 I invite those member who wish to speak in this debate to press their requests and speak buttons now or as soon as possible. If you would like to open the debate, you have seven minutes or thereby, please. Foster opportunity. I thank members from all sides of the chamber for supporting my motion. It says that, whether it should be as Caring and Craig Miller or an outstanding organisation who act without fear or favour, political partiality or prejudice for the welfare of the elderly, Keir ochrydau표 â Commuith yr Adon Mama, ac mae'r drionod unrhyw unrhyw pwylltio nail Lynau hefyd cael eu cyfnodol weithg treats gyda hanen niferth Ath90. of our time, one that's trying local and national government and testing communities. Like every member, I'm fortunate to have innumerable voluntary organisations in my constituency, too many to mention individually, but collectively they make the community a much better place. They do it through input of time and effort, often for no paid remuneration and in other instances going well beyond contracted hours or job specification. We are blessed by them. I have a soft spot for Caring and Craig Miller, who I've gotten to know during my nine years as a constituency member. They've come a long way and operate in a community that's had more than its fair share of challenges. For many years it was synonymous with poverty and deprivation. Caring and Craig Miller is the welfare arm of the Craig Miller festival, an organisation itself now over 50 years old. That sprang from the community and remains rooted in it. The festival society and its constituent organisations was a template for others to follow. It's testament to what can be done by good people with energy, drive and ideas. They were intent on overcoming the obstacles faced by many to allow chances for all. In that, they've succeeded for countless and are witness to how communities can take control of their own destiny and help to shape their own future. The modern buzzword is social capital, but I prefer to describe it as heart and soul. Craig Miller has that in abundance, and Caring and Craig Miller are the embodiment of it. It has now run for a generation and expanded from daycare to the provision of a phone link service, proving invaluable to many. It's scattered across the city but often isolated in its own homes. It's one of the longest-serving daycare projects in the city. It provides over 34,000 hours of care to individuals in a group setting annually. It's one of only two Saturday daycare projects and also provides a Wednesday evening additional needs club. The phone link service takes place twice daily and makes upwards of 80,000 annual calls. The organisation regularly attracts funding, allowing it to top up the work of the council award. It's replaced one community bus and raised half the funds for a second one. The work is outstanding, but it's also expanding. It's required to move from its former premises at 63 Nidremains Terrace several years ago, but it's now returning. Not only is it in many ways its spiritual home, but it provides premises far more suitable for current and future needs. It's a place known to the community given its long history and one that's cited centrally. It was first opened in 1936 by the university settlement and dubbed Craig Miller College. It's fitting that they should return there. This will create a new open access community facility to serve the growing regeneration. Craig Miller has been undergoing redevelopment. Houses were knocked down ripping the very heart out of the community. Thankfully, new homes are now appearing. The old community is returning and being joined by new arrivals from all parts. It's necessary to have the facilities to serve that community, and it's therefore right that caring and community become the principal tenant of these sensory situated premises. They do so with a dedicated staff and management board. It would be remiss not to mention Midslam, the general manager and Peter Calvey, the daycare manager. They've been with the organisation collectively for more years than they may care to remember. However, it's been forged by them and often on an anvil of considerable difficulties. Craig Miller is a better place for the work that they've done within it and the wider community, and I'd like to record my thanks and appreciation for the excellent work that they and all staff have done. Now, let me move on to aspects that, while replicated elsewhere, are worthy of consideration for wider use. Care of the elderly is one of the major issues of our time. An increasing ageing population is a good thing. Gone are the days of deaths within months of retirel and little chance to enjoy twilight years at the end of an extensive working life. However, it brings challenges for us as a society. As well as the elderly population extending, the nature of our communities is also changing. Families are more likely to be separated from each other with generations living apart, not just in different households, but in different communities and sometimes in different countries. Craig Miller is maybe more fortunate than many but still faces challenges. Integration of health and social care is the right thing to do, but the challenges are considerable and not just financial. There have been, understandably, private sector operations that have seen an opportunity to provide a service and care of the elderly. They are needed. Many do an excellent job, though some sadly are at the expense of their workforce. Others, and thankfully few, can be entirely undesirable and need weeded out by statutory agencies. The benefit and lesson of caring in Craig Miller is that it is from and for the community. It is a charity operated by the community, staffed in the main by the community and working for the self-same community. That reduces costs but brings innumerable intangible benefits. The extension of a phone link service is a medium of modern technology being used to benefit a community, often marginalised if not excluded. While nothing can compare with a face-to-face engagement, that offers reassurance to family and companionship to many, elderly, housebound or alone. It can ensure that vulnerable individuals can be monitored and also affords conversations so vital to the human spirit. It's cost is significantly cheaper than a personal attendance and, while it should never be a substitute for personal attention, it does offer additional benefits. I thank Caring and Craig Miller for their sterling work and for their model as a template to the minister for others. That may well be my final speech in this chamber and the Parliament in which it's been a privilege to serve. I thank all staff and colleagues of each and every party. It has been an honour and a privilege. I may not be returning here to Holyrood, but I most certainly will be doing so in and around Craig Miller and definitely to Caring and Craig Miller. I now call on Sandra White to be followed by Hanzala Mallor. Four minutes are there by Prismas White. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. I congratulate Cary McCaskill for bringing this motion forward. I also say that, while we're talking about elderly groups, Cary and I are not that elderly. Llywodraeth Fabiani says that we're not that young either, but we'll see her after about that. For me and others, it's been an absolute honour and pleasure to work alongside Cary McCaskill for the many, many years, not just being elected to this Parliament, but for the many years that I worked alongside him in the Scottish National Party before we were elected. It's been a great pleasure and I know Kenny has worked tirelessly not just for Craig Miller but for the area in Edinburgh that he represents and for others as well, which obviously a lot of people don't know about, but behind the scenes Kenny has done such a lot of work and for me it's been a great privilege to know him as a colleague and I hope I can say a friend as well. What Kenny didn't say and I just want to mention this from the Craig Miller people at the very end of a couple of points they sent to me, they mentioned finally we could not have done it without you Kenny and for that we are eternally grateful. Thank you, that's a last one in that particular bit. Thank you very much for that Kenny. Kenny McCaskill mentioned himself and other MSPs have many groups in their area who do sterling work for the elderly in their community and likewise I think we all have and I certainly have also, so I can't mention all of them, so I want to concentrate on one particular group in my area and that's Glasgow Old People's Welfare Association or GOTPA we call it for short, which celebrated its 68th year just two weeks ago helping the people of Glasgow. They work tirelessly for the older people in Glasgow, they've got more than 1,000 volunteers who give their time. They run daycare centres throughout Glasgow residential homes, sheltered accommodations, neighbourhood visiting services, outreach services and over 100 weekly clubs. They do form filling, they give advice and information and many other services which benefit senior citizens in Glasgow and Sheena Glass and her team are to be commended for all the work that she's doing. It's a privilege for me to be able to know them and work with them also. They run the Old People's Welfare Association and David Cargo Centre, the programme of activities, Mondays to Fridays, Amchill exercises, music, general knowledge quizzes, Bingo, they also support the Donald Dure Centre which is in the northwest of Glasgow, they've been doing that for 22 years. They range transport to bring the older people to the centre to enjoy activities, entertainment, lunch and the staff at the centre are absolutely fantastic as they are at David Cargo Centre also. They fundraise for the older people to be able to go and visit to museums and theatres and as Kenny has already mentioned in regards to the small busies it's very, very important that they get transport in a community bus is a lifeline for the older people there. As I said they do such a lot of good work, tea dances throughout all of the communities, they embrace all the cultures within our area, within Glasgow and they collaborate with existing services to make it much more acceptable and compatible. Just recently we work along with the Muslim people who live next door, who live in the Woodlands area and I think Angela Malik will possibly know that as well because he's been involved also and they hold club nights to bring the elderly of all the community together. So in echoing what Kenny said, without these people we wouldn't know what we could do. They do such a lot of work but once again I want to congratulate Kenny and good luck in the future Kenny. I noticed your last contribution but I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot more of you. Thank you very much. I would like to thank Kenny McCaskill for securing today's debate about caring in Craig Miller. May I also say that Cass Dugdale MSP sends our apologies for not being able to join us today and wishes the very best to the organisation and she recognises the good work that they do. I also join her and like to congratulate the organisation, its staff and volunteers, for the truly local community spirit that they have in their organisation and I want to say well done to them. The value that third sector organisations such as Caring in Craig Miller provide people who are elderly, disadvantaged and suffer from isolation is priceless. I think sometimes we don't consider the value that they actually bring to our communities because I can assure them as well as the people who benefit from their provision that local authorities and governments just aren't capable of providing that level of one-to-one service that they do and I personally feel indebted to organisations such as that. It is particularly important that day care facilities are in local areas. I think that phone line service which gives a morning and evening phone call to people in need is a clear way of reducing isolation and we always underestimate the need that people have and I know for a fact through constituent experiences that any contact is always very welcome because it reassures people in their daily lives. In my own constituency elderly care groups like ASRA, Mailmallab, Shantibawan, Chinese Daycare Centre and the Old People Association all play a very vital role in providing support and help for community groups and many such groups are making a real difference to the lives of elderly people in our communities which I thank them for for all the hard work that they do do. Presiding Officer one of the things that many of us tend to overlook is the amount of hard work that is done by volunteers. I know that sometimes they're accused for being busy bodies and interfering but you ask the people who actually receive the service they tell you a completely different story of how valuable those services are and how they value those those contacts. I must say the third sector are the backbone of our society today and we should never be shy to respect them, recognise the contribution they make to us and thank them for all the contributions they make to us. So I once again say to all the volunteers and staff, community groups, please keep up this very valuable work. Kelly McAskill has recognised one such group and quite rightly so for the good work that they do. I've seen it up on the website and I'm pleasantly surprised that such good work is being done. It needs to be consistently supported and Caz Dugdale has also promised that she will always be there for this organisation as well because she recognises the good work that they do. I, to finish off Presiding Officer, just want to make one very personal point and that is that I genuinely truly wish all the third sector organisations who make such a valuable contribution to our society the very best and I, like many other of my colleagues, will always be there to support them. Thank you very much. I now call on Dr Nanette Milne after which I moved the closing speech to the minister. Thank you Deputy Presiding Officer and can I also congratulate Kelly McAskill for securing what I now know will be his last debate before he retires as the member for Edinburgh Eastern and can I also wish him well for the future. The motion before us tonight is obviously very much a constituency focused one with Caring and Craig Miller being a grassroots support service which aims to help those who are elderly, disabled or vulnerable at a dedicated care centre. As a north-east MSP I don't mind admitting that I was not aware of the group or its activities however I have been very interested to learn about its work over the last 15 years and the apparently positive contribution it makes to providing assistance to the most vulnerable people in the east of this city. I noticed in the motion it talks about the phone link service which has operated since 1998 and I'm told that this was originally funded by a grant from the Craig Miller priority partnership which was established and funded by the then Conservative Secretary of State Michael Forsyth in 1995. That was part of the Conservative Government's innovative work to tackle poverty. I further understand that much of the Craig Miller festival society's work at that time was funded through European objective 2 and European social funds. Again I believe secured by Michael Forsyth and the Conservative Government and perhaps Mr McAskill will correct me if that wasn't the case. One of the key objectives of Caring and Craig Miller is to combat loneliness and isolation by providing group activities and outings, facilitating social interaction and providing new opportunities to make friends. This is important because as we know loneliness and isolation affect an increasing percentage of elderly and socially disadvantaged citizens but they also affect people with disabilities, people with a range of long-term conditions, people restricted physically, psychologically and socially. All may experience isolation and loneliness and of course many elderly people live alone due to bereavement with many more having little or no contact with family or friends. Centres which provide respect from these circumstances are vital to the wellbeing of our most vulnerable people in society. I think it's telling that in an age when so many channels of communication are available to people there's still a significant problem with social isolation and loneliness in Scotland today. We should all remember that this is everybody's problem which shouldn't be ignored or tolerated and that a change in attitude is required in our society if its impact is to be reduced. The motion also looks at how Caring and Craig Miller can be a model for other organisations to follow. Of course, as we've already heard, a large number of excellent projects and community activities are already in place in many parts of Scotland to identify and tackle the widespread issues of social isolation and loneliness. I feel that I should mention one in my own region. The Aberdeenshire signposting project works with people affected by or at risk of developing low to moderate mental health problems to increase their level of social contact and to increase their usage of locally available leisure and educational facilities by putting people referred to the project by GPs and others in touch with sources of appropriate sport, health and advice. Obviously all such support services including Caring and Craig Miller need to be assessed on a regular basis so that proper standards of care are being given to the local community's most vulnerable people and that there should always exist enhanced staff and volunteer training programmes to ensure the highest standards of care to do otherwise, I think, would defeat the purpose of such groups and organisations. Again, I thank Kenny MacAskill for bringing Caring and Craig Miller to the attention of Parliament by sponsoring this evening's debate to highlight an important project in his constituency and, of course, I wish him well in his future endeavours after he leaves this place. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. I join with others in beginning by thanking Kenny MacAskill for bringing forward this debate this evening. As he has set out this, it is likely to be his last contribution in this part, but it will be remiss of me not to make comment as he prepares for a new life outside this place after 17 years of tilecy representing his constituents first in the Lothians and since 2007 as the constituency representative. First of all, for Edinburgh, Musselburgh and Latterley, Edinburgh Eastern, he was incidentally the first member of the SNP, my party, to win a constituency seat. In Edinburgh, I want to avoid commenting on whether he and Sandra White fall into the definition or the category of being elderly. That would only serve to get me into trouble, I suspect, but I do want to reflect on the fact that in his time as a member of this Scottish Party, he has made a significant and substantial contribution to civic and political life. Indeed, that contribution began even before he was elected, helping to shape my party as a modern political force. It is, of course, as the cabinet secretary for justice. A job that he describes is the only one that he ever wanted to govern, which he held with distinction for seven years, that he will be best remembered. He took forward, in that time, far-reaching reforms in the courts and judiciary, as well as reform of the fire service and the creation of Police Scotland in 2013. We also began reform of penal policy, particularly how we treat women and young offenders. He took a particular interest in making sure that young people have positive opportunities to use their energies. There are many thousands of young people in Scotland that benefit from life-changing opportunities as a result of cash back for communities, which sees money from criminal networks and reinvesting projects or new infrastructure to provide diversionary activity. As Minister for Sport, I have been able to visit many locations benefiting by that investment. For all his achievements in the ministerial office, I am sure that it is, as an outstanding constituency representative, that he will want to be remembered. In that sense, it is very apt that his last contribution is on an important matter within his constituency. I am pleased to be able to close the debate on caring in Craig Miller. It has been very gratifying to hear so many positive stories about the carer. Older people know that with disabilities and support needs they are receiving in Craig Miller and East Edinburgh. We would be hard pressed not to be impressed by the scope of their work, as Kenny MacAskill set out continues to expand and grow. Caring in Craig Miller provides an invaluable service to older people and people with learning disabilities who would be more socially isolated in their community without it. I would like to add my congratulations to them on receiving this well-deserved recognition today. Caring in Craig Miller, as Kenny MacAskill set out, came to combat loneliness and isolation by providing a range of group activities and outings, facilitating social interaction and providing new opportunities to make friends. They provide an excellent service to their clients' running projects and activities. Six days a week, including outings and holidays. Caring in Craig Miller's Wednesday club helps those with disability to meet and interact with new people and participate in social and fundraising activities, improving their social skills and, as a result, becoming more integrated into their local community. The men's group, which they support, has regular days out, often with a lunch and a meal at the centre in the evening, bringing together people who are at risk of becoming isolated from their community. Those services are hugely important and it is great that Edinburgh East benefits by them. It would of course be great if every community had such. We know that many communities are lucky to benefit by similar projects. It was instructive to hear Sandra White talk about the experience in her constituency. I can certainly say from my constituency that we are very fortunate to have common-all action care for the elderly that provides similar services. I think that Hanzala Malik was very right to make the point that such organisations and their volunteers are the backbone of our society. I want to talk about Caring in Craig Miller's phone link service, just as Annette Milne did. It is an important service, providing a lifeline for those vulnerable people in their area checking on them in the morning and evening, providing not only reassurance that some will be alerted if they are ill or have a fob, but also providing a friendly ear for a chat—something that we know is so important to a person's wellbeing. Although I have not had the pleasure of visiting Caring in Craig Miller, I should say that, even at this stage, if it is appropriate for me to do so in the future, I would be very happy to visit them. I have seen at first hand the benefit of such a similar phone link service as a visit to the good morning service in Springburn last year, which provides a very similar service. From that experience, it was clear to me that the many service users who benefit by such are being provided with a very important service. Indeed, Kenny MacAskill touched on the issue of changing demographics, the challenge to providing care in such a context. Indeed, he posits in his motion, as was picked up by Annette Milne, that caring in Craig Miller is a model of good practice for other parts of the country to learn from. Let me be very clear where there is good practice, such as we see through caring in Craig Miller's services, such as we see through other local organisations providing similar services. We will always be very keen, as an administration, to roll out that best practice to ensure that other areas learn from it and that it can benefit by similar services. We are investing in some similar approaches. We are addressing loneliness and isolation right now. Alex Neil, the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Communities and Pensions rights, has recently announced an additional £250,000 towards tackling loneliness and isolation. That includes £80,000 to AgeScotland, which it will distribute to its local groups Scotland-wide to use towards lunch clubs and other social events such as classes and teed dances. The £34,000 has been awarded to AgeScotland for a specialist post for their phone service called the Silver Line. We will always do what we can to replicate good practice on the ground. I want to assure Kenny MacAskill and other members of that. We greatly value the work of caring in Craig Miller, the many similar organisations around the country. We seek to learn from that experience and roll it out. Further, let me conclude by thanking Kenny MacAskill again for bringing forward this debate to highlight the important work that is being done by caring in Craig Miller and allowing us to hold it up as a great example to other areas of what can be done to help tackle loneliness and isolation in our communities in Scotland. Let me also wish Kenny MacAskill all the best for the future. Kenny, you will be very much missed in this chamber. I know that you have said that you do not intend to be a stranger to the community of Craig Miller. Please do not be a stranger to this Scottish parent as well. I look forward to being able to continue to work with Kenny MacAskill in the future, albeit in a different context. I would like to wish him all the best for the future.