Tam's diary

Cathy and I attended the annual conference of LGBT Youth. We delivered a workshop as part of the Scottish Youth Parliament preparations for their manifesto (which are playing into A RIGHT blether). Around 20 young people participated and it provided very useful feedback on the SYP material.

I attended a meeting in UKBA, chaired by Jonathan Sedgwick, Deputy Chief Executive, UKBA. This was a follow up visit by the Minister, Damien Green and an opportunity for Jonathan to hear directly from Scottish partners on the implications of the cessation of the use of Dungavel for children and the alternative models for consideration. A follow up meeting will be attended by Stefan.

I chaired the Child Trafficking Research Advisory Group. The meeting was informed of the research progress by the team from University of Highlands and Islands based in Perth College.

I met with Bill Thomson, Scottish Parliament. This was an informal meeting where Bill confirmed the position in terms of budget cuts (at least 15% up to 2014). The main areas for potential savings are shared premises and services. This is the same position as before, and any changes will be reported as soon as possible.

I met with John Froggatt, Scottish Government. John is part of the Health directorate, responsible for policy implementation, including maternal health. This was a useful discussion regarding approaches to parenting support and the most recent documents produced in Scotland.

I met with Sarah Smith, Scottish Government. This was a brief meeting exchanging views on the implementation of the Early Years Framework and shared concerns about the pending economic crisis and how this might impact on the ambition for transformational change. I also raised the research proposal on participation which could provide useful baseline information in this area of work.

I met with Susan Deacon. This was an introductory meeting with Susan preparing for her role to provide added impetus to the government early years agenda.

I attended the Audit Advisory Board meeting with Steve and Chris. This is an annual meeting an important part of the scrutiny of the effective working of the office. Steve and Chris have done fantastically well in the preparation and execution of the requirements for the audit framework and I am hugely indebted to them for the very positive comments and engagement with the AAB.

I visited Perth and Kinross. I met with Bernadette Malone, Chief Executive and then a group of the senior directors. This resulted on a strong commitment from the Council for A Right Blether sign up. I later visited a newly opened youth services centre and met with 4 young people - two of whom were the peer educators, who informed of their plans to take the Right Blether workshops into local secondary schools.