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From YouTube: Topical Questions BSL - 1 September 2020
Description
Topical Questions BSL
A
A
C
They
have
a
really
difficult
job
to
do,
and
they
do
it
with
proficiency
and
with
accuracy
and
on
a
comprehensive
basis,
and
in
relation
to
the
final
point
that
mr
green
raises
in
relation
to
the
the
work
that's
carried
out
within
our
schools
and
every
effort
is
made
to
understand
where
infection
has
come
from.
I
would
say
that,
on
the
evidence
that
I
have
seen
and
most
of
the
contraction
of
the
virus
is
coming
within
household
settings,
that's
not
on
not
every
case,
but
I
would
say
that's.
B
We
also
have
called
on
the
government
to
supply
every
skill
of
a
number
of
home
testing
kits
a
simple
move
which
would
benefit
those
from
vulnerable
households
or
those
who
are
unable
to
easily
access
mobile
or
drive-through
testing
facilities.
Can
I
ask
the
government
secretary
if
he
agrees
with
the
suggestion
and
if
not,
why
not?.
C
C
A
D
Thank
you,
presiding
officer.
The
cabinet
secretary
said
that
teachers
nursery
and
school
staff
would
have
access
to
testing
on
demand,
and
this
was
to
provide
additional
reassurance
to
those
working
in
schools.
Can
the
cabinet
secretary
confirm
that
this
additional
testing
route
is
now
in
place
in
all
local
authorities
in
scotland,
and
can
he
confirm
how
many
tests
have
been
undertaken
via
this
route?.
C
E
Thank
you,
presiding
officer.
Yesterday
evening,
cabinet
secretary,
I
was
retreating,
saint
ayden's
high
school
in
my
own
area,
who
had
placed
the
open
letter
from
professor
jason
leach
on
to
their
twitter
feed.
Can
I
ask
the
cabinet
secretary
what
the
rationale
was
for
releasing
the
letter
and
how
can
we
better
disseminate
the
important
information
that
is
in
it
secretary.
C
So
the
national
clinical
director's
letter
was
designed
to
assist
that
it's
been
widely
shared.
I'm
delighted
to
hear
it's
been
shared
within
claire
adamson's
constituency
and
while
I'm
on
the
subject
of
schools,
I
want
to
pay
tribute
to
schools
who
adapted
very
swiftly
yesterday
to
the
introduction
of
face
coverings
in
secondary
schools,
and
I
spoke
to
a
number
of
head
teachers
in
the
course
of
yesterday
who
paid
tribute
to
the
extraordinary
levels
of
compliance
from
pupils
with
the
guidance
that
came
into
effect
yesterday.
F
Thank
you,
presiding
officer,
is
the
current
secretary
satisfied
that
the
resources
that
are
needed
in
school
to
provide
protection
against
covert
has
been
made
available
by
the
government,
and
I
raised
this
specifically
because
I
have
taken
up
with
education
authority
in
five.
The
fact
that
many
teachers
have
told
me
that
local
budgets
are
being
cut
local
budgets
that
were
met,
going,
learning
and
teaching
are
being
cut
in
order
to
provide
sanitizer
and
ppe.
C
I've
seen
the
the
reports
to
which
mr
riley
affairs
about
fife
and
individual
schools
and
the
situation
is
this,
and
the
government
has
made
available
20
million
pounds
directly
to
local
authorities
across
scotland
on
a
distribution
formula
agreed
by
local
government,
which
is
designed
to
meet
the
additional
cost
of
school
reopening.
So
that's
new
money,
that's
been
put
on
the
table
by
the
government.
C
So
the
scenario
that
mr
rowley
puts
to
me
of
schools
being
asked,
for
example,
to
dip
into
their
learning
and
teaching
budgets
to
provide
for
sanitizer
should
not
be
arising,
given
the
fact
that
the
government
has
put
up
to
50
million
pounds
of
new
resources
in
place
to
meet
exactly
the
costs
which
are
imperative
to
be
met
within
schools,
so
that
our
schools
can
be
as
safe
as
possible.
And
if
mr
rowley
has
any
specific
examples
that
he
wishes
me
to
pursue,
I
will
happily
receive
those
from
him.
H
The
figures
we
have
published
today
show
that
crisis
grants
increased
by
45
during
april
and
july,
with
expenditure
increasing
by
62
percent.
This
shows
that
the
continuing
combination
of
uk
welfare
cuts,
alongside
the
economic
impact
of
covert
19,
unfortunately
means
the
scottish
welfare
fund
is
far
from
being
underutilized.
H
As
part
of
the
350
million
pound
community
funding
announced
in
march,
we
more
than
doubled
the
fund,
anticipating
more
people
would
need
this
additional
financial
support,
not
just
during
lockdown
but
right
throughout
this
year.
As
the
member
knows,
the
fund
is
delivered
by
local
authorities
and
we
continue
to
work
with
them
to
improve
awareness
of
the
fund.
I'm
considering
further
ways
of
how
this
can
be
done
to
ensure
people
know
about
the
fund
and
that
as
many
people
as
possible,
who
need
the
support
are
able
to
access
it.
G
The
impact
of
covert
19
on
people
with
low
incomes
is
stark
and
many
desperately
need
assistance
to
meet
even
their
basic
living
costs.
However,
the
data
highlighted
by
the
poverty
and
equality
commission
shows,
and
throughout
april
may
and
june
of
this
year,
the
scottish
welfare
fund
was
under
used
with
only
8.6
million
spent
across
these
months,
which
is
more
than
one
million
pounds
less
than
the
same
period
last
year,
and
that's
only
15
of
the
budget
available
this
year.
At
this
point
last
year,
25
of
the
budget
had
been
spent.
G
The
commission
has
subsequently
stated
in
the
three
months
at
the
epicentre
of
the
biggest
public
health
crisis
in
over
a
century.
It
does
not
seem
right.
The
money
allocated
to
the
scottish
welfare
fund
is
not
being
used
to
maximum
benefit.
It's
clear
that
the
scottish
welfare
fund
cannot
be
being
accessed
by
all
those
who
need
it.
So
when
the
scottish
government
are
considering
how
they
increase
access
will
be
commit
to
having
raising
awareness
of
the
fund
and
having
a
campaign
highlighting
how
those
in
need
can
access
it.
H
Grant,
it's
perhaps
not
surprising.
The
overall
expenditure
has
been
reduced.
This
may
be
as
low
some
local
authorities
have
reported
back
because
there
has
obviously
been
a
reduction
in
new
tenancies
and
house
moves,
proving
that
there
needs
to
be
there
for
a
reduction
in
demand
for
community
care
grants.
It
is,
however,
something
that
the
scottish
government
is
keeping
a
very
close
eye
on.
G
Well,
the
forthcoming
child
scottish
child
payment
is
welcome.
We
know
it
won't
be
paid
for
another
six
months.
Family
across
families
across
scotland
are
struggling
due
to
the
effects
of
the
pandemic,
and
they
need
help.
Now
we
know
there's
money
available
in
the
welfare
fund
and
the
poverty
and
inequalities
commission
believe
that
a
cash
first
approach
is
the
most
dignified
way
of
helping
those
in
need.
H
That's,
of
course,
not
the
only
thing
by
far
which
the
government
has
been
doing
to
ensure
that
low-income
families
have
been
supported,
much
of
which
my
colleague,
alien
campbell,
stated
in
her
delivery
to
parliament
last
week
when
she
reported
back
in
the
child
poverty
delivery
plan.
But
we
are,
of
course,
taking
a
number
of
different
measures
to
ensure
that
we're
supporting
families
at
this
time
very
much
on
the
basis
of
a
cast
first
process.
I
H
H
I'm
aware
that
the
commission
did
raise
some
concerns
that
there
are
some
differences
to
the
efforts
and
way
that
local
authorities
do
practice
support
in
terms
of
how
people
can
get
access
to
the
fund
and
how
it
will
be
delivered
and
how
people
know
about
it.
That's
done,
obviously
through
local
publicity
and
local
referrals.
J
Rachel
hamilton,
okay,
very
much,
welcome
the
scottish
government's
early
action
in
march
to
double
the
scottish
welfare
fund.
But
I
wonder
if
the
cabinet
secretary
agrees
with
me
that
the
real
issue
here
is
that
the
increased
demand
during
the
pandemic
is
further
evidence
that
uk
welfare
benefits
are
simply
not
sufficient
for
people
to
make
ends
meet
cabinet
security.
H
Well,
mr
brown
makes
a
very
important
point.
The
crisis
grants
are
there
for
assistance
in
a
times
of
crisis,
wouldn't
it
be
lovely
if
we
lived
at
a
point
where
people
weren't
forced
to
get
to
that
crisis.
Point
in
the
first
place,
because
the
welfare
system,
at
a
uk
level,
where
the
support
for
low
income
largely
comes
from
it,
was
sufficient
for
them
to
be
able
to
deliver
on
their
obligations
to
feed,
clothe
and
house
themselves
and
their
families.
H
That's,
unfortunately
not
the
case,
but
we
will
ensure
that
we
will
continue
to
impress
the
uk
government
to
stop
people
falling
into
crisis
in
the
first
place
and
an
important
part
of
that
is
the
continuation
of
the
furlough
scheme,
which
will,
I
fear,
have
ended
as
uk
government
decide
that
it
will
be.
It
will
lead
people
into
requiring
the
scottish
welfare
fund
and
further
crisis
grants
and
that
simply
can't
be
the
best
way
to
deal
with
people
at
difficult
times
in
their
lives.
During
the
pandemic.
A
H
I
will
absolutely
take
a
recommendations
and
suggestions
from
any
part
of
the
chamber
and
can
I
welcome
rachel
to
her
role
as
the
new
spokesperson
in
this.
Can
I
give
a
suggestion
back
one
of
the
biggest
reasons
why
people
are
falling
into
poverty
during
covert
19
is
the
benefit
cap
and
if
the
uk
government
actually
reduced,
and
indeed
if
they
took
away
the
benefit
cap,
people
wouldn't
be
falling
into
poverty
in
the
first
place
and
would
be
the
crisis
grant.
M
The
scottish
government
recognises
that
access
to
independent
advice
plays
a
critical
role
in
helping
people
to
understand
and
exercise
their
rights
and
to
seek
solutions
in
a
range
of
areas
such
as
housing,
debt
and
social
security
entitlements.
These
are
funded
through
a
mix
of
local
and
national
government
funding,
as
well
as
other
sources.
The
scottish
government
invests
over
12
million
for
a
number
of
projects
delivered
by
a
variety
of
advice:
services
across
scotland,
john
mason.
L
Yeah
I
thank
the
cabinet
secretary
for
that
reply
and
she
mentions
a
citizens
advice
bureau
and
that
is
obviously
the
thought
behind
my
question
because
in
glasgow
we
have
extremely
trusted
and
well-known
citizens
advice
bureau,
five
of
which
are
having
their
funding
a
potentially
withdrawn
by
glasgow
city
council.
Now
I
don't
think
cabs
are
perfect.
I
think
in
some
ways
they're
old-fashioned.
L
I
don't
like
people
having
to
queue
in
the
pavement
to
get
into
them,
they're
quite
bureaucratic,
but
having
said
that
they
are
trusted,
they
are
well
known
and
they
provide
a
very
wide
range
of
services.
So
is
there
a
need
for
more
emphasis
on
national
funding,
maybe
rather
than
local
funding
cabinet
secretary.
M
For
example,
through
dwp,
the
network
has
4
million
for
delivery
of
a
universal
support
program,
and
the
scottish
government
also
supports
and
funds
a
cab
through
citizen
vice
scotland,
for
a
variety
of
programmes.
The
amount
we
will
fund
this
year
is
5.3
million
in
2021
to
support
the
network
to
deliver
projects
on
our
behalf,
for
example,
welfare
mitigation,
our
money
talk
and
kinship
care
projects.
L
L
M
Again,
you
know,
there's
a
set
out
that
each
citizen
advice
bureau
is
is
individual
or
works
on
an
individual
basis
and
is
responsible
for
its
own
funding
and
that
we
as
a
government,
put
significant
resource
into
cass
to
make
sure
that
we
can
get
support
to
people
who
who
require
it.
The
situation
in
glasgow
is
a
situation
for
glasgow
to
be
dealing
with,
I'm
not
privy
to
some
of
the
the
applications
to
determine
whether
or
not
there's
been
a
difference
in
quality
of
application.
M
What
I
do
know
is
that
I
understand
that
ongoing
discussions
are
taking
place
in
glasgow.
We'll
await
some
further
information
from
that
to
see
where
that
takes
us,
but
if
there
are
ways
in
which
we
can
make
sure
that
the
support
is
is
as
well
coordinated
as
possible,
because,
ultimately
we're
all
focusing
on
the
positive
outcomes
for
individuals,
and
we
want
individuals
to
get
their
support
in
the
right
way.