Chamber and committees

Have you identified any areas in which public participation is not suitable? As I said, there is a risk that damage could be caused by going down a certain route. Have you found any areas that we should stay clear of, because they could be problematic?

I thank the panel members for their comments so far.

When you identified the way forward, you wanted to be ambitious, creative and inclusive. To achieve all that, you needed to have a vision. That vision has come out a little bit in the discussion that we have had so far, but it would be good if you would identify how, as a group, you came about agreeing on a vision for the whole process.

You have identified your vision, which gives you your starting block, and you touched on the lessons that you have learned from citizens assemblies. Your goal is to enhance democracy but there is also a trust element, which is about individuals feeling that their participation makes a difference. Is there not potential that, if that does not happen in all cases, trust in your goal, aspiration and vision could be damaged?

I acknowledge that the pandemic has had a knock-on effect on the process. The most sensible approach would be to wait until we have the pilot evaluation. At that point, we could communicate with the Scottish Ambulance Service on the outcomes of the pilot and the evaluation, and the next steps. We should continue the petition and see how we progress in the timescale that the Ambulance Service has set out.

I concur that we should keep the petition open. We have received information from the Scottish Government about the consultation. It is very important that we highlight the evidence that we have received and that we seek assurances that children and young people will be fully involved in the consultation process, including in co-designing it, to ensure that they are willing participants. As we have discussed in the past, the focus is sometimes on the identity that a school uniform brings, but young people have the right to express their views. If they can do so through the consultation, we might receive more information that might help us to make a decision.

I concur. The issue is important because, as you have identified, convener, there seems to be a bit of a mismatch across regions and areas with regard to individuals with certain disabilities getting travel support.

We should also write to Transport Scotland to request an update on the fair fares review that you mentioned, which is important with regard to ensuring that there is consideration for disabled people across the piece.

Dr Barnes Macfarlane, you have a background as a lawyer. You heard Sarah Axford’s comments. Do you believe that the role of child welfare reporter is being managed in the right way and with the right focus and emphasis to ensure that relationships can be built?

Jordan, you talked about trying to facilitate, and there is no question but that you are doing that. However, are there any areas that you could enhance or where you have already identified a weakness or blind spot?

May, you talked about ensuring that policies and procedures exist to ensure that organisations and individuals feel part of the process and accepted into it. If there are layers of adults who are trying to manage a child’s situation, what are the strengths or weaknesses of that in ensuring that the child feels that they are getting their information, that they are being listened to and are confident in how they are being communicated about?

Thank you for the information and answers that you have given. We have talked about the idea of trying to ensure that young people feel at ease and are part of the process.

Not just today but from other discussions, we have learned that a young person might have eight to 10 adult professionals working in support of them. That can be daunting for anybody at any age, far less a child. It would therefore be useful to get a flavour from you all of the strengths and weaknesses in the system at present, and of how that system can be adapted and supported to ensure that there is a better outcome, because we want to hear about the outcomes for the young people.

You have given examples of how you can facilitate some of that, but the basic outcome that the child wants is to be listened to, to have that acted on, to be supported and, potentially, to be protected. What strengths and weaknesses in the system need to be looked at to achieve that goal for the young people concerned?

Alistair, I come to you first, given the generations of experience that your organisation has on all those matters.