carers. Could we have a strategy to monitor what happens to people with disabilities? Perhaps a bit more help could be provided in Unity Enterprise's area, where such good work is being done.

One reason for having this debate relates to people with learning disabilities. Sometimes the phrase "learning disabilities" is not liked; language and labelling can be big problems. Such people are starting to get their lives together with the help of agencies; they then push forward and help other people. As Trish Godman said, it is important that they can live in their own homes in Maryhill and other areas. People are being given the benefits of independence and are, as a result, reaching out and helping other people.

We could consider expanding such work. In airports, people in wheelchairs and elderly people are not always helped as they should be. Perhaps that is why the Minister for Transport is here. Unity Enterprise does an excellent job within the airport.

Work should not stop where it does; rather it should be progressed. As Trish Godman said, people are not only helping themselves and others, but are gaining a wee bit of confidence. I hope that they get on to the employment ladder, which is where Unity Enterprise and similar projects will come to the fore. Such organisations have the expertise, experience and contacts that can help people to get on to the employment ladder and to lead lives that are like the lives other people lead. Nothing should hold them back—if they are prepared to put themselves forward and to help other people, Parliament should be prepared to help them.

I hope that Unity Enterprise—along with other such projects—will be monitored and that its good work will be considered in order to find out whether it can be stretched out further than Glasgow, Inverclyde and Renfrewshire, and in order to establish a strategy for such projects. We should recognise that people want to contribute and that they are contributing.

As always, finance is an issue, but we should acknowledge that people are already contributing emotionally and financially, so Parliament should contribute, too. If that takes finance, strategies and projects, we should consider those and view the issue in the wider sphere.

Again, I congratulate Trish Godman on securing the debate. I hope that the minister can come up with good answers, a strategy and finance.

I, too, pay tribute to Trish Godman for allowing us to acknowledge the work of Unity Enterprise and in particular the positive and constructive work that it has carried out at Glasgow airport, as the motion carefully describes.

The charity was established in 1989. However, if we are being honest, I suspect that many of us have been unaware of the good work that it does. It was, of course, initially an inter-church initiative, which gave it strength when it was first formed.

I have been struck by the extensive work that the charity has discharged, and not only in relation to the age groups and categories of young people that it helps. It has been forward looking in considering the issue of integration with society. In respect of its core values, it states:

"We believe that every person has an equal right to participate in the economic and social life of our society."

Nobody would disagree with that, but the challenge sometimes is how to give effect to that aspiration: the charity demonstrates impressively exactly how effect can be given to that.

I am aware from my experience with the Prince's Scottish Youth Business Trust—which is also a charity—that some of the most interesting developments for young people come in the most unexpected ways. Often, they happen because young people in particular circumstances and situations are provided with a medium through which they have an opportunity to show what they are capable of contributing. They are given a framework within which that contribution is encouraged and in giving that framework, we hope to nurture their confidence in how they will proceed through life, and contribute to society.

Trish Godman will be aware that I have not signed the motion. There is a reason why I have not done so, to which I shall come. My remarks are not meant in any discordant sense, but I have four slight concerns that I thought it necessary to articulate.

It seems to be important that the voluntary and charitable sector is seen to be independent and not to be associated with the Executive. I say that for no narrow party-political reasons. One of the strengths of the voluntary and charitable sector is that participants feel that they are doing their own thing. Equally important, perhaps, is that the public acknowledges that they are doing their own thing and are not being propped up by the Executive, which could have a negative effect on perception of them. It is important that the charities are autonomous in their operation. It is right that Unity Enterprise should make decisions about how it wants to work, where it wants to work and how it should set about discharging its responsibilities and implementing its aspirations under its charitable purposes.

The invitation at the end of the motion is for the Scottish Executive and other appropriate agencies to

"do what they can in order to extend similar services to other airports, bus terminals and railway stations."

However, I am not sure that I think that that is the role of the Scottish Executive. Although it is certainly the role of the charity to do that—Unity Enterprise is to be commended for what it is doing and encouraged to investigate the possibilities—I do not think that it is appropriate for the Executive to play a lead role in that task.

It is important to mention another implication. Throughout Scotland local charities do extremely good work. It is important that we recognise and respect their independence and their right to contribute to their communities in whatever ways they think are fit. We need to be careful, before we set out too prescriptive a direction for any one charity, that we do not prejudice the work of other charities.

I thank Trish Godman genuinely for bringing Unity Enterprise to Parliament's attention. I thoroughly applaud the work that the charity does, but I felt it necessary to express my slight concern about the last three lines of the motion.

It is very nice that I can take part in this debate. I have to say that I find members' business debates to be the most interesting debates that we have in this chamber.

I congratulate Trish Godman on securing this debate. I was exceedingly interested to find out about Unity Enterprise because I knew nothing about it until I spoke to Ena Donachie in the foyer of the Parliament headquarters. She is an energetic lady and I learned a lot from her. The wonderful thing about the charity is that it values people and allows people to feel valued in themselves. It appears that it does more than just help people at the airport, as I have learned this evening.

I know many people who would fall into the category of those who are not in the first bloom of youth and who travel all over the world to visit their families. As people get older, they need help. Airports and airlines provide services that take people in wheelchairs to their aeroplanes, but Unity Enterprise provides a little bit more. It is difficult for some elderly people to get into toilets, cafes and so on in airports if they are on their own and many people of a certain age travel on their own.

We cannot always depend on a good Samaritan coming along. Coming to Parliament this morning, a taxi driver told me that he had taken to the train station a blind lady who had taken her dog to the veterinary school in Glasgow. On arriving at the train station, he found that nobody was willing to help her because her dog could not wear its harness. He did a little bit more than taxi drivers would usually do and ensured that she got on the train. However, because we cannot always depend on such people being around, we will always need organisations such as Unity Enterprise.

I welcome whatever support the charity gets from partners for the service that it provides. In a way, in relation to equal opportunities, human rights, social inclusion and people's need to get in and out of places, we might think that airports should provide the service that is provided by Unity Enterprise. However, I think that it is likely that a charity such as Unity Enterprise will do the job better.

I would like the charity's work to be rolled out throughout the country. I would also like a similar service to be introduced in hospitals because it can be extremely difficult to get in and out of our hospitals. People must often be dropped by the kerb at the hospital, but they have difficulty getting from the kerb to the foyer, never mind going on to whichever department they have to go on to. It would be nice to have people to welcome folk as they approach the hospital's front door and to help them to get inside. I had frequently to take a disabled aunt to hospital, prop her up outside and leave her there while I drove away to find a parking spot miles away from where she was tottering and hanging about; it would have been lovely if there had been a kindly face to put her in a wheelchair and take care of her.

I offer a bit of clarification. I accept Dr Turner's point about airports employing people to provide such a service, but what is important is who is employed. Unity Enterprise employs people who have had health problems and difficulty getting into employment. If an airport decided to provide such a service, it might not be so much at ease with employing such people. We can see that when we look at the people whom airports do not employ. Employing such people is what Unity Enterprise's work is about.

I also say to Annabel Goldie that what the last bit of the motion calls for is what Unity Enterprise has asked for: that the Executive give it help and guidance on how to move into other airports and into railway stations.

I appreciate fully what Trish Godman says. If we left the service to the airport, it would not employ so many people, which is the beauty of Unity Enterprise's service. The fact that the people who provide the service have had problems or have special needs means that they are more understanding of other people's needs and will probably do the job much better, and because they are not under time constraints, they will give their all.

I appreciate fully what Unity Enterprise does and am glad that I have learned about it. I wish Unity Enterprise every success and I hope that it will keep going and that the Executive will be able to give it advice.

I did not intend to speak, but I thought that, at the very least, I should congratulate Trish Godman on securing the debate and timing it so well with the display in the foyer of Parliament headquarters, which I know that many of the members who are present visited.

To take up Annabel Goldie's point, to extend projects such as the one that Unity Enterprise operates at Glasgow airport to other airports and to bus stations—indeed, to wherever—is a legitimate and appropriate role for the Executive. The Executive should facilitate projects in the voluntary or charitable sector, where the organisation concerned wants that, and should facilitate and encourage projects' expansion. Equally, we must realise that, in many respects, the Executive's agenda—which is about delivering social justice and equality of opportunity and creating employment opportunities—fits with the majority of voluntary organisations, which have no difficulty in working with us while preserving their independence and acting in the interests of the people whom they serve.

I am fortunate enough to remember Unity Enterprise from a former life. I will not confess to going back to 1989, but before I arrived at the Parliament, I had worked with Unity Enterprise when I was employed in local government. I found that the work that it did at that time in East Dunbartonshire was significant and most impressive, as is the work that it currently does in West Dunbartonshire. As a social enterprise, part of Unity Enterprise's uniqueness is that it is close to the community that it serves and, because of that, delivers incredibly effectively for that community. That is something of which the Executive is mindful when it works with social enterprises.

The key point that I will make about Unity Enterprise's work is to do with people with learning disabilities. If members visited the display in the PHQ foyer, they met some of them today. There was an enthusiastic young man called Gerry, who happens to come from Alexandria, which is an area that is close to my heart. For me, Gerry epitomised what the project is all about: it is about employment and giving people life chances and opportunities that they would otherwise be denied.

Many members will know of "The same as you? A review of services for people with learning disabilities". That was a seminal piece of policy work undertaken early on by the Executive. It was about changing the shape of services for people with a learning disability. One of the report's key recommendations is that it is not only about providing people with a service but about enabling people with a learning disability to go out and participate as other people would in real jobs, real opportunities and real training.

We must ensure that the signal that comes from the chamber is not only that the work that Unity Enterprise is doing is significant but that we must enhance and build on the number of work opportunities that are available for people with a learning difficulty, because they can do exactly the same job that we can do. The project builds confidence and self-esteem and provides a useful service not only to the people involved but to the communities in which they live. It recognises that each of us has skills and talents that should be nurtured and cherished.

I again congratulate Trish Godman on securing the debate and congratulate Unity Enterprise and all the other voluntary organisations like it that day in, day out provide a range of opportunities for people in our communities, particularly those who may be disadvantaged in the labour market.

I shall be very brief—certainly by my standards.

I congratulate Trish Godman on securing the debate and I congratulate members on the speeches that they have made. The debate gives us an opportunity to mark the important work of an organisation at local level that does the job not because it is going to be marked in the Parliament but because it makes a significant difference to people's lives.

The jobs created by Unity Enterprise are jobs that need to be done—they are real jobs. Although Unity Enterprise is a charity and a social enterprise, the people who do those jobs deliver a real service and should be recognised on that basis.

Unity Enterprise does the slightly more difficult job of involving people in work who perhaps find it difficult to get into work. Due to various circumstances in their lives, they have faced barriers to getting to the stage of working and participating in the things that go with work, such as the social side and the opportunity to mix with other people.

I particularly welcome Unity Enterprise because of the important work that it does for people with learning disabilities. We want to see initiatives such as Unity Enterprise rolled out elsewhere, but Unity Enterprise also gives a strong message to other employers—in the private, voluntary and public sectors—about the importance of having diversity in their workplace and employing people with, for example, learning disabilities, who have proven to be as good workers as anyone else when they have the proper and appropriate support. It might be that if we look imaginatively at how that support can be delivered, we can provide a service and create real opportunities for people in the workplace.

There is a broader issue to do with involving people. The issue of learning disabilities is close to my heart. I am involved in the cross-party group in the Scottish Parliament for learning disability and the parallel transport liaison group in Glasgow, which works with people who use the internal transport service delivered by Glasgow City Council that takes people to day centres and special schools. That experience has taught me several things. One of the lessons that I have learned is how important it is for people with learning disabilities and other disabilities to be in the main stream and to be part of society, because they have as much to give as we have to give them. If they are at the centre of the delivery of a service, it will, from their point of view, be an awful lot better.

It is important to see people. Trish Godman talked about invisible people; it is important to give visibility to people. They have the right to make demands on society and the right to make their contribution to society.

Although it is not a matter for the Parliament, there are issues to do with the barriers that prevent people, particularly people with learning disabilities and other disabilities, from going into work. We must look imaginatively at working in partnership with Westminster to establish how the barriers can be overcome. We are all enriched by the kind of work that is done by Unity Enterprise and by opportunities to have as diverse a work force as possible in all sectors of the economy.

I congratulate Trish Godman again. I thank Unity Enterprise for all the information that it provided for us today and commend it for all the hard work that it has done and will do in the future.

I add my congratulations to Trish Godman on securing this valuable debate. I also congratulate Unity Enterprise on the innovative project that we are discussing, which provides the opportunity for young people and adults who have disabilities and disadvantages of one kind or another to act as companions to older and disabled people at Glasgow airport. I am here this evening because that is a valuable role.

There have been similar projects over the years and, as has been said, Unity Enterprise goes back to the 1980s. However, too many of those initiatives failed to receive the financial backing and support that they needed and, too often and for a variety of reasons, they folded. It is good not only that the project is being sustained, but that it is thriving and that there is such purpose and belief in the work that is being done so successfully at Glasgow airport. The work clearly benefits travellers significantly. We need more such transport initiatives because transport is not only about facilities and infrastructure, but about attention to passengers—the customers—and other soft, service issues. Too often, in thinking about transport, we forget about those issues. The service is valuable and I would like it to be made available in other locations, including other airports. I know that there are plans to set up similar schemes in Edinburgh airport, Waverley station and Glasgow Central station and a range of ideas about how the service might develop.

When some people hear about new initiatives such as the new deal for disabled people, they might be cynical about the likelihood of success because of the resources that are required to make such schemes work. However, it is encouraging that 1,300 disabled people have found work through the new deal for disabled people. We have worked in partnership with the UK Government and it is important that we continue to do so. I am sure that, along with the Department for Work and Pensions, Scottish Enterprise and transport operators, we can sustain, grow and develop the initiative and not simply stave off the crises that too often affect voluntary sector transport projects. I am sure that all members share that ambition. To achieve it, we must recognise the potential to increase the number of trainees. Unity Enterprise believes that approximately 100 people could be employed if we rolled out transport interchanges to other airports and railway stations where the service could be provided. As the Minister for Transport, I will do anything that I can to encourage the support that is required and merited.

Annabel Goldie said that the voluntary sector must be independent, but where would charities be without public sector support? Many charitable organisations benefit greatly from support from the Scottish Executive and other branches of government. The issue is about partnership. Some of the most effective use of Government resources can come from levering in value and supporting the huge voluntary effort that is put into charitable work.

One great disappointment is that when money is tight and budgets are being arranged—for example, in the annual local government budget adjustments—too often the voluntary sector is the first to lose out. The opposite should be the case. We should do more to support the voluntary sector. Many members have spoken passionately about that topic over the years. I congratulate Jackie Baillie and others on the attention that they have given to the voluntary sector. I really believe that we can do a lot more in that area.

It is appropriate that we are debating this subject in the European year of disabled people. The Executive has been working hard, in partnership with disability organisations, to use the opportunity that has been provided by the European year of disabled people to raise awareness among employers, service providers and others about not only disabled people's rights, but the potential of disabled people. As Trish Godman said, it is uplifting and inspiring to see the self-confidence and pride that young disabled people can gain through initiatives such as Unity Enterprise. It is not all about promoting rights and participation, important though that is; it is also about the sheer joy and inspiration that is created through putting effort into initiatives such as Unity Enterprise.

We want to do more: that is the point at which I stop. I cannot promise to provide more funding this evening; however, I can promise further support and dialogue. Unity Enterprise has not yet finalised the details of the expansion initiative that it would like to launch, but from a transport point of view I can undertake to be supportive and encouraging of that initiative.

Several other ministers could have been standing here this evening. I am pleased that it has been me. I will take back to other ministers Trish Godman's comments and encourage a cross-Executive, joined-up approach in Government to ensure that all aspects of this worthwhile initiative continue to be supported by the Scottish Executive.

Meeting closed at 17:47.