Chamber and committees

Good morning. I will not keep you too long, because I know that you have been grilled for quite some time this morning.

I want to concentrate on some points that have already been made. Chirsty McFadyen talked about what is in the minds of folks in terms of employers, and Angela Matthews talked about perceptions.

How do we change folks’ minds and employers’ minds? How do we get rid of the perceptions that exist around employing disabled people? What should we do in order to get the voices of lived experience in all that, so that people—employers or employees—can give their positive experiences about work?

Since I mentioned you first, Chirsty, maybe you would like to answer first.

I have been talking about Project Search for quite some time, and we know quite a bit about it, so you do not need to go into depth, but the quote would be useful.

Thank you. Vikki, the last time that I was out with one of your FSB colleagues in my patch in Aberdeen, one of the businesses that we went to was the Bread Maker, which has an immense reputation. It employs a lot of disabled people, and people know that, which I think is very good for the business. The fact that the Bread Maker is such a good employer, along with the quality of its products, attracts a lot of folk.

How does the FSB highlight the major advantages that employing disabled people can bring?

Heather Fisken, are the voices of lived experience extremely important in helping to eradicate some of those perceptions?

That is pretty loud and clear on that front. I thank you all for your time this morning.

I am interested in the voices of lived experience. We were very lucky last week to have a group of folk who told it like it was, which was beneficial to all. It is key that all of us listen to people about their experiences in order to improve.

Alasdair Scott mentioned Project Search earlier, and Philip Ritchie just mentioned it. One of the positives from last week’s discussion was the high opinion of Project Search. In my consistency in Aberdeen, Project Search is run by the University of Aberdeen and backed by the likes of Values into Action Scotland. It has immense outcomes, with folk going into work and, in the main, staying in work. Why do we not learn from the experiences of Project Search and create more of those types of schemes throughout the country?

Does anyone else want to come in on that?

I have a very brief one. In your answers to Mr Beattie, you said that some of the bureaucracies might not be doing things in the way that they should be and might not be taking the time to listen. You have all talked about aspiration a great deal. How do we help young disabled folk and neurodiverse folk who want to establish their own businesses? We heard about that last week. Is there anything out there to help young folk who have the aspiration and the talent to establish their own businesses?

That might be too difficult.

Oxana MacGregor-Gunn or Ashley Ryan, do you have anything to add to what David Cameron said?

I am interested that you said “short term” there because Project Search in Aberdeen does not seem short term to me. Obviously, the job opportunity in the university is short term and it involves changed roles, but the key thing is that a large majority of folk go into employment and retain employment. That is not short term to me.