Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Official Report 853KB pdf

Time for Reflection

Good afternoon. The first item of business is time for reflection, and our speaker is Mr Paul Carberry, director of children’s services at Action for Children Scotland.

Presiding Officer, members of the Scottish Parliament, thank you for inviting me to lead time for reflection here in our Scottish Parliament.

Action for Children has been speaking out on behalf of disadvantaged children and young people for more than 147 years in the United Kingdom and for 60 years in Scotland. We aim to act early so that children and young people get the care and support that they need, as soon as they need it. In Scotland, we operate in 30 out of 32 local authorities, delivering services that support more than 14,000 children, young people, parents and carers every year.

A number of our young ambassadors are in the public gallery today. Those young people are not just service users or ex-service users. They make a real contribution to the way we develop and deliver services, and they have a positive impact on the lives of other young people, their families and local communities.

Scotland has always been at the forefront in promoting the voice of disadvantaged children and young people. Scotland was the first nation in the UK to have a Minister for Children and Young People and a Minister for Youth Employment, and the first to give 16 and 17-year-olds the right to vote in elections.

Scotland has set a clear ambition to become the best place to grow up in. To achieve that we must work together to enable young people to play a key role and contribute their own solutions. What is clear from our young ambassadors is that harnessing young people’s skills, ideas and enthusiasm is vital to Scotland’s success.

One of the many inspirational young people I have met is John. John’s early years were blighted by parental neglect and drug abuse. By 12, he was moving drugs for older people. Unsurprisingly, he ended up in prison. John’s dad died of an overdose when he was in prison and John attended his funeral handcuffed. When John’s wee brother was asked by his primary school teacher what he wanted to be when he grew up, he answered quite seriously, “A drug dealer.”

John is now 24 and has worked with Action for Children for four years, helping vulnerable young people who are involved in serious criminality. His impact on those young people and their families is immense and he is the role model for many. The impact on his own family is equally profound. The same wee brother now says that he wants a job like big brother John. That shows us the power of creating assets and unleashing potential.