 Fy emw ym mwy sefydliadau ti wedi eu busnes yn ddwylo'r ffagoriach, nr 1, 9, 4, 1, 2, yn dweud am yw Siwaan McMahon na fwy gwybod y cremae yw'r Children's Centre for Children with motor impairments, ac Bobaeth Scotland? Fy hwnna fydd y dyfod brakewmiad yn ei disiwyddiant i ddegwyr ei ddwylo'r cyflwyngol i sylfaenol oeddSome ddim yn ei ddwylo i vai pefn crowno'r teimlo'r ddwylo'r cael ei ddoddiadau ei dddoson hwnna sydd eisiau If you are ready, I now call on Siobhan McMahon to open the debate seven minutes please. I would like to thank everyone who has signed my motion and has stayed behind either to support the debate or indeed to take part themselves. I know that many more members would have liked to take part in this debate this evening but other commitments have prevented them from doing so. One such member is my colleague Patricia Ferguson, who is in Wales attending a conference at the moment and is therefore unable to be here in person tonight. She sent her very best wishes for the debate and, in particular, her best wishes to Bobath Scotland. I know that Patricia is no stranger to Bobath given that she is the constituency member representing them. She herself has led a number of member debates recognising the invaluable contribution that both Bobath make to young people and their families across Scotland. Of course, today's debate is not simply about recognising the great work of Bobath Scotland. It is also about recognising the great work that the Scottish Centre for Children with Motor Impairments does, particularly in relation to education and therapy services for children and young people throughout Scotland. In November last year, I took part in the HemiHELP professional conference at the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh. As some members will know, I am one of the patients of HemiHELP, a charity that aims to use their specialist knowledge and supportive networks of families and professionals to create awareness and understanding in order to empower children and young people affected by hemiplegia across the UK to reach their full potential. I was asked to speak at that conference about my own experience as someone who is growing up with hemiplegia and what that means to me. As I spoke about my journey, I was not aware that there were representatives of both Bobath Scotland and the Scottish Centre for Children with Motor Impairments in the audience. However, following my speech, they made contact with me to tell me, somewhat worryingly, that some of the things that I spoke about happening some 20 years ago are still happening and they requested that I visited each of their centres to find out more, something that I was delighted to do. The Scottish Centre for Children with Motor Impairments was established in 1991 and is one of Scotland's grant-added special schools. It is based in Cumbernauld, an area that is within central Scotland region, the area that I have great pleasure in representing in this Parliament. The centre mainly helps children and young people who have cerebral palsy and related conditions. When the centre was open 23 years ago, the aim was to provide education for children with motor impairments based on the principles of conductive education and other progressive education methods. In doing that, the centre allows children and young people to achieve their potential, which in turn allows them to develop their independence and gain key life skills. All the staff that work at the centre have a background in either health or education, which allows for a holistic approach that involves teachers, physiotherapists and other staff working in close partnership, which leads to greater integration of educational and physical activities, resulting in each child's needs being met in the way they require them to be. Bobath Scotland is a Scottish charity that I am sure all members are aware of already as a result of the fantastic work that organisations do, not only in Glasgow who they are based but throughout Scotland. The Scottish Wing of the Charity has been devoted to improving the quality of life for children and adults with cerebral palsy since 1996. Bobath also provides a holistic approach to therapy. They recognise that each person with cerebral palsy is an individual and will therefore have different needs and abilities. The therapy offered by Bobath Scotland is a transdisciplinary approach involving occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech and language therapy. Bobath Scotland believes that by taking that approach, they can give people with cerebral palsy the skills that they require to explore the world, communicate their needs and participate as much as possible in all aspects of their lives. As I mentioned earlier, the conditions that both the Scottish Centre for Motor Impairment and Bobath Scotland deal with are something that I know a lot about. Having been born with hemiplegia, I know of the difficulties faced when trying to access some vital services such as occupational therapy or physiotherapy. I started attending the patient department at Munklands hospital in Airdrie when I was three weeks old. My frequent visits there ended in my early twenties when I was transferred to hospitals in Glasgow. Munklands hospital was a place that I would come to know very well. It will always have a special place in my heart. The friendly and dedicated staff that I dealt with throughout my time at the hospital have had a massive contribution to the person that I am today. Put simply, it is because of them that I have the ability to walk. Given that I was already in the health system from such a young age, it is somewhat surprising that I was not allocated a physiotherapist until I was around seven years of age. My mum carried out some exercises in me that she had been given by the consultant at that time. However, I do not think that it is appropriate to give that responsibility to a parent. The reason for that is simple—the guilt factor. Despite knowing that, if my mum did not carry out the painful exercises on me, I would not be able to do most of the things that I do today. The guilt that she still feels at being the person who carried that out on me is immeasurable. Why that burden should be placed on parents when we have trained and capable medical staff available to us, I really do not know. That is where my ultimate frustration lies. I do not believe that it is good enough that in the 21st century we have not achieved a more joined-up approach to healthcare. Angers may that hospital is treated differently to your GP, which is treated differently to an OT or a physio or your social worker. It may need a far more joined-up approach that will not only help the patients but all the partners that I mentioned previously. Given that there are already centres that the two I have mentioned today doing this work, I think that they should be using their expertise as the model and roll us out to every part of our country. I believe that one of the most important principles that the Scottish Centre for Children with Motor Impairments and Ball Bath Scotland achieve is a family-centred approach. Too often, the siblings of children with disabilities do not receive the attention and focus that they deserve. I did not realise until a couple of years ago that the impact that my disability has had on my younger brother and sister. They were not asked how they felt when they had to spend another endless night in ANA with me, or when our holidays were shifted around to fit in with yet another operation for me, or indeed how they felt when other children said insulting things to me in the playground. Of course, they were affected. That is why the work that is done at these centres with siblings is so vital and helps to maintain that close family bond, not because of the disability but in spite of it. I know that the Scottish Centre for Motor Impairments employs a dedicated family support coordinator, which I think is a fantastic idea. To be clear, that support coordinator is for the family, not the parents, not the child with a disability but all of the family. The coordinator assists families in a variety of ways, which includes providing them with information, helps them to secure appropriate services for their children and makes sure that all the family's views and feelings are listened to when important decisions are being made. As members may know, the core services of the Scottish Centre for Children with Motor Impairments are funded by the Scottish Government. However, some of the vital services such as funding to allow children under the age of two to attend the centre, or the siblings group, or the operation and maintenance of the hydrotherapy pool, are cost at over £30,000 a year and are exclusively funded through the nations. In terms of Bobad Scotland, it costs around £650,000 to keep the centre open each year. I understand that 75 per cent of that comes from voluntary sources, although some NHS boards make contributions to the cost of therapy. I have had the great pleasure of visiting both centres and I saw from myself an incredible difference the individuals that those centres can make on a young person's life. I therefore urge the Scottish Government to do all that they can to continue to fund both centres and others like them in order that young people benefit from those vital services. I now call on James Dornan to be followed by Jackson Carlaw for minutes or thereby, please. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. I would like to start by thanking Siobhan MacMahon for bringing us this debate to the chamber and also for the very passionate and moving way that she made her contribution there. As clearly many of us at Bobad Scotland are vital service for those who use it, and just to emphasise the important role it plays, I want to tell you a story. It's a story about six-year-old Lachlan Morris, who I've had the pleasure of knowing since he was just a baby. Lachlan loves his parents, Susan and Paul, and his three-year-old brother, Donald. Lachlan's dad. Paul was a colleague of mine when I was a councillor. We worked very closely together and I'd consider him to be a good friend. I remember well when Lachlan was born and I remember Paul telling me that Lachlan had a condition. It turned out that Lachlan has quadriplegic, cori, athiosus, cerebral palsy, which means that all four limbs are involved, and Lachlan's case is unable to speak clearly. Sit, eat, walk or dress himself. There is very little that he can do without support. However, he is also very bright and charming, and boy can I vouch for that. He attends a mainstream part primary school in Allawa and is supported at school by an excellent team of professionals. He regularly tops his class for spelling and numeracy. He uses a Tobi eye gaze computer system to communicate and is becoming very adept at asking important questions and, as his father says, being cheeky. Paul shared some photos with me taken from his computer. One was a birthday list, which included a lady bird pet seat—don't ask what that is—but he likes lady birds because I've gassed on from Ben and Holly's Kingdom. Again, don't ask me, but I suspect it's a children's programme. Then, of course, he asked how much is it. He had other photos from the Scottish Cup final asking how many fans are going. Lachlan was one of the many de-united fans at the final. He had a great day but was disappointed by the result. However, I suspect that's more his Arab mad dad speaking than Lachlan, to be honest. Lachlan loves football and loves going to tannedies with his daddy and uncles. He also loves swimming and is a very sociable young man. He's attended Bobath Scotland and Glasgow through annual blocks of therapy since he was three years old. There are different ways that these blocks can be taken, tailored to suit the needs of the child. Lachlan has three one-hour sessions over the course of six weeks once a year. The key to the Bobath Centre in Scotland—this has already been indicated—is that it specifically works with the aim of supporting local therapists, so they work intensively with the children and also invite in the child's local physiotherapist, speech therapist and occupation therapist to discuss, observe and participate in sessions. They develop particular activities and exercise that can be taken back to the community and worked on. They also invite and key workers, such as nursery workers or teachers, to come in for a session and observe and practice things like how to hold or support the child most effectively and how to build exercises into routines. Those skills and techniques are then used in Lachlan's care. The regular therapy has had a marked impact on Lachlan's physical development, co-ordination and self-confidence. It's also had a positive effect on his mum and dad, who have learned a great deal on how best to handle Lachlan and to work with him to improve his body strength and co-ordination over time. Simple things like how to sit and hold children like Lachlan who can't sit up on their own and can't control strong movements are important skills that Bobath can teach. Now that Lachlan is at school, the Bobath therapy is also including opportunities for support staff to learn more about the way that Bobath therapy can help Lachlan in his school context. Of course, that specialised and vital service costs, and it wouldn't be where it is without the generosity of the people who donate regularly to the service or fundrais on behalf of the service. That includes Paul and Lachlan's wee brother Donald, who have raised over £9,000 in the last three years, taking part in the annual bike for Bobath fundraiser, Donald Ridingpillian, of course. Bobath now have plans to extend its streets to help assist adults with motor problems. That is a sensible and worthwhile pursuit, particularly as the youngest patients who worked at Bobath Scotland in the mid-1990s will now be reaching adulthood. I know that Paul and Susan consider themselves fortunate that their NHS board area fully funds all Lachlan's treatment, but, apparently, that is not the case in all health board areas. I hope that, through Lachlan's story, I have made the chamber aware of just how crucial Bobath Scotland does to users and their families throughout the country. I am sure that members will do all they can to support it. I ask the minister if there is anything that he can do to urge NHS health boards to look at funding that Bobath needs for people in their own area. I congratulate Siobhan McMahon on bringing this motion to the chamber this afternoon. I hope that I can do justice to the subject and the brief contribution that I will make. Many members, of course, are familiar with Bobath. We have had debates in the chamber on it on a number of occasions. Of course, most members will be aware of the facility, even if they are not aware that they are, because, driving through Glasgow and the M8, you can see the Bobath centre near Springburn, as you do. Stephanie Fraser and the team there have done an absolutely outstanding job in providing a rest-bite facility in many cases for families, not just in Glasgow, but has already been said across Scotland. For many members of the public, of course, there was an awareness of the issue, if not a personal one, with David and Samantha Cameron and their young son Ivan, who sadly died. I think that what became apparent from that to families who do not have the experience, first-hand or even second-hand, of children with cerebral palsy, is just the completely overwhelming involvement of both the parents, the family, the friends, the carers, the network, and the tremendous love and dedication that there is from all of those, but also the reward that there is, which I think James Dornan touched on, in the response and the sheer ability to give love and return from the children who are affected. I have to say that I was less aware of the Scottish Centre for Children with Motor Impairments, or in fact that Siobhan McMahon had a direct connection with it. In preparation for this afternoon's debate, I went on to the website and looked to see that it, too, found it a little bit earlier than Bobath Scotland, is providing a similar service to children over a very wide area, albeit with the benefit of a grant aid from the Scottish Government. It also complements itself through voluntary giving. I have to say that I am not soft touch in these occasions, but as I read through the whole website, I eventually came to a button that said, donate now, so I pressed it. As a result of this afternoon's debate, I ended up making a donation to the centre. When I got my word of thanks back, it said that fundraising is a very important part of our income, with all funds raised going directly to helping the children and families that we support. Fundraising supports in particular the early intervention service, the siblings group and the hydrotherapy pool, which Siobhan McMahon made reference to. Donations also allow us to purchase equipment to further assist in the children's development and to maintain our play areas sense garden and learning garden. Rather than just writing a speech, I had done something a bit more worthwhile. I suspect that Stephanie Fraser will be on the phone tomorrow, expecting a parallel donation to Bobath Scotland. I pledge here on the chamber that that is one that I shall also make, but I congratulate Siobhan McMahon on the motion. Those organisations do such fantastic work. A generation or so ago, families were left to fend for themselves. We have moved beyond that and it is incumbent upon us all to see what we can do. Many of us are very fortunate not to have a need of their services, but for those that do, the donations that we make make all the difference. Thank you very much. I now call on Dr Richard Simpson to be followed by Bob Donis. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I want to add my congratulations to Siobhan McMahon for obtaining this debate. It is another member's debate on an important topic. As Jackson Carlaw said, I think that we are, as a society, one that has made progress. Those two organisations are within a generation of being founded, and it is a demonstration of the fact of how things have improved. The Centre for Children with Motor and Payments, founded in 1991, as other members have said, and Bobath just a little later, in 1996. It is interesting, however, that the different ways of funding those organisations is important. Obviously, the voluntary contributions are, as Jackson Carlaw said, very important. However, there is also the contribution of government and local authorities, and it is co-ordinating those that I think are important. I want to address that a little bit in my speech today, rather than covering some of the things that other members have already covered in such a clear fashion. When I was engaged as the fundraiser for my local hospice when I was one of the group that was founding it, we wrestled with the business of fun-holding. In the mid-80s, having got the hospice going and achieving reasonable funding, we were faced at the time of high inflation with really serious problems, as the whole hospice movement was. The result of action that we took at that point was to persuade the then Government, represented as it was by Michael Forsyth, one of the things that he did rather well, to agree to support the funding on a matched funding basis. That saved the hospices in Scotland. It did not happen in England, but they went through a much more difficult time. I would like to suggest to the chamber that one of the things that we should be looking at going forward is to look at how we fund some of those voluntary organisations. We should acknowledge that those organisations raise money by cycling in the way that was suggested by Mr Dornan, but in many other ways, running management is all sorts of things. We could encourage them not only by the UK tax relief, which already does, and it is excellent that that is the case through grant aid, but we could also offer it in the way that the Government is currently offering for the Glasgow School of Art, offering to match what the public want. That involves a society in a much greater way. I would like to suggest something else, and that is that when the Government does fund an organisation through a voluntary organisation through its direct funding, it should also operate on a three-year basis, which I think is the basic principle that is supposed to occur, but it should extend that to include what I have called the stop-the-clock system. That is often the decisions that are made in Government at the very last minute, and many of those voluntary organisations have to give out redundancy notices, which are then withdrawn because the funding is then found. Stop-the-clock means that, for four months before the ending of funding, the funding clock stops so that funding then continues to be funded for at least four months until the decision is made. That allows redundancy notices not to be put out in the sector. There are a huge number of advances in this area, Stirling University, which I have been involved with since it was set up in the 1960s, was set out to have good disabled access, not available to some of the older universities, but it is very important. There are many students with cerebral palsy who are in wheelchairs who actually attend that university as a result of good access. That good access is really very important, and knowing about that access is important. I want to commend also in that respect the new guide that has been established by Ewing's Guide, a young man who has motor neurone disease, who was actually set out to establish a website that allows us to see access for disabled people. That sort of activity should be encouraged. I think that there are problems still with care and repair. I do not have time, Deputy Presiding Officer, to go into that, but I think that just two final points. One is that care and repair is a problem. The other is that, as we merge health and social care, we really need to look at some of the allied health professionals, such as speech and language and occupational therapy, which I know that people like Bob Doris have been looking at in the health committee. Those need to be integrated and properly funded to provide the support that is necessary to individuals who suffer from this sort of condition. I thank Siobhan for bringing in this debate forward and providing an opportunity to address some of the issues that I believe are important for this group of disabled as well as others. Thank you very much. I now call on Bob Doris, after which I will move to the minister for the closing speech. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. I also thank Siobhan McMahon for securing this debate and speaking absolutely passionately from the heart in relation to something that is clearly very close to her and her family's lives. You can tell in this chamber when someone is pushing a line and when they are speaking from the heart and they mean every word they say, and that is the light that I listened to Siobhan's opening speech. As an MSP for Glasgow, I know Bobar Scotland pretty well, given that it is located in the north of the city and I have visited it on a number of occasions. As the motion suggests, I also wish to recognise the Scottish Centre for Children with Motor Impairment, as well as Bobar Scotland for what it does for young people and families living with cerebral palsy and other related conditions. I am less aware of the Scottish Centre for Children with Motor Impairment and I perhaps will give the time of concentrating on Bobar Scotland, but no disrespect is intended in relation to that. Bobar Scotland came to Glasgow in 1995 after several families in the area joined efforts in an attempt to bring Bobar therapy to Glasgow, an alternative to conductive education and to bring it closer to home. At its inception, it stood as the only centre in Scotland to offer this unique form of treatment and care to those who suffered from the condition of cerebral palsy and remain the only bespoke centre to this day. That therapy has provided to be an effective means of increasing the sensory, communicative and functional skills of those who are living with cerebral palsy. Throughout the course of the charity's life, it has delivered over 33,000 therapy sessions, each one tailored uniquely to the needs of those benefiting from that therapy. I would like to take a particular note of the adult programme that Bobar Scotland has recently developed. I understand that that programme has recently completed a two-year private programme, which was funded by the Robertson Trust to determine the feasibility of fully developing and implementing that component of their services for that transition and into adult life. I recognise that this is a major stepping stone for the charity, one that comes with financial risks and with several unknowns. I commend her desire to extend her services to the adult community living with cerebral palsy, and I hope that the NHS, local authorities and other partners can work with them and families in making that therapy a feasible option for adults. Indeed, health and social care integration, as Dr Richard Simpson mentioned, as well as the principles of independent living and the recent Self-Directed Support Act, which we put through the chamber all nicely to the kind of empowerment that we want, not just with those living with cerebral palsy, but also with their families that they can reach their full potential, and Bobar Scotland has a powerful way to make that happen. I did have a look through Bobar Scotland's website before this evening's debate, and I will read a few words out from the mother of a young boy called Alfie and how Bobar Therapy benefited from him. Alfie attended the Bobar Scotland Cerebral Palsy Children's Therapy Centre in March 2009 for a two-week block of intensive therapy. Parents, grandparents, community physiotherapists and educational support staff all joined in quite often at the same time as part of the same team. Alfie began sitting up unaided for a little while, a first, and demonstrated a determination of strength in his legs that his family had not seen before. Although he had no means of verbal communication as yet, like any other toddler, he made his parents aware when he needed attention. His mum explained that the whole Bobarth experience taught us that we were not alone in that. Staff were so professional, pleasant and unfazed by it all, physically and emotionally for Alfie and for all of us, it was a fantastic experience. It really was a turning point for us of acceptance of Alfie's Cerebral Palsy. Although his life may be in a very different form than we may have intended, it does not mean that it will be bad. One final word from his mum, Presiding Officer, with your indulgence. Alfie is doing very well in comparison with many children with Cerebral Palsy. He is engaged and understands a lot. Do not get me wrong, I have had my dark moments and felt pessimistic, sad and guilty, but I do believe in my heart that everything really is going to be fine. His smile says it all. In conclusion, what everyone in today's debate is saying, where something works, how we can roll that out and maximise all families across Scotland having the choice to access that kind of intensive benefit is something surely we can come together on and how we map that out as something that I would be keen to work in partnership with the minister and I would like to congratulate Shevon McMahon again for bringing that motion to the chamber this afternoon. I now call on minister Michael Matheson to close the debate in half of the Government, seven minutes minister or thereby. Thank you, Presiding Officer, like others can I offer my congratulations to Shevon McMahon for securing time for this debate and also for the personal insight she's given the chamber to her own personal experience in the way in which she received services and how effective she felt they were. I'm sure that all members in the chamber recognise that there is a clear importance in the way in which therapy is provided to people of all ages who have a motor impairment and it's essential that we have the right services in place to allow that to be delivered in an effective way. Now, although such motor impairments cannot be cured, we do know that there is a possibility to significantly improve the independence and the quality of life for an individual through the appropriate use of therapeutic intervention and a key part of that therapeutic intervention is also to look at how it can develop a strong partnership with the individual who requires a therapy, their families and carers and the others who work with them. Now, as a number of members have highlighted, the important work that is undertaken by the both last centre in Glasgow and also the Scottish Centre for Children with Motor Impairments in Cumbernauld. I do know the centre in Glasgow having visited myself, although I haven't been to the centre in Cumbernauld, but I'm aware of the extensive work that they do, undertaking and supporting individuals and their families in helping to get the support and assistance that they require. One of the areas of important work that they are both taking forward at the present time is building up their outreach services, outreach into the community in order to develop further partnerships with their colleagues and local authorities, the third sector and the NHS. The objective behind that is in order to widen the impact that the centres can make to those who may not find the physical centres that they have in Cumbernauld and Glasgow accessible to them. Jevon MacMahon raised a very important point in her contribution around the way in which services at times can be disjointed, particularly for children, in how we can make sure that there is much more in the way of joined up working, taking place between our agencies. That's why we've taken forward specifically the GIRFEC proposals and taken it into the children and young people's bill in order to make sure that we have this whole process underpinned in legislation. The intention behind GIRFEC is for all children and young people in Scotland, including those with a disability, to ensure that they all achieve their potential. Doing that is to make sure that we have a universal approach to improving the outcomes for all children and young people and that this is an approach that should be used by all agencies, whether it be local authority or NHS. That type of joined up working is essential in order to make sure that the appropriate assessment and services are provided in order to meet the needs of a child and their family, including those with a disability. We would expect all services to be planning how they deliver services to children and young people by taking this approach forward. I want to turn also to a couple of other areas that I think are particularly important in this field. Richard Simpson made reference to access to the provision of HPs and the way in which HPs services are delivered. I obviously have an interest in this matter as a former HP myself, which I should make members aware of. However, I have often been aware that the value and benefit that we can gain from our HPs staff is not maximised, which is exactly why I brought forward the HPs delivery plan in order to transform the way in which we deliver our HPs services in order to design them in a way that allows, for example, self-referral much more freely, but also to make sure that they are flexible in the way in which they deliver their services for children and young people and also for adults. We are already seeing some of the progress that has been made from that, and I believe that that will help to improve services yet further. Several members have also made reference to access to services such as BowBath. It is worth recognising that BowBath is one form of therapeutic intervention. It is not the only form of therapeutic intervention for motor impairments, but nevertheless it is a very valuable and useful skill set. We have recently, through our HPs national lead for children and young people, facilitated a meeting with the chief executive officer and the therapy lead for BowBath Scotland and physiotherapy and occupational therapy leads from across Scotland to discuss how they can better establish their partnership. One of the clear areas that came from that particular meeting is to look at how the BowBath Centre can help to support the OTs and physios in different board areas in order to deliver some of the programme at a localised level. It is a matter for each individual board to look at how they then take that forward, but I think that this approach in working with the BowBath Centre to help to support that type of service provision within a localised area is an appropriate way and a useful way for that to be taken forward. I would hope that boards would be receptive to that offer of partnership from the BowBath Centre and, no doubt, the work that the Centre in Cumbernauld also undertakes. I will also briefly turn to the issue that Richard Simpson mentioned in relation to funding. Others have mentioned funding. Obviously, we provide funding to both of those organisations. No doubt, Members will recognise who are regular attenders of Members' debates that there is often a call for funding for a whole range of different organisations. I hear the point that Richard Simpson is making in relation to match funding in a way that has been provided for the Glasgow art school. I would only say a note of caution here that there is a danger that those smaller organisations that do not have as big a profile could potentially be impacted by that type of approach. The section 16B approach that we take is to try to cover a range of different organisations to allow them to undertake very valuable work as well. I am always willing to look at whether there are better ways in which we can help to support those organisations with the limited funds that we do have, and that I am always open to ideas and approaches as to how that can be achieved. I draw my remarks to a close. I value the work that is undertaken by both of those organisations. I am more than happy to explore whether there are other ways in which we can help to work with those organisations to support them in the work that they are undertaking, but I hope that Members will be reassured by some of the work that we are taking for at a national level. It is aimed at helping to try to support those organisations to reach into communities beyond where their own bases are in order to make sure that those who could benefit from their services are able to do so.