 The next item of business is a member's business debate on motion 1, 2, 4 theme, the name of Bob Doris, on Year of the Dad. I wonder what that's about. This debate will be concluded without any questions being put. Those members who wish to speak in the debate, please press the request to speak buttons now. I call on Bob Doris to open the debate, Mr Doris. Seven minutes, please. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer, for your kind introduction. I'm pleased to welcome volunteer staff and families from Homestart Glasgow North to Parliament this afternoon, as well as representatives of Homestart projects from right across Scotland and beyond. I have had the privilege of working with Homestart Glasgow North over a number of years now. This year they celebrate their 15th birthday, and I know very well the benefits that Homestart provides vulnerable families across my constituency of Maryhill and Springburn. It's fair to say that both the Homestart volunteers and families supported tend to be predominantly women, wonderful, strong, resilient and inspirational women, but it did lead me to ask the question what's about dad. I was aware that 2016 was the year of the dad, and I have been particularly keen to find out more. I've been particularly influenced by two personal events this year. My wife Janet gave birth to Cameron, our first child in January of this year, and on the 5th of May this year, on the day of our Scottish Parliament elections, my dad passed away from terminal cancer. I'm still working through how both these events have changed me. Becoming a dad has certainly been a life-affirming joy. Losing my own dad has produced and still does produce a flurry of emotions that I grapple with. Of course, those two events will be very common and familiar for many men in this chamber and across Scotland. Becoming a father can be as scary as it can be wonderful. What many of us are very lucky to have, however, are strong support networks, family and friends, work colleagues, a range of social and community networks that we plug into to gain peer support and advice. However, what if those networks are weak or the change if dads feel isolated? Who offers support then? Of course, the year of the dad is a celebration of fatherhood, and I commend the father's network for its significant contribution to the year of the dad, and I hope to work with it in the future. However, the year of the dad also made me more interested in what support or services exist for dads in the communities that find themselves in challenging circumstances such as I've outlined. How do we engage with dads that may need assistance and offer support in a way that is respectful, meaningful and relevant to them, and of benefit to their children, of course, the most important thing of all? How do we celebrate fatherhood in more challenging circumstances and ensure that dads build strong lifelong relationships with their children, particularly during those very important early years? I've heard of various organisations out there, and, of course, most notably, many of them have heard of Dad's Rock. However, what I wanted to know was what the organisation that I knew best, Homestack Glasgow North, thought about my considerations about how dads in my constituency who found themselves in challenging situations could benefit. I met Nickie O'Hara, who runs Homestack Glasgow North, along with a number of her colleagues. I was pleased to find out that Homestack, not just in Glasgow North, but already actively looking at working with dads across Scotland. My motion notes about projects that have been developed in south Glasgow, in Dundee, in Fife and in Gail and Bute, and we should put on record our thanks to all the volunteers and staff members who are there making the success of those projects. However, my constituency is Mary Hill, Springburn, and I'm delighted that Nickie and the Glasgow North Homestack team are now set to launch a dads group locally. Ian McDonald has joined the Homestack team, and, together with group worker Mary McConnell, they're developing a new dads group to focus on supporting dads with children under four. Although Homestack will provide information and training sessions to dads, the group will do what Homestack Glasgow North, but the Homestack network does best. It will work with dads, it will have fun, it will build trust, it will build relationships and provide practical activities. In doing so, the aim is to strengthen father-child relationships, reduce isolation and build support networks for dads. Homestack will help dads to become more confident and resilient, as well as aiding children's social and emotional development. The group will run on a weekly basis in Mary Hill, and I hope that it will run for three eight-week blocks over a three-year period. I would like to thank both the SDV appeal and the cartoon actors for their financial commitment to the dads project, as well as Homestack UK for helping to fund initial scoping exercise. The project has set clear outcomes that can be measured, not just for dads but also for the children to make progress with their social and emotional development through participation in age-appropriate activities with their dads. It is important that we evaluate those programmes. A strong evidence base and demonstrable success is important. I believe that that will be achieved and that those projects right across Scotland can play an important role in the health and wellbeing of dads and their children in the years ahead. That presents a challenge and an opportunity to local authorities, to our NHS, to health and social care partnerships and to our own Scottish Government to consider how to ensure the long-term and sustainable funding of such projects. I am sure that Homestack Glasgow North and the wider network would welcome an on-going dialogue with the Scottish Government and partners to identify sustainable funding opportunities in the years ahead. I hope that the minister can, this afternoon, commit to opening up that dialogue. However, today is about a celebration of fatherhood with the Year of the Dad. Every day, the vast majority of dads do a wonderful job, a great job. A recent father's network survey found that 59 per cent of dads read to their children every day, or most days, and that 82 per cent of dads cook for their kids at least a few times a week. That is pretty good, but there is definitely room for improvement in their dads and I include myself in terms of the room for improvement. Presiding Officer, my favourite time of the day is around 5.30 a.m. every morning. That is dad's time with Cameron. His first feed of the day, his first smile of the day, his first play of the day and, yes, his first nappy change of the day, that is our time together. I have to say that Cameron did not get the memo this morning. It was about quarter past four and I am feeling slightly tired. In concluding, let us be proud of the role dads play each and every day, building loving relationships with their children that last a lifetime. It is new to me, but it will not be new to many people in the chamber or watching across Scotland. However, let us all acknowledge that sometimes dads, just like mums, need a helping hand and some additional support. That is what Homestack does so well, and it is a privilege to have highlighted their excellent work here this afternoon in the part that they are playing to develop a lasting legacy for a year of the dad 2016. In closing, Presiding Officer, I very much hope that everyone will be able to join me after this debate at a parliamentary event that I am hosting. I hope that we have found out much more about the work of Homestack UK when they ask that question that I started with, what is about dad. Thank you very much. Ralph MacGregor, the bar has been set high on feeding and nappy-changing, so I call you next. Thanks very much, Presiding Officer. It gives me great pleasure to be able to speak in this debate and I would like to thank Bob Doris for bringing this to the member's debate and giving us the opportunity to discuss it here. Like Bob, when I first noticed the debate on the business bulletin, I thought that I just had to speak in this, and that is because, as many of my colleagues will know earlier this week, I was able to share the news with them that myself and my partner are expecting in May next year our second child, so thanks very much. Of course, I would like to take the opportunity to also mention my wee boy, Caird, who is now two years old, and it is fair to say that he is my whole world. He was born on 2 March 2014 and changed my life completely. I think that most parents would recognise when they say something that used to be said to me and I thought that that cannot be true, but I cannot remember what life was like before that. Everything that I do in politics and the decisions that I make and the things that I think about are about his future in mind, and without straying too much into a political element during our member's debate, I remember clearly the night of the independence referendum in 2014 when he was only about six months old and returning from the count knowing that my side, yes, had lost. I just broke down in tears coming back and it was faced with coming back to him and not been able from the way I seen it. I know other parties have different views, but from the way I've seen it, I've not been able to give him the normal independent country to grow up in. Back to the present, I've now talked about him here in the chamber and I'm so proud of that. I'll be able to show this to him and his younger brother or sister when they are older, probably likely much to their embarrassment. I'm sure that the parliamentary authorities will have calls from them wondering how the archives can be deleted. I also think that it's important to remember those for a multitude of reasons who have not been able to become dads or, sadly, who have been a dad and had that taken from them again under many different circumstances. Of course, all the mothers and children affected by those situations also. I think that any opportunity that we have to note such situations and the bravery that is shown by the people involved, we should. In moving on from yesterday's fantastic debate in hero and adoption and permanency, let's give some thought also to the adoptive and foster dads across Scotland who are so selfless and contribute so much to our society. I have to say that that was a fantastic debate yesterday across the chamber and all the parties and members who contributed. I'm so pleased to hear about the initiatives in Glasgow, which is mentioned by Bob Doris, and as a member of the justice committee, I'd like to mention some current initiatives promoting the role of dads in their child's development. For example, Barnardo's working in polement. There was recently a reception that attended just a couple of months back and we were shown to a video. It was some of the staff in polement and from Barnardo's working with young men there who were reading their child the grffalo. The minister, Mark MacDonald, spoke at that event and it was fantastic to see in the effect that I had in these young men's lives being able to interact with their children was fantastic. Of course, families outside who I met this week and had the pleasure of speaking to at the steering group, they are doing invaluable work as well promoting contact between children and parents in Custodain and mainly, we have to say that, that is mainly young men. In my own constituency, I've been contacted about a group called Mac Fun. The Mac stands for men and children, and it's been recognising dads who don't live with their children to become more involved in a fun environment. I can see that my time is nearly up. It is up. Thank you very much. I now call Donald Cameron. We fall by Ian Gray. Mr Cameron. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. For many reasons, I'm more than happy to support Bob Doris's motion today and the Year of the Dad campaign in general, not least because I'm the father of three young children. My six-year-old son recently had to fill in a school questionnaire about his dad's appearance and in the section where he was meant to enter the colour of my hair, he wrote the words, he has no hair. Did dates like this rightly prompt those of us with children to reflect on how we act as parents but also allow all of us to consider our own childhood and how we were supported by our fathers and or our mothers? I have been incredibly fortunate to have been given endless support and encouragement by my parents to this day, and I hope in some small way to pass on that experience to my children. But I was lucky, very lucky, and there are many who will not have been. Across Scotland today, there are families with young children struggling with a range of issues, such as isolation, postnatal depression, physical health problems, bereavement and many other issues. Families with young children who need help, families with young children who need support, and we can do many things to support these families and the fathers, mothers, carers and even grandparents within such families. For that reason, I am delighted that Bob Doris has highlighted the work of Homestart in his motion, not least because, as the motion states, Homestart operates in Argyll and Bute within my own region of the Highlands and Islands. As the motion notes, Homestart has a great to track record in helping parents and in particular has done a lot of work in developing a greater focus on supporting fathers when stress is placed on them in particular. I would like to use this opportunity to applaud the crucial work of Homestart in helping families using a combination of volunteers and groups, which will in turn assist the development of our young people at a critical stage in their lives and go somewhere in tackling many of the problems that I mentioned a moment ago. Indeed, this kind of campaign is very important. As far as Network Scotland highlighted, it is very much the case that the tired old stereotypes of fathers being breadwinners and mothers being caregivers is long outdated and out of step with modern life. More women are in work than ever before and more men are dedicating time to parenting. With Fathers Network Scotland noting that fathers give a mere 15 minutes of parenting time on average in the 70s, yet now dedicate more than three hours a day with extra time on weekends. In fact, more dads stay at home than ever before, with 6 per cent of married households having a working mother and a stay-at-home father. That was less than 2 per cent in the 1970s. Again, it is a small but growing trend. While there is a disproportionately large number of single parent households with women being the primary parent, 10 per cent of single parent households across the UK have a male primary parent, yet there is very little focus on this group in general or at all and we ignore them at our peril. I am pleased that there has been wide cross-party support for this motion. Sometimes when men's issues come up in politics, they tend to be seen by some as being of lesser importance than other issues. International Men's Day was held a few days ago and it regularly received scorn from some commentators that is not justifiable. In conclusion, I commend Bob Doris for championing this cause and I am happy to attach my name and the support of these benches to this motion. 2016 is the first ever year of the dead and I am certain that it will go from strength to strength. I am glad that, as a Parliament, we are recognising it tonight. Regretfully, I cannot attend the reception tonight not because of a competing parliamentary or social event, Presiding Officer, but because it is my children's bath time. We cannot criticise you for that. Iain Gray, to be followed by Gillian Martin. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and thanks to Bob Doris for securing tonight's debate, which gives me the opportunity to bring a message of solidarity to the year of the dad from Scotland's grandpa's section. It also gives me an opportunity to say a few words about a charity that I value very highly, and that is Home Start. We do not get the opportunity to sing Home Start's praises in here all that often. They are not the kind of charity that pursues a big national profile. They do not come and bother us here, as often perhaps some charities do. Yet, I would venture to suggest that pretty well every member of this Parliament will be aware of their work in their constituency because it is so valuable. What they do is so practical, and that is what they spend their time doing rather than promoting themselves. It goes absolutely to the heart of families' needs, supporting and befriending families under stress. I think that the great strength is that they are really prepared to do anything that that family needs in order to support them. It is not about what Home Start thinks would be good for a family. It is much more about what does that family actually need. Not surprisingly, the ideal best is Home Start in East Lothian, led by Mary McLeod in the chair and by Katie Pollock, who is the senior co-ordinator. They organise around 40 volunteers, and that allows them to support 75 families, providing support, therefore reaching out to around 169 children. They have been doing that work in East Lothian since 2000, and it is very valuable work indeed. However, I think that being so embedded right in the heart of family life is probably why Home Start understands the importance of fathers and understands the importance of this first year of the dad and picked up that idea and ran with it. However, of course, there is plenty of research that backs up the importance of fathers. A strong correlation, for example, between children who do not see their fathers or maybe do not see them at all and childhood depression, and much more positively, a whole list of positive benefits that come from having a confident hands-on dad as part of your family. Even a higher IQ but certainly less behavioural problems, a great deal less stress, children who are much happier in life, all of that is proven by research but also by the practical experience of the volunteers and staff of Home Start. However, of course, I have already said how practical Home Start are, and it does not surprise me that their involvement in the year of the dad has led to the creation of projects, which, as Bob's motion says, will be a legacy for this first year of the dad, at least in some parts of Scotland. I hope that Home Start in East Lothian might be listening and considering whether that is something that they might do too. Although I should, in the passing, mention another charity, Dad's Work, which does tremendous work in my constituency with Dad's. One of the themes of the year of the dad, of course, is what did your dad teach you. I was thinking about that prior to speaking this evening. When I think about it, I think about what my dad did not teach me. My dad was a car mechanic to trade and could take any vehicle that he could give him—car, bus, lorry and his time, he did all of them, completely to pieces, put it back together again and make it work—but he could also rewire and re-plum a house. He could use wood to make anything that he could think of. He was a pretty good gardener as well and I remember him even building a garage. He taught me none of that. He was determined that I would earn my living with my head rather than my hands. So he left me a highly qualified but completely cat-handed young man. This is what he did teach me. He taught me that you never let your family down, that you always get engaged in your community as he was, whether it was through his church, through the boys brigade or through his trade union, at his work. He taught me that you put your family first, you put your community second and you put yourself third. In my own curious way, that is the lesson that my dad taught me, which I have tried to live by. That is lovely. I enjoyed that. I am not Julian Martin to be followed by Finlay Carson, please, Julian Martin. Thank you, Presiding Officer. It gives me great pleasure to speak today in a debate brought forward by my colleague and relatively new dad, Bob Dorris, in the year of the dad. I have to say that I had good notice of Mr Dorris's intention to have this member's debate as we chatted about it before the summer recess. I issued him with a challenge—he has maybe forgotten about it—and that was to conduct the debate with his at that time brand new son Cameron in a sling attached to him as he spoke. Mr Dorris has secured this debate slightly later than I anticipated when I threw down the gauntlet, so I would like to go on record that he is off the hook as Cameron has probably passed his more portable and docile stage, although I do love the idea of a wee one having a wee crawl about the chamber. I want to talk about modern fatherhood. Modern fatherhood to me is shared parenting, and dad is playing a full role in a child's life. I am married to a modern dad, John, whose hands-on parenting and shared role in the care for our children has led to me being able to do the work that I do. If it weren't for the interchangeable roles of mum and dad in my house, I would not be able to spend four nights, three days a week, away from home in this job, and I certainly would not have been able to spend a week away on a job in an off-shore installation, as I used to do far too many times to count when I ran my business. Things have certainly moved on since I grant parents and even our parents within the baby business, and these days there are provisions in place for men to take a more nurturing and active role in a child's daily life. Dad is not just someone who a child sees coming through the door tired at the end of the day as the kids have been put to bed. Mr Gray reminded me about the question of what my dad taught me. I just have to go on record as apologising to my dad. He tried to teach me how to play the bagpipes, and I was a nightmare student, so I want to apologise for that. He tried his very best, but there is a long way to go until things even out. As I would say, this is not because of any reluctance on the part of Dad's new and old to play a fuller role in their child's upbringing. Last week, I led a member's debate on flexible working, and we heard testimony from some of our speakers that Dad's often felt that they were unable to ask for family-friendly hours or flexible working and faced a great deal of expectation on them having a more traditional role than their female counterparts, and in some cases even derisioned for asking for flexibility in the first place. One member told of a chap who left a law practice to go elsewhere as he would not be flexible enough to accommodate him taking his daughter to school. Great business decision there. It seems in some cases that the wishes and needs of Dad's are secondary to those of mum's when it comes to issues around the workplace and parenting, and the low take-up of shared parental leave is maybe an indication not of the lack of willingness of Dad's to take it, but of a more of a worry of the negative attitudes from employers and fellow employees if they were to exercise that right. Of course, there are other reasons for the low take-up, and it is proven that the pay rate is a huge issue for couples. The gender pay gap extends its reach even further, it seems, into affecting the full role that Dad's are entitled to take when their baby is just new into the world. It makes economic sense that the highest earner will be the one who goes back to work. If that is overwhelmingly the Dad's, then Dad's will miss out on this opportunity to take leave in this formative and wonderful time of bonding with your child. Although I have to say that I would have jealously guard my maternity leave, but that is a side issue. A new debate and yet another reason to see the gender pay gap eradicated is that equality works both ways. Dads need the same rights to play a full role in their child's lives, and we must look at bringing down the societal and economic barriers to this. This generation are the pioneers of shared parenting. Come on, the modern dads, leading the way for future generations where parental roles are interchangeable as far as biology will allow. As a son and now a proud dad of Hugh and Vicki, I welcome the opportunity to celebrate and recognise the role of Dad's and reflect on their importance in a child's development. I, like many men, don't get or, more importantly, don't take the opportunity to tell their dads how they feel about them. My dad recently celebrated his 90th birthday. He was born in 1926 and still lives on the same farm in Galloway. My dad has always been a hard working man, farming during a time in which he witnessed an agricultural revolution, changing from horses to tractors and from buyers to automatic milking parlers. I came along in 1967 and he was still working six and a half days a week, with one week off once a year after the Tati holidays. I used to see him briefly in the morning before school and then in the evening watching him fall asleep in the armchair, tired after a day of physical labour, starting at 5.30 in the morning and finishing at 6.30 at night. Sometimes making a living and making a life point in different directions, but my dad always made a living with his family at the heart of it. Many nights we'd play chess, between moves he would tell me off for watching the television and not concentrating, and then I would tell him off for falling asleep and snoring. My sister and I loved when my mother was out and we'd bully him into getting the old reel-to-reel tape recorder out to record us reading school plays or for him to sing Andy Stewart or song Will Five song. On the half day he would give himself off a week, a Sunday afternoon once a fortnight, we would draw lots to decide where we would go, to Stranraer to see the ferries or Prestwick Airport to see the planes or my mum and dad's choice to go to the Sunday barras in Dumfries or Logan Gardens. Unsurprisingly it was always the ferries or the planes because my sister and I would never put their choices into the draw. We thought they didn't know but I'm sure they did. It's only really a few years ago that I was able to really understand half the father-son relationship. In the words of Mark Twain, when I was a boy of 14 my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around but when I got to 21 I was astonished at how much he'd learned in seven years. Oh, to beg your pardon. Sorry about that, Presiding Officer. We're enjoying your story. Oh, well that's not so bad. As a teenager or a child you don't take the time to cherish the little moments in life. It's a skill that we learn as we get older when it takes more than one sweety to cheer us up. When I became a father 19 years ago I found myself remembering and happily reliving all the moments that my dad and I shared together and not a day goes by that I don't think about what he's done for me. Much of what I did with my son Hugh and daughter Vicky are similar to what my dad did with me. When I coached my son Hugh at football I thought about all the times my dad took me to Srinrar ice rink when I was first learning to curl and every time I play now I still hear his encouraging words of wisdom. I know he coached, he enjoyed when he was coaching me and I enjoy coaching Hugh just as much. When my father was interviewed by John Beattie just after I took the oath for parliament he was asked if I was proud and he said, oh yes, adding just like when we won the curling together. Now that simple comment meant so much more to me than I think my father could ever know. There's lots of things he taught me now that I often remiss about, reminisce about, from carving wooden boats to building everything from sheds, decking to go carts and installing kitchens. He gave me the confidence to try these things myself but unfortunately didn't pass on the necessary DIY skills. Even now at 90 when the rabbit hutch needs urgent renovation he's still there with a hammer in one hand and a bucket load of enthusiasm in the other. Often what we become depends on what we learn from our dads, not when they're trying to teach us but unconscious moments when we're informed by little scraps of their wisdom. He seems to have had a never-ending patience that I am sure I tested on a regular basis. My father and I worked in a dairy farm in partnership with my father for years and unlike many farming fathers he passed over decision making to me as soon as I joined a partnership. He made sure that he was always there for advice but never interfered letting me make my own mistakes when I was determined to make them. In conclusion, Presiding Officer, I spoke earlier of the huge advances in agriculture. These changes are echoed in the changes that I've taken place in the home and workplace over the last 50 years. As stated in the Year of the Dad website, society hasn't caught up with these striking cultural changes. The old stereotypical dad being the married breadwinner in disciplinary and no longer serves and an age of increasing diversity and gender equality. It's time to celebrate and support the key contribution fathers make to children's development, family and community life. We need to ensure that organisations like Homestart have the resources to promote and enable equality at home and flexibility in the work for better work life balance for dads who overwhelmingly want more involvement in the lives of their children. Deputy Presiding Officer, the values and quality of a dad can be seen in the goals, dreams and aspirations that he sets, not only for himself but for his family. I now call Mark McDonald. Minister, to close the Government, you have seven minutes, please. Can I take the opportunity to pay tribute to Bob Doris for bringing this debate to Parliament and, indeed, to all members who have taken part in what has been a very appropriate celebration of the role of dads both in general Scotland and in the lives of ourselves in Parliament and those of our own children. I have given my own reflections on this in my interview in Holyrood magazine in relation to the impact that my own father had on my upbringing and what I hope to achieve as a father. I recognise that those experiences will help to shape some of the work that I take forward in my role as a minister. The Scottish Government is clear that supporting dads to play a full role in family life is an important part of making Scotland the best place in the world to grow up. We provide support in a number of ways, including chairing the National Fathers Advisory Board and funding and working directly on a range of organisations. This year, the key way that we have demonstrated our commitment is by providing funding and direct support for Year of the Dad, a campaign that recognises and celebrates the difference a great dad can make in particular to child development. Fathers Network Scotland deserves particular praise for leading the campaign, a notable achievement for a small charity and I thank them for their efforts and commend them on what has already been achieved. For example, nearly 100 events have been held, attended by nearly 10,000 people. Around 150 organisations have signed up to the campaign, along with around 3,000 individual supporters. Mr Doris referred to how we would develop an evidence base on the role of fathers as a result of the work on Year of the Dad. I can advise that what we are hoping to do with that is to introduce a dad-specific survey as part of our growing up in Scotland study, which we hope will help to build on the work in Year of the Dad and ensure that the role of fathers is more widely acknowledged within Government policy moving forward. The Year of the Dad is inclusive and emphasises the widespread benefits of the involvement of dads. A real strength of the campaign is the recognition that families come in all shapes and sizes. When we talk about celebrating dads, we also talk about step dads, adoptive dads, grand dads and a whole range of other male role models, which touches on the point that Iain Gray quite rightly made about being the flag bearer for the grand dads in the debate, but also about the absence of dads in some children's lives. It is also about the positive male role models that can influence those children's upbringings. As Bob Doris rightly notes in the debate motion Year of the Dad, it is about benefits not just to dads themselves but also to children, mums, families and wider society, which is absolutely vital. I would just say that you can always spot the new dad when they tell you how enthusiastic they are about waking up at 5.30 in the morning. I can just advise Mr Doris as the parent of an eight- and six-year-old myself. I can advise him that novelty does wear off. I am delighted that Homestar is supporting Year of the Dad. I wholeheartedly agree that Homestar is well placed to support dads and their families, given their strong track record in working with families with young children. Indeed, Homestar is an organisation that I know and admire. I am particularly aware of the great work of Homestar Aberdeen in my local area, and I am continually impressed by the range of services on offer, the quality of support that is provided and the commitment and enthusiasm of staff and volunteers. I think that Donald Cameron quite rightly highlighted the importance of the work of those volunteers, and I think that it is important that we recognise that in the chamber today. The Scottish Government has shown our belief in the work of Homestar by awarding £197,000 for 2016-17 through our new children, young people and families early intervention fund. I am delighted that Homestar is enabling Homestar to work with dads across Scotland, in particular through the projects referred to in this debate. This evening, I will be at the parliamentary reception that Bob Doris is hosting, and I will be looking to speak a little bit more about that work. The successive Year of the Dad has been a collective effort, so with that in mind, it is important to recognise the contribution of a range of partners. First, there are organisations that do great work directly with dads, organisations such as Dad's Rock, Families Need Father Scotland, Midlothian Sure Start and One Parent Family Scotland. I could list many others all working diligently to support fathers. Secondly, there are services that are leading the way as regards involving and supporting dads. South Lanarkshire Council and Fife Council NHS Fife partnership are doing particularly fine work in ensuring that services are designed and practitioners are trained to include dads. Fulton MacGregor highlighted work being undertaken in our prisons. I am aware of a number of projects taking place across Scotland's prison estate, which has been recognised as leading the way in providing that link between fathers who have been incarcerated and their children to ensure that those children maintain a link and a bond with their father. Thirdly, as Bob Doris noted, it is important to recognise the value of funding from other sources. In the case of Home Start, it is the STV appeal in Catanac Trust. It is unfortunately the case that the Scottish Government cannot always provide all of the funding to support the good work going on in Scotland, so it is pleasing that there are other funders out there able to help organisations and projects that benefit children and families across the country. In terms of the discussion that he asked about looking forward in funding, I am more than happy to give that further consideration and consider how best we can take something forward in that area. Finally, I want to recognise the employers who demonstrate excellent practice in supporting dads. That is hugely important, as evidence shows, work can be a major issue for many dads when it comes to family life. We know that men have traditionally struggled to secure flexible working arrangements, which allow them to be as involved as they want to be at home. Employers are increasingly recognising the importance of supporting dads, not least because it makes business sense. Research shows that, among the most disaffected and disengaged employees, are dads between 25 and 35, so supporting them is important to recruitment, retention and productivity. As part of my portfolio, I am the lead minister for family-friendly and flexible working, working closely with my ministerial colleague Jamie Hepburn. That is a clear signal of our recognition that working patterns and family wellbeing go hand in hand. Gillian Martin discussed that in her last week's debate and again this evening. I point out to Ms Martin that, as part of her view of the dad, we have produced 24 short films, most of which are of dads, often having taken a flexible working package to spend more time with their family. We hope that those films will help to encourage other dads to take flexible working packages and encourage employers to consider more flexible working packages for their employees. Our work in this area includes running Scottish top employers for working families awards each year, in recognition of the importance of supporting dads. One of our award categories is the Fathers Network Scotland, best for all stages of fatherhood award. Last year, the winning organisation was Barclays, with the Scottish Parliament, of course, being highly commended. We are also working with employers to increase the use of shared parental leave, which allows parents flexibility in how leaf from work is taken in the first year following their child's birth. As part of the year of the dad, workshops for new dads have been highlighted in Police Scotland and the Scottish Government, with a view to rolling them out to other organisations next year and beyond. In closing, I want to pick up on a key phrase in the debate motion, lasting legacy. There have been a few references to legacy in today's debate. In recent weeks, Fathers Network Scotland and the Scottish Government have been seeking feedback on the impact of year of the dad. I am advised that, just yesterday, we received an email from someone in Australia thanking Scotland for leading the way on the issue. Year of the dad has focused debate on the importance of dads and child development and in family and community life. We should be proud that Scotland is leading the way in supporting dads and their families. It is a fantastic start, but it is only a start. We need to maintain our collective efforts in order to deliver equality at home and at work, and the valuable work of organisations like Homestart is therefore vital to leaving that lasting legacy. Thank you very much. That concludes the debate. I now close this meeting of Parliament.