Hugh O'Donnell: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to develop the Scottish Book Trust’s book gifting scheme to include pupils in other years.
Hugh O'Donnell: To ask the Scottish Executive how much it is allocating to the Scottish Book Trust’s book gifting scheme in 2011-12.
Hugh O'Donnell: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has conducted an impact evaluation of the Scottish Book Trust’s book gifting scheme and, if so, when this will be made available.
Hugh O'Donnell: To ask the Scottish Executive how much money it has given to the National Autistic Society in each year since 2007 and for what purpose.
Hugh O'Donnell: For the member’s information, Mr Tolson is currently engaged in a meeting with the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, dealing with transport issues that are relevant to his constituency. The member’s comment was completely unnecessary.
Hugh O'Donnell: Having done a rough calculation, I think that it is 69 days—
Hugh O'Donnell: I accept Duncan McNeil’s correction. For those who are not aware of what we are talking about—I am sure that most members are—that is the time until the election. It therefore comes as no great surprise to me or to anyone else that, during the course of the debate, we have heard a series of re-election speeches from members of all parties, not excluding the minister, who I see is...
Hugh O'Donnell: I can make no comment on that, given that, at that time, I was looking at the situation from the perspective of someone who was involved in a commercial organisation that was seeking to regenerate bits of the east end of Glasgow. I know the challenges that that organisation faced because of the extent to which there was a closed shop—I use that term advisedly—with regard to who got access...
Hugh O'Donnell: I will be brief. As I think was clear from Jeremy Purvis’s opening remarks, we support the proposal.
Hugh O'Donnell: To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met the Healthy Living Alliance.
Hugh O'Donnell: I associate myself with Mary Scanlon’s remarks about the length of the debate. Given that the report is one of the most substantial reports that the Equal Opportunities Committee has produced in any session of the Scottish Parliament, it strikes me as rather unfortunate, given the seriousness and importance of migration and trafficking issues, that the time allocated to debating it has been...
Hugh O'Donnell: That point is well made and I share the member’s concern. In due course, individual members might consider communicating with George Osborne about that and about the shutting down of the migration impact fund. What fascinated me most about the process of the inquiry was the session that we held in Glasgow at which we engaged with and spoke to the migrant workers. It came home to me how...
Hugh O'Donnell: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has conducted research into the levels of extracurricular reading among school-age children and, if so, when this will be made available.
Hugh O'Donnell: To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-38849 by Michael Russell on 17 January 2011, how much funding has been set aside for the Literacy Action Plan.
Hugh O'Donnell: I am not sure how to follow that consensual contribution from Mrs Eadie.
Hugh O'Donnell: Rather than commenting from a sedentary position now, Mrs Eadie should have made her comments during her speech. Previous speakers have rightly made observations on what constitutes early intervention and have spoken in chronological terms about age, years and so on. I would like to take a slightly different tack. For most young people, their status can be influenced at various stages in...
Hugh O'Donnell: That is an interesting observation. I am not aware of that, as I was not part of the previous Administration. However, we are living in different times.
Hugh O'Donnell: I would not cast away so readily the suggestion at this stage. My observation in all this is simple: we need to be very careful that early intervention is seen not only on a timeline—early intervention is not purely chronological. Early intervention should be delivered at the appropriate age and stage, depending on the circumstances of the individual child.
Hugh O'Donnell: For the avoidance of doubt, I confirm to members that I am not Margaret Smith and therefore was not on the committee. I apologise for Margaret Smith not being here today. She is unwell. Having looked at the detail of the report—somewhat quickly, I have to say—I believe that foremost in our minds when considering it should be what prompted it, which, as members have said, was the review...
Hugh O'Donnell: I will be brief. The bill is important and—I hope—a step towards resolving some of the long-standing social and personal issues that individuals who were subjected to abuse in residential homes or schools suffered. Perhaps our taking a step forward with the bill will go some way towards bringing those individuals some closure. Of course, as other members have said, that abuse was the...