Chamber and committees

I have, like other colleagues who have raised this issue, seen these kinds of incidents in my region. As the cabinet secretary knows, we had a recent incident of damage and vandalism at the united services club in Barrhead. The last social club in the town, it is run by older volunteers, and the incident was very distressing for them.

I heard what the minister said, but the Government has now had a number of summits. We need to know when the funding will come to support local authorities, community organisations and, crucially, the police in taking a focused and holistic view of the issue and to enable us to get the solutions that we need for communities.

Before Meghan Gallacher moves on to talk about childcare, can she say whether she recognises the importance of neonatal services for women and, in particular, the issues that we have debated on the Government’s downgrading of the neonatal service at University hospital Wishaw, which is of serious concern to a number of Lanarkshire members in the chamber, not least my colleague Davy Russell, the member for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse? Does she recognise the importance of that to women?

Good morning. I think that it is fair to say that there have been mixed views on the second national BSL plan. For example, many users have said that it lacks focus, measurable goals, timelines and accountability. It would be useful to hear your broad views on the second national BSL plan and how it assists with the development of local plans.

That is why I asked the question. The evidence that we heard was from people who use BSL. The contention was that the users of the language must be at the heart of the process. It is useful to hear that the cabinet secretary is open to that suggestion. I am sure that the committee will want to reflect on that as part of its work.

I will hand back to the convener. I hope that those questions were substantive enough.

There are two points in what you have just said. One is that you do not recognise that the draft plan have been watered down; however, you do recognise that such criticism has been made of it.

Rachel O’Neill from Moray house school of sport and education at the University of Edinburgh was consulted on the plan, and her research with Dr Rob Wilks of University of the West of England in Bristol was incorporated into the draft version. Their view was that recommendations had been watered down or removed, and they were disappointed with that. It would be useful for the committee to understand why that decision was taken in the final draft and why people feel that things have been watered down.

On your last point on progress being measured in tangible outcomes, a lot of the criticism is to do with there not being measurable things in the plan. There is not a sense that we will measure targets. I appreciate that you are saying today that that will be the case, but is it your view that there should be measurable outcomes?

What was your involvement in the preparation of the national plan? What influence do you feel that you had?

We have heard evidence from various quarters that it feels as if the national plan has been watered down and does not have the impetus that people desired in the consultation. Do you recognise that view?

That is useful, because there is concern about a lack of central oversight of all of that. In our session with the previous panel, we had a discussion about the lack of a formal oversight body. I appreciate what the Deputy First Minister has said about the legislative constraints in that regard, and I do not want to pit BSL against Gaelic, because I am supportive of the Gaelic language, too—which we will have a wide-ranging discussion about in the chamber this afternoon—but, earlier this morning, we were told that Bòrd na Gàidhlig has a very clear role and that it often acts as the central oversight organisation. The fact that we do not have a similar body for BSL was a matter of concern for the witnesses who gave that evidence.

The Deputy First Minister has said that she is open to having a conversation about that or to a potential recommendation, but I wonder whether she might like to reflect on that comparison.

Dr Adam, you said that the Government does not have an expert group on BSL to advise it on the plan. Is it your view that the status that Bòrd na Gàidhlig has as the national body for Gaelic should be replicated for BSL in Scotland? Is that what you are pointing to?

I appreciate the Deputy First Minister’s comments about taking a carrot-and-stick approach in encouraging people to engage in best practice. However, the DFM is very committed to delivering overarching Government policy. What scope is there to revisit the idea that there should be measurable goals, timelines and accountability?

I appreciate what Mr McGowan has just said about taking stock at the end of that three-year period, but is the Deputy First Minister committed to having more tangible timescales on what needs to be done during that time?