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Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 19 December 2024
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Displaying 764 contributions

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Education, Children and Young People Committee

The Promise (Staff Recruitment and Retention)

Meeting date: 4 December 2024

Willie Rennie

There is a disconnect. When I met the care-experienced young people who came into the Parliament a few months ago, they were incandescent with rage. They thought that what was being said was all mumbo-jumbo and did not mean anything and that nothing was really changing, because their experiences were just the same as they were before. They felt let down and betrayed. However, the briefing that you have provided says that there has been “fantastic work” and “substantial progress”. That is a different world from what those people are experiencing.

We can take the whole family wellbeing fund as an example. Yes, £500 million is there, but it has been delayed—the money has not been able to get out the door. Why is that? Why has there not been a peep from you this morning about why the money has been delayed and why local authorities are not spending the money? Why have you not said, “This is what we’ve found, and we’re calling it out”? Why has there been nothing about that?

Education, Children and Young People Committee

The Promise (Staff Recruitment and Retention)

Meeting date: 4 December 2024

Willie Rennie

Laura Caven, given that there is a programme board, why is there such wide variation in local authorities’ performance? The Who Cares? Scotland report that was published this year showed a pretty stark picture. Why does that variation exist?

Education, Children and Young People Committee

The Promise (Staff Recruitment and Retention)

Meeting date: 4 December 2024

Willie Rennie

For clarity, there is a requirement—an intention—for independent advocacy to be available in every local authority, but it is not. Why is it not available?

Education, Children and Young People Committee

The Promise (Staff Recruitment and Retention)

Meeting date: 4 December 2024

Willie Rennie

I had hoped that we would have a COSLA representative here who understood the landscape and the reason for the variation, because it is a major and really important player in the delivery of keeping the Promise. I do not know whether you were here for the earlier evidence session, but you have heard the frustration that care-experienced young people are expressing—they are incandescent with rage. I suggest that COSLA needs to be much more on top of this, if we are to deal with some of these issues. That is no criticism of you, but my concern is that the variation between authorities is a major part of the problem.

I have a follow-up question on the whole family wellbeing fund: why could we not get the money out the door?

Education, Children and Young People Committee

The Promise (Staff Recruitment and Retention)

Meeting date: 4 December 2024

Willie Rennie

That is the headline; it is the only thing that I see from the briefing.

Education, Children and Young People Committee

The Promise (Staff Recruitment and Retention)

Meeting date: 4 December 2024

Willie Rennie

Have you told the Government that, and if so, what has it said?

Education, Children and Young People Committee

The Promise (Staff Recruitment and Retention)

Meeting date: 4 December 2024

Willie Rennie

Sort of.

Mr Farrugia, do you want to come in?

Education, Children and Young People Committee

The Promise (Staff Recruitment and Retention)

Meeting date: 4 December 2024

Willie Rennie

Why is there variation, do you think?

Education, Children and Young People Committee

The Promise (Staff Recruitment and Retention)

Meeting date: 4 December 2024

Willie Rennie

Say that, and say it again, because it is not being said clearly. I am not getting that at all.

Education, Children and Young People Committee [Draft]

Schools (Residential Outdoor Education) (Scotland) Bill

Meeting date: 27 November 2024

Willie Rennie

That is your personal answer. It is what you say you have seen, but that is not objective evidence; it is anecdotal.