Seòmar agus comataidhean

My next question is probably for you, Alison, and for Alasdair Ross. This morning, we heard from folks from across the north-east of Scotland who very definitely have a vision for their places—there was absolutely no doubt about that. Are local authorities, the Scottish Government and other public bodies listening to the degree that they should when it comes to that vision? Do you share my view that we should use that bottom-up vision rather than a top-down one to ensure that we get the just transition absolutely right?

I suppose that it would be difficult for community groups to handle that because they are voluntary.

Sometimes, when folks see this kind of bill, they want all of the meat there and then, but this evidence session, this inquiry and the scrutiny of it all gives us the opportunity to go into more depth to make sure that the bill is actually the right one and will help folk.

Joe McMonagle was talking about rambling on, but I do not think that you have done that today. The evidence that you have given is extremely useful. I stand to be corrected, but I think that this is the first time during oral evidence taking that we have heard folk talk about the debt and mental health evidence form to any huge degree. For many who have watched this meeting but not looked at all the background, that will be a new thing. What you have done today has shone some more light on all that.

I want to come back to one of the most important points in all this, which is something that will not necessarily require a huge change in legislation or regulation. You talked about the training that you and your front-line staff have undertaken through ASIST. I am sure that many of your staff, if not all of them, have done trauma-informed practice training and various other training.

From the evidence that the committee has received, we are not sure what training is being done on the other side with mental health professionals, social workers and others around their knowledge of debt advice that they can pass on to their clients. In some areas, other areas of business, Government and local authorities have come together to put in place toolkits so that everybody knows what is required to do the best for the person concerned. Have you done anything about toolkits for social workers, mental health professionals and others who you deal with on behalf of clients? Has anything like that been done previously to get the smoothest possible journey for folks at what are sometimes the most traumatic times? That question is for Joe first.

Although blips have happened over the past wee while in relation to the issue, your local authority seems to be, or to have been, on the ball. However, nationally, we do not have a set advice and help toolkit for everyone who is involved. Do you think that that would be beneficial?

Grand. Natalia, do you have any comments on that?

Very briefly, you are looking at this from the debt advice side, Natalia, and I understand, because that is who you folks are. Would a toolkit like that be helpful, not just for debt advice but for the likes of GPs and link workers that Joe McMonagle spoke about—all the people who are involved in this process and helping folk—so that they follow the same lines in getting the right advice for clients as well?

While you are thinking, I will tell you what my thinking is. We have a homelessness toolkit in place, so that folk follow—or should follow—the same kind of things. That toolkit can be added to with the wealth of knowledge that comes in from various professionals who are dealing with homelessness. Would something like that, with a flexibility around it so that it can change and all the knowledge can be kept up to date, be useful?

You are looking at this from the debt advice side, and I understand why—

Adrian Gillespie said that the south harbour at Aberdeen should do us a turn for decades. I hope that it is centuries. After all, Aberdeen Harbour Board is the oldest company in these islands—it was founded in 1136.

My understanding is that hemp was grown to a huge degree in the middle ages. It sooks up carbon dioxide.

I turn to Stuart Black, who does not have to talk about hemp.