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If Parliament, which has so many women MSPs, does nothing to address issues around low pay and part-time working, we should look ourselves in the eye and ask why we are here.
I particularly congratulate my colleague and comrade Marilyn Livingstone on securing the debate—I have to do that because she is the lead Labour MSP on the Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Committee.
After those families found out that the service was to be withdrawn, there was much uncertainty about what would come next and not enough information about what was planned.I am not the only MSP who has received letters and so on that have raised issues.
Your invitation has caused me to reflect on the information that has been made available to MSPs to date. It was clear from the reports of earlier meetings that some have felt frustrated at not getting information about Kilmarnock and the company.
In the area that I represent, and speaking as a constituency MSP, there are concerns that certain environmental bodies would object to many developments that local people would consider to be in keeping with all four aims in the bill.
I shall keep committee members informed of the process and it might be helpful to involve other MSPs in that scrutiny.I believe strongly in the power of local democracy and the importance of local councils, not just as deliverers of services, but as planners of those services.
We can acknowledge the arguments that the Executive makes for having a framework bill, but there must be some sort of protection from the other direction—it is not acceptable that MSPs might vote down something that they would agree with in amended form.
That caused a bit of a wry smile from the MSPs. The officers find it hard to get decisions from a local authority of that size, given that there does not seem to be any real political structure.
The voluntary sector is keen to develop its role as a partner in policy making through the committee system of the Scottish Parliament and through direct contacts with individual MSPs, but our hope is that MSPs will recognise the difference between commercial lobbyists and voluntary organisation campaigners.