Chamber and committees

I should probably know the answer to this question, so I apologise for my ignorance. Given that there are 32 local authorities and various other people involved in this issue, how is all that information pulled together? Is it reported annually to Parliament? If not, is it worth thinking about ensuring that a holistic approach is taken, with Parliament considering the information annually?

Yes, and also the various numbers and statistics that come from local authorities, because it would be good if Parliament or some other body had an overview of that.

I would be grateful for that.

Minister, some witnesses have said that there is a lack of detail in the bill on the accountability and monitoring framework. Can you provide us with some detail on how you envisage that working in practice?

Can I just jump in there? You have said that the issue has been looked at and discussed, that it is up your agenda and that you are going to think about it more over the summer, but what I am not hearing is that you are going to do X or Y about it. I suppose that that is my slight concern about this being a framework bill. There are lots of good intentions, but there is also a lack of detail on how it is going to be delivered.

I would like to push you a wee bit on that, minister. Are you bringing anything specific forward that will make the bill different from what it is today?

I have thought fairly long about that question, because I think that it is a genuine one. We have not said in the bill that the commissioner must have a disability themselves; after all, many good people out there have experience of disability through family, work or other areas. Clearly, they will have to understand disability and the issues that are faced by people in a disability context. If I were to write down who the ideal person would be, I would say that they would have lived experience of disability themselves, but I do not think that that has to be in the bill.

I get that. It is very interesting to see that, if you go back and read the stage 1 evidence that was taken for the creation of the children’s commissioner, exactly the same questions were being asked then: there are lots of children’s charities out there who are advocating for children to Parliament—why do you need a commissioner?

I think that there is something to be said for bringing things together. I think that you can see the effectiveness of the children’s commissioner, compared to children’s charities, over the past number of years. The questions that you are asking are absolutely legitimate. I think that they were asked and answered with the children’s commissioner. I would want to draw a line between those examples and say that they are very similar. In no way are we trying to push out or minimise what the third sector does, but there is a place for an individual or a commission to have that collective voice, which is really important. They can also look forward, consider legislation and see what issues people are facing, which charities often do not have the time to do.

Therefore, I would answer by saying that we should look at the fact that the same arguments were made with regard to the children’s commissioner. I think that we can answer in the same way with regard to a disability commissioner.

They cannot deal with every issue, but they could highlight the issue to charities that work in that local area. There will be a role for information sharing—for asking whether people know about something that is happening in Ayrshire or on Arran, for example, and whether they have responded.

My apologies.

Good morning, colleagues. I introduced the Disability Commissioner (Scotland) Bill in February this year, having previously obtained the right to introduce a member’s bill.

The bill would establish a disability commissioner for Scotland, whose primary function would be

“to promote and safeguard the rights of disabled people.”

To achieve that, the commissioner would

“promote awareness and understanding of the rights of disabled people ... Keep under review the law, policy and practice relating to the rights of disabled people ... promote best practice by service providers”

and

“promote, commission, undertake and publish research ... relating to the rights of disabled people.”

The commissioner would also be able to investigate

“by what means and to what extent a service provider has regard to the rights, interests and views of disabled people in making decisions or taking actions that affect those disabled people.”

The financial memorandum that accompanies the bill was drafted by the non-Government bills unit on my behalf. In developing the financial memorandum, the NGBU consulted Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body officials. A draft financial memorandum and draft bill were shared with SPCB officials prior to the bill’s introduction. In addition, the NGBU drew information from recent financial memorandums for bills that establish commissioners, as well as the annual accounts of existing commissioners. The policy behind the bill and the details of the financial memorandum were developed using the criteria in the session 2 Finance Committee’s report as valuable context.

The financial memorandum sets out my strong preference that, wherever possible, commissioners should share accommodation and services with other public bodies to reduce costs. However, provision for

“the location of the Commissioner’s office”

and

“the sharing of premises, staff, services or other resources”

would be subject to any direction from the SPCB and the availability of such premises and services at the point at which the commissioner was established.

The financial memorandum estimates that, initially, the commissioner would have four staff members. The estimated remuneration for the commissioner and their staff is based on information provided by SPCB officials. I consider it appropriate to provide estimated costs for four staff members, as that is in line with the staffing numbers of recently established or soon-to-be established commissioners. Should the commissioner seek to employ additional staff, approval would be sought from the SPCB. As the committee will be aware, the financial memorandum contains the best estimates based on the information available at the time.

I note the three responses to the committee’s call for views on the financial memorandum and take on board the points that were made in them. I further note the Scottish Government’s correspondence with the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee, in which the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice noted:

“The cost estimates seem to broadly reflect what would be expected with the introduction of a new Commissioner role.”

I consider the costs incurred in establishing a disability commissioner to be an investment in disabled people that is long overdue. Establishing such a commissioner would ensure that disabled people had a champion who would promote and safeguard their rights. In focusing solely on the needs of disabled people, rather than having a remit spread over various protected characteristics, the commissioner would give disabled people the prioritisation that they need and deserve.

As always, I am happy to take questions from the committee.