Chamber and committees

:I will go back to the questions on diagnostic assessments and the different pathways. We understand the point that diagnosis should not be necessary to get support, but people often find that, without the duty to support and to make reasonable adjustments that a diagnosis brings, they cannot access that support. What is the Scottish Government doing to ensure that people are able to get a diagnosis wherever they live in Scotland? Some health boards have just stopped that diagnostic pathway completely.

:Good morning, minister. Thank you for joining us and for what you have said so far. I have a couple of questions on how you intend to use the high-level action plan. I recognise that the plan is high level from the get-go. However, some significant and problematic areas of concern, including food security and a housing crisis that is denying people access to safe, affordable and adequate housing, were raised in the Scottish Human Rights Commission’s “State of the Nation” report, which was published last year. Given those areas of concern, how will the high-level action plan help you to deliver the outcomes that you were talking about and make things better for people across Scotland?

There is a concern that, although there are a lot of fine words in the action plan, it is not clear how they will be translated into action on the ground. I am particularly interested in housing and homelessness, but there are issues across the board that relate to poverty and food inequality. I would be interested to hear your comments on that.

:Thanks, minister. I will leave it there, convener.

:That was helpful, but certain questions are being raised with us as we talk about this issue. There are groups or organisations that are working in communities across Scotland and have built relationships in those communities; indeed, what they do might well be trusted more than local authority or national Government projects or programmes.

One challenge is understanding that, just because something has been around for a long time, that does not mean that it needs to be replaced with something innovative, and another is recognising that the relationships that are built between local organisations and the communities that they support cannot be easily replicated. Once they go, they take a long time to rebuild, and there is concern that the current approach taken by the equality and human rights fund—I will mention it again later—will result in programmes and projects closing, because they cannot be sustained, and that people will have to start from scratch in building those relationships as well as the trust on which a lot of this equalities and human rights work relies.

You gave a lot of information in your previous answer, but I would like some acknowledgement from the Scottish Government that this is about not just the multiplicity of funds and multiyear funding but the sustainability of existing funding. That is really important, too.

:Thank you. That is helpful. Given the conversations that can happen and the annual reviews, I am curious about why the 13 per cent increase will apply from September this year and how it will impact on potential future increases, given the work of the fee review mechanism group.

Hello again, everyone. Thank you for being here and for your initial contributions. I want to pick up on a couple of things that you have said. Rob, you talked about the need for pre-diagnosis and post-diagnosis support. Can you say a bit more about what is working—if and when it works—and about what you mean by adequate and appropriate pre and post-diagnostic support?

Thanks very much. I will come to Jenny Miller. I am familiar with some of the work that PAMIS does, as it is based in Dundee. Could you say a bit more about why the post-diagnostic support that you provide is so important? How do you deal with the gaps in provision that are so apparent?

No—that is really helpful, thank you. The point on collaboration is well made, and we have heard it repeatedly over the past few weeks. One of the challenges is that, as some of you have indicated, you are forced into positions of competition, almost, because of funding constraints. We recognise that and, as a committee, we will see what we can suggest about it.

Bill, you were nodding as Jenny Miller was talking. Do you want to say a little more about the support that your organisation provides and how it navigates the gaps, the challenges and the barriers that you come across?

Thank you. Can I bring in Dorry McLaughlin? I am interested in hearing your reflections on this shared theme.

Thank you—that is really helpful. We often miss the longer-term return on investment when we look only at the crisis that is in front of our faces.

Dani, you talked earlier about masking being seen as success. Could you tease that out a little bit and explain how it links to the need for diagnosis—if diagnosis is needed for a person to get support—and how it affects the level of support that might be available for the person who masks?