Supported Employment

I, too, congratulate Richard Baker for securing tonight's debate on an important matter, and I pay tribute to the tenacity and resilience of the Glencraft workers. I am very pleased that the private sector has rallied round to help and that Aberdeen City Council will continue to lend support by offering a rent waiver for the next year.

Everyone has the right to work, and to do work that is meaningful and rewarding. It is therefore essential that meaningful training and work be provided for people who have disabilities or health conditions. Ideally people should where possible be supported, through training and the gaining of practical work experience, to move into mainstream employment. That said, there will always be a role for supported workshops.

Alongside the more traditional large workshops, such as Remploy in Aberdeen and Dundee and Glencraft in my area, the north-east has a strong social enterprise sector. Many social enterprises provide meaningful work for people with disabilities. Off the top of my head, I can think of the following enterprises that are close to my constituency office: Benchmark in Ellon; Can-Do Community Recycling in Fraserburgh; Wood Recyclability in Pitmedden; Rosie's Cafe in Aberdeen; and-right next door to me in Inverurie-Fly Cup Catering, where I can pop in for a cuppa and a fine piece.

There are also many new and exciting initiatives such as the Bread Maker in Aberdeen, which Nanette Milne mentioned. The Bread Maker-this year's winner of the social enterprise Scotland award-is an artisan bakery and coffee house that provides meaningful work and training for adults with learning disabilities. It provides work for 27 apprentices who achieve shared goals in creating and selling a range of innovative top-quality hand-crafted bread, rolls and confectionery in a high-quality environment and providing them for sale in a warm and welcoming environment with the highest standards of customer service.

There are many more such examples in the north-east and across Scotland, all of which operate differently but all of which have the same aim: to provide a safe and supportive work environment for people who would otherwise struggle in the job market. That additional support is costly to provide for all those businesses, which makes them immediately less profitable. For some, the added difficulties of trading during a recession can be the last straw. We need to look at ways of supporting these valuable enterprises. I am absolutely certain that the support that they provide is invaluable to our society. During the current recession, when job opportunities are scarce, it is particularly important to protect and develop those work opportunities.

I add my voice to the calls on the public sector to make greater use of article 19. If even a tiny percentage of public sector contracts were to be earmarked in that way, the result would be such a boost to the sustainability of social enterprises. The public sector could make its money work twice as hard. Surely that is something that we all want to happen. Both Remploy and the British Association for Supported Employment believe that that would deliver a clear community benefit.

As Social Enterprise Scotland outlined in its briefing,

"just as consumers are increasingly aware that they can achieve more for their money by investing ethically or purchasing fair trade products, so public bodies must engage in strategic procurement to add value to the communities they serve."

As John Lamont said:

"By examining 'value for people' rather than just value for money, they can achieve added value through purchasing decisions. By changing existing public spending practices and shifting the onus on to locally focussed businesses with wider social and environmental aims, longer term financial gains can be achieved."

John Swinney has stated that it is Scottish Government policy that

"every public body should aim to have at least one contract with a supported factory or business."

I am therefore disappointed that so little progress has been made. Only one contract has been let over the past two years under that provision. In his response to the debate, I ask the minister to say what he intends to do to ensure greater take-up of the use of the article 19 provision. Will he advise how many local authority single outcome agreements mention such contracts and tell the chamber about any discussions that he has had with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities on the matter?