The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.
All Official Reports of meetings in the Debating Chamber of the Scottish Parliament.
All Official Reports of public meetings of committees.
Displaying 2095 contributions
Public Audit Committee
Meeting date: 7 October 2021
Willie Coffey
That is really interesting. I have read the comment about Grampian in the papers, which is really impressive. However, being seen within an average of six weeks is referred to, and parents say to me that being seen is not necessarily the same as treatment. I hoped to get from the panel clarification or a sense of what exactly we mean by “treatment”. Some parents ask me about that. They say that having a meeting is not treatment, and they are still hoping and waiting for treatment along the line. There is a little bit of confusion there.
Does that explain the discrepancy that we are hearing about today? Dr Morton said that the period can be one to two years, and NHS Grampian says that the wait is an average of six weeks. Are we all talking about the same thing in relation to treatment happening for a young person? Are we talking about having a meeting or having treatment for a young person defined? Maybe Donna Bell could help with that.
Public Audit Committee
Meeting date: 7 October 2021
Willie Coffey
Yes. If we are all talking about the same thing, why is there still such a discrepancy across Scotland three years on from the Audit Scotland and Accounts Commission report? Families are waiting for one to two years in some parts of Scotland, whereas people are turning things round within six weeks in another part of Scotland. What on earth is going on? What can we do to try to bring things into line with the Grampian experience perhaps?
Public Audit Committee
Meeting date: 7 October 2021
Willie Coffey
Good morning, everyone. I will start with a question for Donna Bell about the 18-week standard. Will you clarify for me and constituents whom I represent what that means? When does the clock start ticking on the 18-week standard? Does it start ticking at the point at which a family has a meeting with someone to get a meeting with CAMHS? Is that the 18 weeks that we are targeting?
Public Audit Committee
Meeting date: 7 October 2021
Willie Coffey
Alex, the standard says that treatment should start within 18 weeks. However, some parents say to me that they got a meeting within 18 weeks, but a meeting is not treatment. What constitutes treatment?
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Meeting date: 5 October 2021
Willie Coffey
How do we ensure that a councillor gets the fullest picture of something? When an application is made, there will be opinions on both sides. For me, the question is whether a councillor should disengage from the process for fear of being lobbied and possibly forming a view as a result, or should embrace the process and declare that they have done so in order to allow the public to see that an objective assessment is still possible.
Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Meeting date: 5 October 2021
Willie Coffey
What are your views on what councillors can, cannot and should not do in relation to lobbying in respect of planning applications? The guidance seems to be clear that a councillor must not divulge an opinion in advance, but in my experience as councillor, the advice from senior officials was often not to engage at all with the supporters or opposers of a planning application. I always felt that that restricted a councillor’s ability to look at all the information that was available to enable them to make a decision.
Do you have any views on whether that is still a grey area in the code? Are you clear about whether councillors can meet people who are proposing or opposing a planning application? It is still a little unclear to me.
Public Audit Committee
Meeting date: 30 September 2021
Willie Coffey
Last week, we chatted to Colleges Scotland. One challenge that we as elected members face—I think that everybody faces it—is how to move young people into the world of work. Do we need to do more with employers to understand their needs? You will know that recruitment almost dried up during Covid and it is fair to say that it has not recovered yet. On the other hand, we are hearing about the number of vacancies right across various sectors in Scotland. Do we need to do more to understand employers’ needs and to promote those needs in the education setting to assist and encourage youngsters to make positive transitions into the world of work and beyond?
Public Audit Committee
Meeting date: 30 September 2021
Willie Coffey
I want to kick off the discussion on a point that Stephen Boyle made. Clearly, despite the success that we have seen—[Inaudible.]—for those who get a community sentence, as you have said, the numbers of those who get a community sentence have basically flatlined for the past four or five years. What are the reasons behind that? What can we possibly do about it?
Public Audit Committee
Meeting date: 30 September 2021
Willie Coffey
I will focus on the current impact of Covid on young people and will also invite you to look ahead to what the future might look like. Has Covid changed the way that we think about education and how we help young people to make successful transitions, either into the world of work or into further and higher education? I am thinking about digital technology, which largely came to the rescue for school pupils by allowing them to study remotely and from home.
Looking ahead, will the world look the same as it did before Covid? Do we provide youngsters with the right skills? Are we matching up those skills with what employers want? Is there a job of work to be done by the Government to help employers with the recruitment process? I would be obliged if you could give us a perspective on the impact that Covid has had and how things might change.
Public Audit Committee
Meeting date: 30 September 2021
Willie Coffey
Thank you very much.