Chamber and committees

I find it difficult. I have tried to reassure the committee that the matter would be looked at in the best interests of all the children and young people involved. Equally, for those very serious offences, it would be a matter for the Lord Advocate to consider where that should be dealt with and the outcome of that. I hear the concerns that are being raised and I will certainly take them forward in further consideration of the bill.

I am very excited to take part in the debate. I thank Clare Adamson for bringing to the chamber this important motion on the second Scottish games week.

Gaming is, without a doubt, an asset to Scotland, as we have heard from members who have taken part in the debate. Scotland has a long and pivotal history in gaming and has helped to shape the global gaming landscape with iconic titles such as Lemmings and Grand Theft Auto, so I am extremely proud that the Scottish Government has provided funding for Scottish games week, which gives an important platform for the Scottish gaming community to come together, celebrate its successes, learn from its challenges and showcase its talent.

I am really pleased to see the motion because, despite its successes, gaming has historically received a bit of a bad name and there has always been a bit of a mixed reaction to it. Too often, gaming is associated with negative impacts. Ms Adamson said that the industry is massively underrepresented, and how it is viewed has something to do with that.

As a member of the Parliament, I have always aimed to highlight the positive impacts that gaming can have. I have been playing games on a console since I was five years old. My grandpa bought me a Sega Mega Drive for my Christmas, and that was me—I have been playing ever since. In fact, I was pleased to put my skills to the test last year in the Parliament when I topped the Sonic all-stars racing leaderboard among some of my MSP colleagues. That was a proud moment.

In all seriousness, gaming has always been a hugely positive thing for me, and it has always been difficult for me to understand why something that has helped me so much throughout my life attracts so much negativity. It is only in recent years that the possibilities have been truly realised, and I have been very pleased to hear members highlighting those positive impacts.

Gaming can have huge educational benefits, such as those relating to problem solving, concentration, numeracy, memory and literacy. I am not sure whether any members have read the lore throughout games such as Final Fantasy and Assassin’s Creed—Stephanie Callaghan might be with me on this one—but that rivals some of the textbooks that I used for my university degree.

Games have emerged as a dynamic tool for learning and development in education. Education games provide an engaging and interactive way to acquire new knowledge and skills. From language learning to complex problem solving, games have the capacity to make education much more enjoyable and effective.

Equally, the immersion and escapism that people experience when playing a game can have really positive impacts when they face difficulties in life. No one looks twice at someone when they pick up a book to help with their mental health or wellbeing. Things should be no different for someone who picks up a game. I believe that the cultural value of games is being more widely recognised as we see more and more games being adapted for film and television.

Gaming has always had a social side. For years, we have had traditional couch co-op, where people can enjoy gaming with their friends, work together as a team or compete against one another. However, especially since the rise in technology and online gaming, gaming has opened up a whole new world to people who might experience isolation. That was especially true during the pandemic, when some people relied on online gaming as their sole interaction with other people.

Inclusivity has been highlighted. That is a focus of games that I have been proud to see increase over the years. When I first started gaming, it was certainly not built for women or young girls, but now women are not just a sidekick. Leading women characters are more common and, best of all, their bodies are finally a little bit more realistic.

However, things go so much further than that. Game developers are looking at ways in which games can ensure that no one is left behind and everyone can benefit. We have already heard about games that have been developed specifically for autistic people and the impact that they have had. In my role as a judge for this year’s games awards, I was pleased to see games that have been built for people who have visual or hearing impairments. With the rise in technology, the possibilities are endless, and the positive impacts stretch way beyond traditional gaming.

Taking all that into account—I have really only scratched the surface—I am keen to show the Government’s support for that key industry and, equally, to see it grow further. In “Scotland’s National Strategy for Economic Transformation”, we set out that we want Scotland to be

“a nation of entrepreneurs and innovators”.

Harnessing the power of games will help us to get there.

The impacts of gaming can be transformational, and I believe that they fit well with the wellbeing economy that we all want to see. Gaming has the potential to drive economic growth, nurture creativity and inspire the next generation. Our £42 million national Techscaler programme can play a vital role in supporting games-related businesses—for instance, by providing wraparound expertise and facilities to start-ups to help them to grow sustainably.

Over and above that, the Scottish Government is more determined than ever to engage with and support our gaming sector. Scottish games week is a fine example of that.

The games industry is an example of one of Scotland’s many successes. The wealth of expertise and innovation that can be applied in the broader landscape of technological advancement and sustainability could be utilised across many different sectors. I believe that Scotland has a lot to learn from the gaming sector, and I am determined that we do even more to realise that potential, so I can assure members that I will work closely with ministerial colleagues to ensure that we understand the positive impacts of gaming that have been highlighted for individuals and the economy.

I am really pleased that the First Minister will host a round-table discussion tomorrow ahead of the games awards with key figures, developers and games studios to gain industry collaboration, demonstrate commitment and understand the challenges and potential solutions.

Scottish games week is a fantastic opportunity to highlight the many fantastic achievements of the gaming industry so far, and I really want to take the opportunity to do that. The industry should keep creating and innovating, and it should know that its Government stands ready to support it in service of our shared goals.

I thank Clare Adamson once again for bringing the debate to the chamber, and I thank all those who have contributed to it and all those who are working in Scotland to grow the sector.

I thank Gordon MacDonald for raising an important question. I know from on-going discussions with stakeholders that there is a lack of consensus on the type and level of qualification that is most appropriate for the school-age childcare workforce. I also recognise that, to meet the needs of children and families, we need a workforce that brings diverse experience from across the childcare, youth work and activity sectors.

As we build our new system of school-age childcare, we will seek to understand the possibility of recognising and developing a wider range of qualifications that are relevant to school-age childcare, as well as the value of other complementary qualifications and skills. We are also working to understand more about the impacts of different staffing models and, where possible, we will use our early-adopter communities, including those in rural areas, to test them. Through working with stakeholders, including regulatory bodies and other key partners, we will ensure that the regulation framework is fit for purpose, supports quality provision and supports a diverse and sustainable workforce.

The programme for government for 2023-24 set out major new commitments on childcare, including commitments on how we will test in six council areas what an all-age childcare system would look like for Scotland. We will work closely with those communities and with our partners and providers to consider how the early learning and school-age childcare workforce can support such systems and what they will need to do so. That will include consideration of regulatory issues, qualifications and professional development, which will take time to do fully and is why we will now set out our plans in 2024.

In the meantime, we will continue to work with the framework steering group and other partners to implement a range of support for the profession. Action that has already been taken includes development of a range of new learning resources and the introduction of the protection of vulnerable groups scheme fee waiver for all new entrants to the sector. We are also working on a new national portal for professional learning.

I thank Miles Briggs for his intervention. As I have said, we are reviewing our approach to third sector funding, and we can certainly look into various aspects relating to that.

This year, we are investing £15 million in designing and testing new models of childcare for school-age children that meet the diverse needs of Scotland’s families. We are taking a people-centred, place-based approach to that, which means that we will co-design services with the people who will use them. Through that process, we will utilise existing research and experience from specialist services so that we deliver a childcare offer for school-age children, whatever their needs, that reduces barriers for families and supports positive outcomes.

Play is at the heart of what organisations such as The Yard provide; they give everyone who attends their centres the opportunity to be themselves and, importantly, to have fun. I whole-heartedly agree with Martin Whitfield about the importance of play. In fact, I was at an outdoor nursery setting today, and I had mud all over my skirt because I was running about with the children in the forest. It was such a brilliant start to my day, and it reaffirmed the importance of play. The Scottish Government and organisations such as The Yard understand how important play is for children and young people’s growth, development and wellbeing, which is why we are committed to enshrining in law play as a fundamental children’s right through the incorporation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

I conclude by reaffirming the Scottish Government’s commitment to ensuring that every child has the nurturing care that they need to get the best start in life. We want to protect parents from stigma and give them the resources and help that they need, where and when they need it, to ensure that children have the responsive care that is required for healthy development. Organisations such as The Yard are providing just that. I am delighted that we are able to continue to support The Yard through CYPFEIF, and I look forward to continuing to work with it. The health and wellbeing of children and young people is a key priority not just for the Scottish Government but for our whole society. We know that parents are the strongest influence on a child’s life and that, by helping parents, carers, families and communities to build better lives for themselves and their children, we can ensure that every child has the best start in life. I again thank Claire Baker for bringing the debate to the chamber.

I thank members for taking part in the debate. It has been nice to hear about members’ experiences and understanding of the impact that The Yard has had.

I welcome the opportunity to highlight the vital role of organisations such as The Yard and to reaffirm the Government’s commitment to supporting disabled children and their families. I pay particular tribute to Eilish, her dad, Lawrence, and the rest of her family for all their hard work in raising awareness of this important issue. As has already been said, the First Minister will visit The Yard in a couple of weeks, and he is very much looking forward to meeting Eilish and her friends. Of course, I would be delighted to visit, to see at first hand some of the amazing work that is going on.

The Scottish Government highly values our third sector and the contribution that it makes to children, young people and families across Scotland. Our children, young people and families early intervention fund—which I will refer to for the rest of my speech as CYPFEIF, otherwise it will take up most of my time—has been providing core funding to 115 organisations, including The Yard, since 2016, helping thousands of children, young people and families. As members have noted, these are incredibly challenging times, and we recognise the strain on third sector bodies. In recognition of that, in March this year, we sustained our £94,500 annual funding via CYPFEIF for The Yard until March 2025.

The funding contribution to The Yard is in recognition of the excellent work that it is doing and the support that it is providing. It was our aim that the continued provision of CYPFEIF funding would ensure the sustainability of organisations and continued delivery of support to thousands of children, young people and families across Scotland. However, I am aware that The Yard has made calls for an increase in funding to allow it to deliver even more of the valuable services that it already provides. I have heard loud and clear the calls from members in the chamber today.

Members are all aware of the continued pressure on public finances, but I assure the chamber and organisations such as The Yard that we are determined to do everything that we possibly can to support our disabled children, their families and the people and organisations that support them. I reassure Claire Baker and other members that we are in the process of reviewing our approach to third sector funding. In response to Ben Macpherson, I say that the review will keep in mind our commitment to fairer funding principles.

I am committed to equality and improving outcomes for disabled children and young people in Scotland, and to ensuring that all children can participate and achieve their potential. We know that families with a disabled person are more likely to be in poverty and that they can be disproportionately affected by the current cost crisis. We are providing funding to Family Fund, which delivers support and direct grants to families on low incomes who are raising disabled or seriously ill children and young people. Through the Family Fund grant scheme, each family has choice and control over what items they request, based on what they need to improve their quality of life. In 2022-23, we provided £2.974 million of funding, which supported more than 6,000 families.

Our national carers strategy, which was published in December 2022, sets out our cross-Government approach to carers’ financial inclusion. We are currently implementing the strategy to drive forward long-term changes to improve the lives of unpaid carers across Scotland. People who care for a family member with a disability make a vital contribution to Scotland. That is why we have improved support for unpaid carers, including through investing more than £88 million in local carer support through local authority Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 funding and by legislating to establish a right to breaks from caring through the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill to support people to protect their wellbeing and sustain caring relationships.

Despite our fixed budgets and limited powers of devolution, we have also transformed social security provision in Scotland by delivering a system that is based on our principles of dignity, fairness and respect. The launch of the carer support payment, which will replace the carers allowance in Scotland, is the next important milestone in our on-going work to improve support for carers. We have worked extensively with carers and support organisations to design an improved service and a benefit that will work for them. The carer support payment will provide an improved service and information to help carers to find out about and access wider support for themselves and their families. Carers will also continue to benefit from the carers allowance supplement, which will, by the end of this year, have paid carers up to £3,300 on top of the carers allowance since its launch in 2018.

Almost £300 million has been paid to the families of disabled children and young people through the child disability payment. We have heard from families about the important difference that the payment can make by helping with the extra costs of caring for a disabled child. More than 80 per cent of people who responded to the child disability payment survey in 2022 told us that the child disability payment had helped to make a difference to their life.

We can look at other examples, such as childcare for school-age children. Childcare and activities around the school day are highly important. Children can benefit from improved outcomes through opportunities for play and learning, and access to childcare can support parents and carers to work, train or study, or it can provide them with respite. That is why we are committed to designing and building a new system of childcare for school-age children in which care is provided before and after school all year round for the families who need it most.

Following discussions between the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, it has been agreed that the Scottish Government will provide an additional £16 million of revenue to introduce a new Scottish recommended allowance for foster and kinship carers across Scotland, benefiting more than 9,000 families.

The Scottish recommended allowance will ensure that a consistent and transparent level of financial support is provided to all foster and kinship carers, helping them to provide the standard of living and wellbeing that the children and young people in their care deserve. This is another important step in our ambition to keep the Promise and ensure that all care-experienced children and young people grow up loved, safe and respected.

Yes. I absolutely agree with Mr Swinney.

The Parent Club campaign that I was referring to linked to an online safety hub on the Scottish Government Parent Club website, which provides information and advice on how to keep children safe from online harms. We are updating that to include advice for the parents of younger children, who are increasingly exposed to technology. We have also prioritised early intervention by providing funding to the third sector—in particular, Stop it Now! Scotland—to deliver online child sexual abuse prevention work.

In relation to people who seek to cause harm online, we are working with Police Scotland to find effective ways to deter potential perpetrators from committing online abuse in the first place.

I am sure that the member will be aware of the complexities around the budget and that it is not quite as clear cut as that. If the member would like more information on that, I am happy to get back to her at a later date.

We are working with stakeholders across Scotland to ensure that we are driving forward the change that the Promise demands. To give just a few examples, we have set out our support for families through our whole family wellbeing fund; the Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Bill is presently going through Parliament; and we are collaborating with care-experienced young people and adults on the support that they need as they move on from care settings.

Keeping the Promise requires a cross-portfolio and cross-policy response, and the work that we are doing is threaded through our recent programme for government. To guide that work, we are also creating a dedicated Promise sub-committee, which will link the cross-portfolio commitments and interdependencies.