我覺得 that they, for this a corresponding taste, are taken away, and that promoters were устickly on their inner conflict but all of them were gone. We have also made up quite a priority for some people and third party leaders in UK who supported the organisation to enable people to help others on their own areas. The council has definitely working those things out. Alison McInnes, to open the debate at seven minutes please. First, I would like to thank the members who have signed my motion congratulating Geary Homestart on its 20th anniversary. I am most grateful. Geary is an area in Aberdeenshire, centred around the town of Inverroory. The area has a lot of young families, many settled in the area from other erts and pairs. Not everyone has the extended network of family and friends that was more prevalent in earlier decades. The Homestart movement was created in 1973 in Leicester, when Margaret Harrison decided to set up a small pilot project. Explaining her decision to set up Homestart, she said, when my three children were young, I was involved in voluntary work with parents and children here in Leicester, in children's homes, with the family service unit, mother and toddler groups and the child guidance clinic as it was then. Invariably parents, many of whom were involved with social workers and other statutory agencies, would ask me to visit them at home so that we could really talk. An idea was born in 1973 and the idea was simple, that volunteers go into a family's home to offer friendly, non-judgmental support, support that stems from their own experience. It proved to be a great help and this is still the selling point and the strength of Homestart schemes, including the one in Geary. Margaret Harrison died earlier this year, but she has left a lasting legacy. Her small project in Leicester has grown and it has now spread to 22 countries. The UK alone has 288 Homestart organisations and it is estimated that the Homestart movement has helped more than a million children globally. In Geary alone, in its 20 years, it is estimated that Homestart's volunteers have helped 993 families with 2,122 children. Volunteers have spent an estimated 106,000 hours assisting those families, both in the long and the short term, and that is an enormous achievement. It shows real enthusiasm for the aims and values of the organisation by its staff and volunteers, all of whom deserve recognition, but let me name four people especially. Sandra Herbert, who was the first ever chairperson of the organisation in the Geary. Claire Smith, who has been a volunteer from the very beginning. She is the only remaining volunteer and she received her training at the very first preparation course ever organised. Angela Goudie has also been involved for some time and she first became a volunteer in 1996 and has been on the organisation's board of trustees. Special mention also goes to Valerie Tennant. She is the only original member of staff who is still with Homestart in Geary. Homestart aims to support families with children from their birth to age five. We all agree that early years matter and that Gerfek approach is the right one. The five years between birth and school are vital for a child's development. Giving children the best possible start in life is vital. It determines the opportunities and life chances children have. Children who are raised in a stable and loving environment are more likely to have a positive and healthy future and this is something every child deserves. Some might ask why Homestart's voluntary type of support is so important when we have midwives, health visitors, GPs, nurseries and playgroups and a host of other professionals. However, the answer is fairly simple. Truth be told, being a parent isn't easy as many of us here can personally testify. It's a role that is so important but there's no training and children don't come with an instruction manual. Parenting can be overwhelming and if you add in other pressures that we sometimes face in life, financial difficulties, ill health, isolation, stress, parents can sometimes struggle to cope. A young child caught up in that can miss out on the love, routine and stimulation that are so vital for their future. Often people don't like to ask for help from professionals and that's where volunteers can step in, offering one-to-one support and building rapport and trust. Many new parents lack confidence. Homestart volunteers help by spending a couple of hours a week with them, providing non-judgmental, practical and emotional support, helping to build confidence and family resilience. Volunteers are carefully matched with families and what help they offer is tailored to the individual family. It might be just someone to talk things through with or it might be practical help such as how to plan healthy eating, on playing and reading with children or even how to cope with sleepless nights. Lessons that children learn at this early age will follow them for the rest of their lives. This is the time when children develop their personalities, learn to express themselves and gain self-control, skills that will ensure that they can achieve their full potential. A UK department for children's schools and families study in 2008 suggested that the home learning environment in the early years is the largest factor in attainment and achievement at age 10, bigger even than the effect of preschool and primary school. Similarly, the millennium cohort study provided evidence of significant inequalities in development at age 3 that can persist throughout life. It is therefore important to support parents in providing a stimulating and supportive home environment. There are plenty of good reasons to value the work that Homestart does. Gary Homestart tells me that it plans to be around for another 20 years at least. It is making plans to improve the services that offer to parents and grow further. In co-operation with other Homestart organisations in Aberdeenshire, it has secured core funding until June 2017 from the local authority. Gary Homestart has expanded its expertise, with two of its now 50 volunteers trained to deliver the Mellow Bumps training programme, which will focus on vulnerable expectant mums. It also plans to offer drop-in support or play sessions during the school holidays. Finally, it is equipping itself to offer a triple P, a positive parenting programme, which is designed to prevent as well as treat behavioural and emotional problems in children. It aims to equip parents with the skills and confidence that they need to be self-sufficient and to be able to manage family issues without on-going support. I hope that you will all join me in congratulating Gary Homestart for their vision, and in closing I would like to thank the staff and volunteers at Gary Homestart, as well as other Homestart organisations, for the support that they provide to so many families and children. Their expertise is invaluable and their work is crucial. Many thanks. We now turn to the open debate speeches of four minutes, please. David Torrance to be followed by Lois Macdonald. I would like to congratulate Alice McKinnis for bringing this debate to Parliament today. I agree with my colleague that Homestart offers a valuable service to families not only in Gary, but in 32 communities across Scotland. Its impact is crucial on many vulnerable and marginalised groups, including lone parents and families, with a parent in prison. However, it also offers advice to step, foster and adoptive parents, as well as to grandparents who care for their grandchildren. Homestart's model of providing services has many benefits to local communities. Most importantly, it contributes to creating a happier and safer home, but the organisation also strengthens community engagement and cohesion by delivering services locally through volunteers. In Scotland, more than 1,000 Homestart volunteers support around 2,000 families. I believe that Gary Homestart is explicitly for organisational work. As of November, Homestart Gary celebrates its 20th anniversary. I would like to congratulate Gary Homestart on this occasion. In the past two decades, volunteers and staff members have assisted many young families with needs. Overall, the organisation has supported 993 families with 2,122 children. However, Gary Homestart would not be able to provide services without the dedication and commitment of many of its volunteers. Today, I would like to take this opportunity and thank volunteers in all the local Homestart branches across Scotland. It is truly incredible how much time and effort people dedicate to help those who are less fortunate. Volunteers are expected to have a parenting experience. Nonetheless, they receive additional comprehensive training, which concludes issues on child protection, the role of health, visitor and confidentiality. After training, each participant is marched with a family, with a volunteer-vin visit for several hours a week. The task that each volunteer takes differs greatly from looking after children to keeping parents company over a cup of tea. Homestart has also been a vital part of community life in my constituency of Kirkcaldy. In her own words, Homestart Kirkcaldy offers support, friendship and practical help to parents of young children in Kinghorn, Kirkcaldy, Burntisland and Carren Den. Recently, Homestart Kirkcaldy celebrated its 21st anniversary, founded in 1994. The organisation has supported around 800 families in the area, yet its work is as vital today as it has ever been, especially when we think about the UK Government's welfare cuts. At the moment, 38 Homestart Kirkcaldy volunteers offer their time to help out families in need. Volunteers also support the Cresh, which is available two days a week. It offers a friendly, safe environment for children to learn through play experiences and have fun whilst their parents get a little break. These services can have a real difference, and much has been achieved, but we cannot neglect that our many prevailing issues affect families. As my colleagues will be aware, Kirkcaldy has a high rate of teenage mothers. Teenage mothers are often disadvantaged and face many burdens in raising their child. They are less likely to complete their education or to seek further educational opportunities. As a result, teenage mothers are more likely to be in receipt of some form of income-based benefit or employed in low-paid jobs. Another major issue affecting families is child poverty. The sad reality today is that one in four children in Kirkcaldy grew up in poverty. In Scotland, 50,000 children live in cold homes in winter because of parents who cannot afford heating costs. I believe that Homestart's work and especially its home visiting scheme has successfully addressed some of the aspects of these problems. Feeling supported with the gladness of one's circumstances can make an incredible difference by boosting parents' confidence as well as keeping up with daily challenges. In conclusion, I would like to commend not only Gareth Homestart and Homestart Kirkcaldy, but also other 30 branches in Scotland. Their work has benefited many families with young children, and I urge the chamber today to continue supporting organisations and devours. I congratulate Alison McInnes for securing this debate and for the opportunity to focus on the challenges of raising a family in an area that I know well. My own family moved to Inch when I was 11 years old. As a pupil at Inch primary school and then at Inverruri academy, I became ever more aware as I grew up of the inequality of certain and opportunities facing young people in the Geevy, as well as of the shared experiences of living in a rural area. Of course, in some respects, the needs of vulnerable families in rural Aberdeenshire are similar to those of vulnerable families across the country. Many are struggling to make ends meet because of low pay or because of cuts and benefits. Many are finding that the public services that they previously relied on are themselves under threat. In that sense, Homestart in the Geevy is dealing with very similar issues to Homestart Aberdeen, which has just relocated very successfully to the very centre of the city at one A offered place. However, what is different in rural Aberdeenshire is the increased sense of isolation, which families can feel when they are struggling to cope. That is why it is vital that a service like this is available there and that their services are delivered by people who understand themselves what that relative isolation can actually mean. Physical isolation has an impact on bringing up a child in a cottage, a mile from the nearest paved road, and a long way from the nearest bus stop. However, that is clearly a challenge in itself, but the lack of affordable housing in many of our rural centres sometimes makes such choices for parents unavoidable. Social isolation has an impact as well. Some of the kids in my class at school had to go to exceptional lengths in order to take part in any of the activities that happened outwith school hours—that is still the case—and parents often face the same kind of difficulties if they do not have access to a car. When things get tough, it can be an extra burden not to be able to meet and talk with people facing the same kind of situation. Having Homestart volunteers to turn to can make all the difference. Those volunteers can help and support parents dealing with a wide range of issues, but it is important to recognise that Geely Homestart is only one of several organisations that work together to help. It does not have to operate on its own. The relationship with Aberdeenshire Council is clearly important, especially in identifying vulnerable people who need extra support. Links with health services are important as well, and I am sure that Homestart staff and volunteers across the country will take a very active interest in the future integration of health and social care services and how it impacts on their role as the third sector. As Alison McKinnon has reminded us, Homestart operates across the UK and around the world and is part, and there is indeed within that a network of Homestart schemes in the northeast itself. There are schemes in Banff, in Bucking, in Concardin, in Deaside, in Angus and in Aberdeen and in Dundee, and they all make use of the skills and experience of volunteers to make a difference to people's lives. That, I think, voluntary input is absolutely critical. I would also make mention of another local voluntary organisation that works with many of the same families. That is Gordon Rural Action, which provides advice on welfare issues and debt problems across the wider garden area. It provides support to clients facing the threat of eviction or court action for debt recovery and gives the kind of specialised support that backs up the voluntary effort of Geely Homestart volunteers. The work done by Geely Homestart and its partner organisations in the last 20 years has been invaluable and has made a real difference to those who have turned to them for help. Staff and volunteers are to be commended for their efforts, and I wish them the best of luck for the next 20 years of supporting families in their local area. Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. I begin by congratulating Alison McKinnon on bringing this motion forward to Parliament for debate today. Also, before I continue, I offer the apologies of Nanette Milne, who intended to participate in this debate and has been called away to deal with other parliamentary business. However, I am delighted to have the opportunity to say a few words in support of Geely Homestart. It is in fact the case that in our rural communities there are often problems that are masked by distance and sometimes in areas such as Geely Homestart strangely by wealth. In one of the wealthiest areas anywhere in Scotland, we have to remember that in a broad rural community it is easy to be left behind and there are many who suffer deprivations within those communities who do so in an almost out-of-sight and out-of-mind manner. Communities like that, particularly Geely, are great examples of ones that work well and quite often families and peers work together to ensure that support is provided to families that need it when it is needed. However, if you are outside the range of your own family or your own friends, if you find yourself in that position where you lack transport or lack access to transport and begin to feel isolated, starting a family at the same time can be a major challenge and a major difficulty. It is therefore wonderful in my view that organisations such as Geely Homestart exist to formalise that traditional family or peer group relationship and take it into a position where it can deliver for those who are in need and how it can access those support mechanisms through a more traditional means. As we have heard in this debate already, there is, of course, a network across the rural northeast of homestart organisations that can provide that support. However, never let it be said that those organisations are to be left on their own. We must remember at every level that they require all our support, encouragement and, at government level, we need to look closely at the support that can be delivered at all stages. However, the vital thing is that no one should feel that they are alone, no one should feel that they are isolated, particularly in a rural environment, and no one should feel, especially when they are beginning the process of building a family and bringing up children, that there is no one there to help. That is why organisations such as Geely Homestart are so vital, particularly in areas such as Geely. For that reason, I would like to take this opportunity to offer my sincerest congratulations to Geely Homestart on their 20th anniversary and look forward to another 20 years and more. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. First of all, I would like to point out that it is maybe for people who are in office, it is easy, but for other people who are just working in the gallery today to listen to the debate, but we are in the right debate. It's a debate about Geely, even if some people think it should say Garyock or Garyock or anything else, but that's a good point because it does explain when it's in office, we've got a lot of people coming from abroad, from the part of Scotland, from the part of the UK, and you need to understand the local language. It's not always that easy thinking that Geely is in fact doesn't spell Geely, I speak differently. So, thanks very much for Alison MacKness to bring that debate there. Geely, Homestart in Geely is quite important. I remember meeting Marie Philippe here in this chamber in this Parliament some months ago when we did a presentation of the Homestart UK Scottish Manifesto to the Scottish Parliament, and it was very good to see them here and very good to see the network in the region, and it's a very strong network. One thing I would say, Presiding Officer, is that that network is getting richer and richer and people work in partnership. In January 2014, I went to North East Abernishire, where I saw what Homestart was doing for Banff and Birken and for the families in Fleisebara and across the area, and what's specific about it is that they were opening new facilities with children first. This is very important to see how we can have a different organisation who can work together and can support families, can support children, and working together. At that particular point, I was with the local MP Hayley Wyford, and what's important to us to understand is that families changes in this area of the North East. There are a lot of people coming from Eastern Europe. There are a lot of languages spoken. People are working hard if not have the time as they could to understand the local environment and to understand the schooling, so that maximum support is so, so important. Particularly when parents are separated. I know I spent 10 years as a single parent, and it's so important to have that support when you don't have the connection with the people around, so they are doing a fantastic job. I just wanted to point out that there is a network across the region. Homestart in Aberdeen has done very well this year with the new chair, Robert Harrison. They move from Asterik to Alford Place, and there will be the beneficiary charity for the coast-to-coast bike ride that will be undertaken by the BP staff. There are other areas, of course. There is the decide area, which is so important. My friend Linda Clark has been heading it for a long, long time, and it's all across the decide valley, which brings a lot of families, a lot of support. It's a charitable organisation, of course, and it assists very vulnerable families in rich areas, but there are pockets of poverty, and in rural Aberdeen Shire, you will find that there are people, young families, and families will be separated. We look for help. Homestart in Aberdeen is a bit higher. We look after buying, frankly, Magdorff, Portsoy, Tareff, and they are doing a fantastic job as well for all the areas there. You can all find them on Facebook now. It's a lot easier. Another one, Homestart in Cerdain, which is in Stonehaven, which offers a lot of support for the family. Do you draw to clothes, please? Always parents and always families get a lot of support all across the region. Thank you very much. I invite Aileen Campbell to respond to the debate minister. You have until 2 o'clock. To everyone who has taken part today, who has reinforced that it is geary, as opposed to what I thought it might have been when I was preparing for this debate. I particularly thank you to Alison McKinnis for bringing forward that motion and to everyone else who has taken part in the debate. David Torrance, who spoke about Homestart in Cercodi and Across Fife, Lewis MacDonald, who spoke about his own personal reflections of the Geary area and across Aberdeenshire. Alex Johnson is speaking about the impressive network of support that can be found right across the north-east. Christian Allard is well talking about his similar experiences of voluntary organisations in that region. In particular, I wish a very happy 20th birthday to Geary Homestart. You have helped thousands of families over the last two decades. It is an honour to mark such a significant milestone here in the Parliament today. Like so many of our dedicated third sector partners, Homestart plays a vital role in supporting our most vulnerable families right across Scotland's communities. There are many issues and challenges facing families today from perinatal health and social exclusion to isolation and access to services, social and rural isolation that was pointed out by Lewis MacDonald and Alex Johnson, and the challenges that were pointed out by Christian Allard around the separation that families can go through. I commend Geary Homestart and its colleagues for their work, the transformational work that they do. I also think that, in that point about the challenges that families face, David Torrance is absolutely right to point out the additional challenges that families are currently facing around the welfare reform agenda and the poverty that is facing far too many families in Scotland. The Government has invested more than £590,000 from the third sector early intervention fund in Homestart UK to deliver services across Scotland. In Aberdeenshire, Geary Homestart are members of the family's solution plus public social partnership alongside Children First, Homestart North East, Aberdeenshire, NHS Grampian and Aberdeenshire social work department. Through the early years change fund, we have invested more than £8.5 million to create a number of family support public social partnerships such as Family Solution Plus. Using an assertive outreach approach, those partnerships provide families with intensive support when it matters most to prevent problems before they escalate. The aim of Family Solution Plus is to improve and safeguard the wellbeing of those children who are not engaging in or accessing universal provision and also to increase family capacity and resilience. The partnership adopts an early intervention approach focusing on providing intensive support for families when they need it and those practical interventions focus on enhancing family networks to strengthen their own resilience. Again, I thank Geary Homestart and their partners for all the work that they are doing. The first Homestart scheme in Scotland was established in Perth in 1984. Today, across the UK, nearly 15,000 home visiting volunteers help more than 29,000 families every year, given more than 1 million hours of their time. In Scotland, more than 2,000 families equating to more than 4,000 children are being supported by nearly 1,000 volunteers through local schemes and the organisation now operates in 22 countries and five continents across the world. Alison also allowed the hours that are put in by Geary Homestart and the volunteers. She included a specific mention of Sandra Herbert, Claire Smith, Angela Gaudi and Valerie Tennant for the sterling work that they have done and done for a long time within their own local Homestart group. The energy and the drive of Homestart's well-trained workers and volunteers is absolutely inspirational. They make a significant contribution, not just in Aberdeenshire, but right across Scotland. Homestart volunteers support families with young children to deal with whatever lives they throw at them, supporting parents as they learn to cope, improve their confidence and build better lives for their children. That approach very much chimes with the aims of our parenting strategy that seeks to raise the profile and value of parenting and to build on the assets and strengths of parents and to build their confidence and sustainable change. Alison McInnes was right to mention that when they have a child for the first time, they do not come with a manual. Therefore, because it is one of the most important things that any one of us can do, it is right that we support people in that important role that they have. Also, as Alison McInnes said, volunteers visit the family's home for a couple of hours every week, tailoring their support to the bespoke needs of the parents and children. They also run family groups and social events in order to give children the very best possible start in life. The work that Homestart does with those particularly vulnerable and socially excluded families is very much to be applauded. However, today also gives us a chance to recognise the dedicated commitment of those volunteers and also gives us a chance to reflect on what the volunteers also gain from the work that they do. I was interested to learn that Homestart UK has carried out work that demonstrates the positive benefits of volunteering on the volunteers, including increased confidence, further developed skills and knowledge and increased involvement within their community. We could go on and list more of those benefits, but I think those highlights show the importance of volunteering and what they get back as volunteers. Today also gives us a chance to recognise the third sector, because the third sector is a fleet of foot that is able to tailor its responses to urgent need. For instance, in preparing for today's debate, I took a quick look at the Geary Homestart's Facebook page and one particular post caught my eye. It said, We have a family moving into temporary accommodation who have nothing. If anyone has spare bedding, single beds, bunk beds, chest of drawers, sofa, kettle, crockery, it would go to a really good home. What they got in return was phenomenal. They got offers from across the region, from everything, from toys to garden rakes. It is that kind of example of that very practical help that is so powerful and transformational for what, when families need that particular type of help in this type of crisis. All of our policies for children and young people have one overall aim, and that is to improve the outcomes for every child and young person in Scotland. Again, we thank Geary Homestart for striving towards achieving those common ambitions that we hold, because what they do very much chimes with the rest of our policy commitments—whether that is through getting it right for every child, the legislative commitment that we gave to that through the act, whether that is through the early years framework, the early years collaborative, which embraces what the third sector can do within their local communities. It also chimes in very well with the work that we are wanting to do around developing Scotland's play strategy, and we also understand that they are doing more and more around mental health. We have a lot to learn from Homestart, and it is great today that we have been able to recognise the work that they have done on their 20th anniversary. All I can say is, thank you to Homestart and also to the next 20 years of success that they are doing in Geary and across Scotland and the UK. Thank you minister, and that concludes Alison McInnes's debate. We now move to the next item of business. I will allow a few seconds for members to change places.