Our meeting was very productive. As you know, we had concerns regarding the transport arrangements that we had already been given, particularly in relation to the venues of Celtic Park and Hampden and the spaces that were allocated to blue badge holders. The concern was that people with additional needs—not necessarily blue badge holders—would not be catered for.
My opinion, following our meeting, is that that is not the case. Glasgow 2014 has been working since January or February 2013 on a programme to deliver the games for everyone and to make them accessible not only for those with a disability but for the elderly and for people taking a pram or buggy, or who have lots of children. All volunteers who have been recruited by Glasgow 2014 have had additional training, and they will be aware of what to look for when people are using public transport. If they see someone struggling as they are walking to the venue, wherever it may be, they can ask them certain questions and devise an alternative route for them.
One hundred and sixty volunteers have been given additional training. They will be at the venues, so that whoever is approached initially can refer people on to them if they cannot deal with the problem. It came up in discussion that someone might break their leg a few weeks before the games, for example, and they might not have highlighted that as a concern. The view of the organising committee members whom we met was that it will be possible to cater for that situation.
Accessible tickets were available when people booked online or on the phone, and the staff asked the relevant questions. Some of us might have been confused about that and I asked whether that applied only to people with a blue badge. Would the person be separated from the rest of their party at the games? That is clearly not the case—the aim is to keep everyone together as much as possible. We were told that people who had carers were getting a free ticket for them. Even people who do not have an accessible ticket can phone the booking line when they receive their tickets and point out that they have additional needs. That might not necessarily apply to the ticket; it could involve walking to the ground, or whatever. They will receive as much practical information and help as possible.
I raised the matter of traffic management plans, specifically in relation to Motherwell and its train station, as well as the flow of traffic coming through. The organising committee members said that they would work with the traffic management plans and with local authorities in that regard. They did not foresee any problems, but anyone who has concerns can flag them up and the organisers will try their best to address them before the games start. I did not get the impression that the organising committee has come up with a final plan and is not prepared to change it. If there are additional concerns, the committee will consider them and will continue with best practice.
From the people we spoke to, it came across strongly that they see this work as part of the legacy of the games. They have learned from the Olympics and Paralympics, and they want all the sporting venues to be accessible to everyone. We heard about how Tollcross swimming pool has been adapted for disabled use. That should be the benchmark for all other pools in Scotland, so that they can be used with dignity. The convener raised the issue of elderly people using pools. Given our growing health issues, people are being asked to do swimming and various other things, so we need to consider accessibility. The chief executive thought that that could be part of the legacy of the games and said that the organising committee would try to share best practice where possible.
I am positive about the games. It looks as though the venues will be very well staffed, because there are paid full-time staff such as stewards as well as the volunteers. Inevitably, issues will come up, such as people taking ill, but I hope that that will be handled well.
I noticed from your report that the organising committee gave an undertaking to provide the committee with human resources figures on equalities and so on. Will they include the background of people who are volunteering? Have we got a cross-section of society involved in volunteering, including people from well-off and less well-off backgrounds?
10:30
Thank you. We found the meeting really informative. The organising committee seems to have pre-empted every possible problem or concern. Siobhan was really good, because she spoke about her experience of applying for tickets. That was great for us, because we could walk in her shoes, so to speak, in going through the process. I hope that there will be a great legacy, particularly with the swimming pools but also with other facilities, so that people can use them and keep healthy without drawing attention to themselves.
Perhaps I should declare an interest, in that I am a volunteer at the games, or a Clydesider, as we are termed. That gives me the advantage of having been through some of the training, a lot of which was positive. For example, we had discussions about the fact that some people in a wheelchair like to be at the same level as others when speaking to them, whereas other people do not like that. We have discussed such issues about being sensitive to people. Another issue that came up was that a lot more children than normal are expected at the venues, and families will be able to bring prams. They will not be able to take them right into the venues, but there will be a place in the perimeter where they can be left. There are issues like that that I did not expect.
Siobhan McMahon said that information is available, but I have a slight question about that. If information has been made available and people have not taken it up, could there be problems on the day? I met a volunteer who had made it clear when he was initially interviewed that he had a disability, but when he came along to one of the training events, he had not highlighted it and the people running the event had not picked it up. Although information is available, I wonder whether the organisers were able to reassure you that people are taking it on board.
We can ask for that information. I think that we asked a general question like that at the time.
We move to agenda item 2. Siobhan McMahon will provide an update on disabled access to the Glasgow Commonwealth games 2014, with feedback from a meeting held on 3 June, when Siobhan and I met David Grevemberg, chief executive of Glasgow 2014.
One point that I made was that, when I was online trying to book tickets, it was not clear what the word “accessible” meant. I have now received the tickets, but I am not sure that, if we had not had the meeting, I would have known what to do. The people we spoke to said that they would consider ways of providing the information, which might not necessarily be on the website, because not everyone has access to a computer. I was reassured but, as with anything, there is still a concern about that.
The back-up is that the training that John Mason and other volunteers have had should be sufficient. He will know better than I do whether that is the case. I suppose that we will find out only once the games have taken place. However, I did not sense any complacency in the meeting that we had. I feel that every concern that we raised will be addressed, and that the organising committee will continue that dialogue. If John Mason still has concerns about the issue, I am sure that we can highlight it with the organising committee again. I certainly think that it addressed the issue.
The convener led on that and Glasgow 2014 said that it would go back to its HR department to ask the question. The representatives of Glasgow 2014 did not have the information with them because they were dealing primarily with accessibility issues. The convener also asked about the young people who are volunteers and what happens after the games. If they have picked up particular skills, will they be referred to certain companies? Will there be jobs fairs and so on? How will that be highlighted?
The chief executive of Glasgow 2014 said that that was what it hoped to do. Glasgow 2014 is now winding down as a company because the games will take place quite soon, but it hopes that everyone who has a skill can be referred on. Margaret McCulloch raised those points as convener.
The organisers are keen to address any issues that we raise. There has not been a line drawn in the sand—they will keep reviewing and updating their systems and procedures accordingly.
That is a good point. Yesterday, at the YouthLink Scotland event, I spoke to the scouts. I was told that they are not allowed to have a list of the volunteers, but they hope that some of the volunteers would want to go on and help the scouts in the longer term. I accept that perhaps such information cannot be given to the scouts, but maybe they and other groups could provide information that could be disseminated to the volunteers.
The benefits, experience and skills that the volunteers are gaining during the Commonwealth games is fantastic information for them to put on their CVs and help them to move into employment if they have been unemployed. We have to make sure that we capture that. At the end of the Commonwealth games and the volunteering period, the volunteers should not just drop off an edge and go back to being unemployed and signing on. We need to ensure that they are moved on and have the choice of going into training, employment or further education.
That is partly why I asked how many unemployed people are volunteers, and whether we can learn from that for the future.
Yes. We will get that information. Does anyone else have any questions?
I thank the convener, Siobhan McMahon and John Mason for that input. It was very helpful. Referring back to our earlier item, it is the attitudinal change that might be built into some of these initiatives that will reap rewards in the future.
I, too, thank Siobhan McMahon. She made it all very visual for us when she described the issues that she came up against in applying for tickets. That gave Glasgow 2014 the chance to explain clearly the systems and procedures that it had put in place to deal with any of the issues. That was really good; thank you.