The next item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S4M-10265, in the name of Linda Fabiani, entitled “East Kilbride has Real Heroes”. The debate will be concluded without any question being put. I again invite members who are leaving to do so quickly and quietly.
Motion debated,
That the Parliament welcomes the publication of the shortlist for STV’s Scotland’s Real Heroes Award, which is sponsored by the Royal Bank of Scotland; congratulates both Miss Jenny Cook of East Kilbride and the East Kilbride Hangout on being recognised; notes that Jenny has raised in excess of £29,000 for Yorkhill Children’s Hospital and the Catherine McEwan Foundation, and considers that Maw’s Mafia (East Kilbride Hangout) offers a wonderful environment for young people with special needs, giving them a range of activities and experiences; understands that the STV series will pay tribute to people from across Scotland whose hard work, ambition and generosity have helped local communities, and thanks them all.
12:34
It gives me great pleasure to hold the debate on the motion entitled “East Kilbride has Real Heroes”, which East Kilbride certainly does. We are having the debate because of STV’s Scotland’s real heroes awards, which are sponsored by the Royal Bank of Scotland.
I would like to say a few words about STV. It should be noted that STV, in my part of the country certainly—I say “in my part of the country” because somebody who represents the Borders would be able to say that there are issues there, although I know that they are being addressed as far as possible—as well as in Glasgow and all the cities, and generally across the country, has become like community television for us. It cares about communities and does a lot of work in them to recognise those who make them so strong.
I found that that was particularly the case in East Kilbride when a wonderful lass called Kayleigh Mcleod from STV worked there. She is still very much missed by the community groups and charities with which she worked and for which she raised awareness of their work.
That is what “Finding Scotland’s Real Heroes” is about. The series celebrates people’s efforts and dedication, with the Scottish public voting for the winners. For reference, it will be on from 15 August, with an episode every Friday thereafter. The series pays tribute to people who work hard in their communities and have ambition and generosity—it is about improving things for other people.
East Kilbride has loads of that—in the 20 years or so in which I have worked there, I have found a very strong sense of that. People from all walks of life and all age groups work very hard to give others a helping hand and improve things in their area.
The series recognises all those things. The awards shortlist includes nominees for entrepreneur of the year, sporting volunteer of the year, hero neighbour of the year, community champion of the year, community project of the year and environmental project of the year. There is the courage award, which I want to talk about in particular, the carer of the year award, the young real hero of the year award and the hero animal of the year award—our own Mr Q should perhaps have been put in for that for putting up with us all and with all the noise in the chamber. As I said, viewers vote for the nominees who they think most deserve to win the real heroes awards.
I congratulate the past winners. There have been some fantastic winners.
Before I get on to East Kilbride, I will speak about the current nominees, who come from all walks of life. They should all be celebrated, and I hope that members will mention them. There are nominees from Glasgow, Inverclyde, Skye, West Lothian, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, Caithness, the Highlands—I hope that I am not missing anybody—and East Ayrshire. There are people on the shortlist from Edinburgh, too, and from Clydebank, Portobello, Argyll and Bute, Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. However, as far as I am concerned, the ones who should win live in East Kilbride, because East Kilbride has real heroes. I will say a few words about the nominees from East Kilbride.
The first has a fantastic name: maw’s mafia—that is a fabulous name. Four ladies—Elma Ross, Lynn Morrison, Lesley McGinlay and Connie Smillie—have been nominated for the carer award. They are certainly known locally as maw’s mafia, and we are aw quite scared of them. Those ladies do various kinds of voluntary work, but they have fought very hard for their children’s rights.
There is a big issue here. Young people with special needs go to school together, form friendships and social relationships, and perhaps go to the youth club together. When they leave school, they carry on going to the youth club, but when they hit 21 and are too old to go to it—they are not allowed to go to it any more—their social network falls apart. All of a sudden, they are isolated. Maw’s mafia got together with others and started up a weekly club. It started off in Claremont parish church and now meets in Calderglen high school every Monday night. It offers social services, trips and activities for 18 to 25-year-olds. Alison Gilmour, whose niece, Stephanie Kelly, was left wheelchair-bound after an accident, nominated East Kilbride hangout for the award. That is a fantastic service that is growing all the time. I pay tribute to the Bruce hotel in East Kilbride, which has just offered regular discos free of charge in the Skye lounge.
The other person in East Kilbride who has been nominated—for the courage award—is Miss Jenny Cook, whom I am sure many members will have heard of. Aged 11, she is a fantastic young lady. Jenny has ulcerative colitis and, aged just six, she had her diseased large bowel removed, because medication was no longer working. However, even with that, Jenny started fundraising and persuaded her family, teachers and school friends to help out. She was only five when she organised her first fundraiser, which raised £5,000—she is quite a gal. A couple of years later, she met Derek McEwan, who set up the Catherine McEwan foundation in memory of his mum, who died of Crohn’s disease. They have been fundraising ever since. Jenny is absolutely astounding. At age 11, she has raised more than £30,000 for the Yorkhill Children’s Charity and she has not stopped yet, because her next target is £50,000 by 2016.
Jenny is becoming very well known, because she is a special young girl. She is regularly on Radio Clyde with Robin Galloway, doing the Jenny Cook report, which is on how her charity work is going, and she has become terribly good friends with our First Minister. In fact, she was one of his guests at the recent Commonwealth games opening ceremony. However, I think that the First Minister’s nose will be a bit out of joint because, since Jenny was interviewed by Nicholas McDonald for the STV programme, I am afraid that he is uppermost in Jenny’s mind. Jenny also does great buddying work with other young people at Yorkhill, which is important, and she runs a huge fundraiser every year called “Tea Jenny”, which takes place in September.
I could talk about the nominees for ever, but I am running out of time. It is particularly great that maw’s mafia from the hangout and Jenny Cook will meet up soon to give each other support going into the competition, because that is what the community of East Kilbride does and that is what it is like. I close by saying that, yes, East Kilbride has real heroes.
12:42
I welcome the opportunity to speak on the motion and I congratulate Linda Fabiani on securing the debate.
This week, the Parliament has confronted issues that divide opinion, from data security and armed police to Gaza and the big decision in September. In a week in which we have tackled the contentious and the controversial, it is a particular privilege to be able to address a topic that unites us all.
Scotland is a charitable and giving nation. We do not just give money to good causes; we give our time, energy, ideas and creativity. There are real heroes in every community and the debate is our chance to recognise the examples that just some of them have set. I echo Linda Fabiani’s remarks and put on record my congratulations to all those who have been shortlisted. I thank the Royal Bank of Scotland for making the awards possible, and STV for telling the stories behind the awards.
I hope that those stories will inspire others to act or will at least foster a greater appreciation of the many acts of selflessness and kindness that happen every day in every community in every part of Scotland. I want to mention my part of Scotland, which is East Kilbride, where I have lived for nearly 40 years and where I brought up my family. I can honestly say that East Kilbride is very much a village in itself.
For people with learning disabilities, the transition to adulthood can be difficult. The transition is difficult not just for the individual person but for the family, who might have to find a new routine and might even have to face new obstacles. As Linda Fabiani said, East Kilbride hangout club addressed a gap in the provision of services in the town, and that gap could not have been plugged without volunteers. I am therefore glad that the club has been nominated for the carer of the year award. Wee Jenny Cook, who has done fundraising work for Crohn’s, colitis and Yorkhill and who has even volunteered as a hospital buddy for sick children, is an exemplary candidate for the real heroes courage award.
There are others. The Yooz reuse and recycling social enterprise has previously come to the Parliament to tell us about its work. It recycles building materials and furniture at a profit, which it reinvests in the community. In addition to diverting waste from landfill, it places people—including those with disabilities—in employment and in training programmes.
Margaret Gibb, of the west of Scotland playscheme, has given 30 years of her life to supporting playgroups and playschemes. Members of the driving force group give their time to transport hospital patients in central Scotland. In Coatbridge, the home of so many of our star athletes from the Commonwealth games, two of the town’s sport and fitness enthusiasts have been shortlisted for the sporting volunteer of the year award.
Those nominees—those heroes—are the people who make Scotland the great nation that it is. I look forward to seeing them on STV, and I wish them every success in the awards.
12:45
East Kilbride does indeed have real heroes, and I commend them all. However, so too does every other part of Scotland. Listening to Linda Fabiani talking about Jenny Cook and the maw’s mafia was tremendously inspirational, for which I thank her. I also thank her for bringing this important debate to the chamber. It is important that we recognise the excellent work that takes place every single day throughout our country, and I hope that the debate will add to that recognition.
I put on record my congratulations to all the nominees from all over Scotland. The list reminds us that Scotland is full of outstanding entrepreneurs, talented athletes, conscious citizens and compassionate caretakers. The “Finding Scotland’s Real Heroes” programme highlights those who have had a positive impact on the community, and invites the Scottish people to get to know what those heroes have done while encouraging them to support efforts in their own communities and become involved.
I will highlight one of those great nominees: a lady called Vicki McCarthy from Inverclyde. Ms McCarthy is the founder and executive director of REACH for autism. She is a hard-working and proud mother who has a child with autism. She is one of the nominees for the community entrepreneur of the year award.
In the past few years, Vicki has been a great support to many parents. She has worked as a nurse both domestically and abroad, but not long ago she felt that she ought to change direction and focus her efforts on studying autism after her daughter was diagnosed in 2005. She is without doubt passionate about helping people with autism to reach their full potential and to become contributing and valued members of their local community. She would also like to help and support families to better understand and appreciate loved ones with autism.
REACH for autism was founded when Vicki became frustrated with the lack of support and services for people living with autism. She and a group of parents and allies decided to take matters into their own hands and work to provide a long-term sustainable solution, not by replacing or duplicating what is already done but by working to plug any gaps in service delivery. REACH provides a wide range of support and services for people with autism and their loved ones. The organisation states that its primary goal is to create “connection and community” for all people with autism.
REACH has developed its own method, which is known as the REACH way. It is a simple approach that focuses on relationships, education, action, community and health—or REACH, which is very clever. The method is delivered by a team that includes parents of autistic children, occupational therapists, social workers, families, community supporters and other members of the community. The programme is an excellent way to create community integration and involvement.
Some of the specific programmes that REACH organises include group workshops, educational courses, seminars and stress management programmes. It also produces a newsletter that covers current events and issues in the community relating to autism.
REACH has grown rapidly. Earlier this year, it opened a base in Ratho Street in Greenock, and only this week Michael Matheson MSP, the Scottish Government’s Minister for Public Health, paid it a visit. I know that he was greatly impressed by what he saw, particularly as he had met Vicki and another couple of representatives a few years ago when they had bags of enthusiasm and support but precious little resource.
Vicki is a truly remarkable woman. When I see her next, she will probably chin me for saying this, but she is certainly not scared of asking people for help. Once she actually has someone’s number and email address, they know that she will actually use them, and she does. I do not mind that, however, because I know that Vicki and her team are doing such positive work and getting results.
I wish to express my gratitude to the organisers of the “Finding Scotland’s Real Heroes” programme for their efforts to recognise a few of the many people who are working to make Scotland an incredible place. They have high standards, and it is an honour for anyone to be nominated. I congratulate all who have been nominated for the Scotland’s heroes awards, and I again thank Linda Fabiani for bringing the debate to the Parliament.
12:50
I thank Linda Fabiani for bringing the debate to the chamber.
Given the current culture of an increasing obsession with celebrity and fame, which is often achieved through reality television or an individual’s relentless self-promotion, it is gratifying and entirely appropriate that those who selflessly give up their own time and work within their local communities to make a real difference to people’s lives have been given the opportunity to be recognised, not only by STV’s real heroes awards but in the chamber.
Nominations for the awards were sought from anyone in the local community who wished to highlight the valuable work of their friends, neighbours or colleagues. I understand that, as Linda Fabiani confirmed earlier, filming of the nominees with the awards presenter Carol Smillie is progressing and that the first episode is due to be screened on Friday 15 August.
This is the second year that STV and the Royal Bank of Scotland have embarked on the search for Scotland’s real heroes. Previous winners from last year include Alf Collington, who set up the Falkirk Foodbank, and Mairi O’Keefe, chief executive officer of Scotland’s only respite centre that specialises in outings for people with multiple sclerosis.
It is very encouraging that two of this year’s 30 nominees are from East Kilbride and almost a quarter are from Central Scotland region.
Linda Fabiani has already spoken about East Kilbride’s Elma Ross, Lynn Morrison, Lesley McGinlay and Connie Smillie, also known as maw’s mafia, and the superb work in which those women have been involved in improving the lives of young adults with special needs. East Kilbride hangout, which those mums run on a Monday night at Calderglen high school, has provided the only local support service that offers activities for 18 to 25-year-olds with disabilities and learning difficulties.
Despite facing huge challenges in her young life, 11-year-old Jenny Cook has been inspiring by raising more than £30,000 for two compelling causes, namely Yorkhill Children’s Charity and the Catherine McEwan foundation. The latter aims to improve the lives of sufferers of Crohn’s disease and colitis, and the money raised goes towards further research into, and training about, inflammatory bowel diseases.
Yorkhill Children’s Charity is based at Yorkhill hospital and helps to improve the experience of being in hospital for countless children who are sadly required to be patients. In the past, the charity has provided millions of pounds towards child-specific medical equipment and support for the families and parents of children for whom visiting hospital has been the predominant experience of their life.
Other nominees from Central Scotland region include Pat Bannan, a 66-year-old from my native Coatbridge, who has been nominated for sporting volunteer of the year. Pat is being recognised for encouraging members of his community to get fit.
Andrew Campbell, also from Coatbridge, has been nominated for the same award for providing low-cost and, sometimes, free tae kwon do lessons for children in the area.
As Margaret McCulloch mentioned, Margaret Gibb from Bellshill has been recognised for the 30 years that she has given to playgroups and play schemes in the area.
Bellshill-based Yooz reuse and recycling has been nominated for environmental project of the year. It procures products from unwanted buildings and sells them on at a reduced rate. Since 2009, the project has saved a staggering 4,000-plus tonnes of supposed waste materials from going to landfill.
I consider myself privileged to represent a region in which so many constituents are giving up their time to set up initiatives and engage creatively in varied and worthwhile projects. STV and RBS, the sponsors, are to be congratulated on introducing the real heroes awards, which offer well-deserved recognition for selfless and public-spirited individuals and groups—and recognise our local animal heroes.
12:55
I thank Linda Fabiani for bringing to our attention the outstanding work of Jenny Cook and the fabulously named maw’s mafia: Lynn Morrison, Lesley McGinlay, Elma Ross and Connie Smillie. I congratulate Jenny on her nomination for a Scotland’s real heroes courage award and I congratulate maw’s mafia on their nomination in the carer of the year category.
As Linda Fabiani and other members did, I commend RBS and STV for running the Scotland’s real heroes awards and for the series of programmes that will recognise Scottish people who put others before themselves. As Margaret McCulloch, Stuart McMillan and Margaret Mitchell said, there are heroes in every community and it is great to see them getting the recognition they deserve. How can we possibly choose a winner when we look at the shortlist, which is full of amazing people and inspirational stories? Good luck to everyone on the list, and congratulations to them all.
I congratulate Jenny Cook on being nominated and then shortlisted for the courage award. As we heard, Jenny is a remarkable young girl who, despite on-going health issues, has dedicated her energy and time to raising significant funds to help others. She has pledged to raise £50,000 and has already raised more than £31,000—a phenomenal figure for someone so young to raise. Her fundraising directly benefits the lives of other children who suffer from inflammatory bowel diseases.
Young people do that kind of thing all the time—they want to put back into the system something that will help people who have similar stories. The funds that Jenny Cook has raised have been used to provide days out for young people and their families and to support research. That vital support is making a difference to the lives of sufferers now and in the future. It is evident from the debate that we have all been impressed by the dedication of Jenny, who at just 11 years old is making such an impact on the lives of others. Her selfless work is truly inspirational to us all. Jenny also has a fan in the First Minister, who was delighted to meet her at Holyrood earlier this year; she was his guest at the Commonwealth games opening ceremony.
Jenny’s sterling work has not gone unnoticed. She is a young ambassador for Yorkhill Children’s Charity, and she is part of the Yorkhill buddy scheme, helping to support other young people who are frequent patients at the hospital. She is a radio star too, regularly appearing on Radio Clyde’s Robin Galloway’s Sunday show. “Wee Jenny” now has a high public profile. That has raised the profile of her fundraising activities, which in turn benefits the children who attend Yorkhill children’s hospital and their families. I do not know how an 11-year-old manages to find the time to do all those things. She is truly a remarkable lady, and someone whom we should very much celebrate. It is good that we have an opportunity to do that in the Parliament.
What Jenny Cook is doing is, of course, complemented by the work of the Government and my colleague Michael Matheson to try to help sufferers of inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s disease and colitis. We should recognise that work, but of course we are here to celebrate the work that Jenny is doing.
Let me turn to maw’s mafia. I congratulate Elma Ross, Lynn Morrison, Lesley McGinlay, Connie Smillie and everyone else who is involved on the commitment, tireless effort and dedication that they have shown in establishing and running maw’s mafia. Their hard work is benefiting many young people with disabilities and learning difficulties in East Kilbride, including their own children.
The impact of the project cannot be underestimated. The very fact that the family of Stephanie Kelly, an attendee at the project, has nominated maw’s mafia for a real heroes award is testament to how much the project means to the individuals that attend and their families. It should be recognised as an outstanding model of local communities using their assets to deliver a service that meets the community’s needs. We should learn from it to address barriers of isolation and loneliness that other young disabled people may be experiencing in other areas of Scotland. With the legislative changes that we have made as part of our reform of public services—the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014; the recently passed Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014, which I took through Parliament; and the Social Care (Self-directed Support) (Scotland) Act 2013—we should not lose sight of those young people who need support and who, like every other young person across Scotland, want to have their pals about them and have connections with others.
The need to address isolation and loneliness was highlighted in the 2010 evaluation of the same as you? campaign, which told us that only one in three people interviewed was able to name at least one close friend. That is why the Scottish Government, in partnership with Equal Futures and other relevant organisations, held a friendship event in January this year to help people with learning disabilities to be supported to have more friends. It is our intention to plan for more such events this year. However, we cannot take our foot off the gas on getting transitions right and ensuring that simple things such as solid relationships are valued.
Our current strategies to improve the lives of people with learning disabilities and autism and those of their families and carers—keys to life and the Scottish strategy for autism—are underpinned by human rights and principles that are based upon dignity, choice and realising potential. Young people with learning disabilities should have opportunities in their communities that enable them to socialise and be part of the community. We know that having an active social life and feeling included helps to improve health and wellbeing for people with learning disabilities and autism. That is why I am delighted to commend maw’s mafia for giving young people with disabilities and learning difficulties an environment in which they can socialise and enjoy a range of activities and experiences. That work is an embodiment of what we are aiming to achieve.
As well as supporting young people with disabilities and learning difficulties, the Scottish Government is investing in support for carers like Elma, Lynn, Lesley and Connie at maw’s mafia to continue to care for their families, friends and neighbours and also to lead a life alongside their caring responsibilities. That is why this Government has committed significant resources of nearly £114 million to supporting carers between 2007 and 2015. We have also invested nearly £14 million in the voluntary sector short breaks fund, which allows carers, young carers and cared-for persons to take a break from their caring responsibilities and gives them an opportunity to relax without feeling stress or guilt. Over £8 million of that investment has gone into supporting children and young people with disabilities and their carers.
I could not agree more with the speakers today who praised Jenny Cook and maw’s mafia so highly. With their help and with the help of others like them, the Scottish Government will continue to work towards its aspiration to make Scotland the best place in the world to grow up. However, that can only ever be achieved if we work in partnership and truly value the work of our army of volunteers across every community in our country.
I wish Jenny Cook, maw’s mafia, Pat Bannan, Vicki McCarthy, everyone else who has been mentioned and all those who are on the shortlist all the very best at the Scotland’s real heroes awards ceremony in September. I wish Jenny continued success in her fundraising activities and maw’s mafia continued success in running the much-valued service in East Kilbride.
Scotland has a hugely talented army of people doing amazing things for people and creating better lives and life chances for so many, and we should value them. It is a great privilege to be able to conclude this debate for the Government. Again, I thank Linda Fabiani for bringing these two wonderful groups to our attention and for allowing us to celebrate them in an appropriate and highly respectful way.
13:03 Meeting suspended.Previous
First Minister’s Question Time