Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)

Meeting date: Wednesday, November 4, 2020

Official Report 1007KB pdf

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Scottish Guardianship Service (10th Anniversary)

The final item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S5M-22742, in the name of Angela Constance, on the 10th anniversary of the Scottish guardianship service. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.

Motion debated,

That the Parliament recognises that September 2020 marks 10 years of the Scottish Guardianship Service and the partnership between Aberlour and the Scottish Refugee Council supporting trafficked and unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and young people arriving alone in Scotland; understands that, in that time, the service has been by the side and on the side of nearly 700 children and young people across 29 local authorities, supporting them to navigate the complexities of the UK asylum and immigration systems, engage with statutory services and support them to build new lives in Scotland; considers that the service is an exemplar of a human rights approach to how a country should care for and support trafficked and unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and young people and has influenced the development of similar provision in Northern Ireland; commends what it considers the successful conclusion of its pilot in 2013, whereby the Scottish Government has provided statutory funding to the Scottish Guardianship Service and, in 2015, committed to long-term support for guardianship of separated children in the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015; believes that the partnership between Aberlour and the Scottish Refugee Council exemplifies Scotland’s commitment to international human rights frameworks, including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and has been key to ensuring separated children and young people's rights are protected and promoted, and considers that, at a time when so many children and young people around the world are fleeing conflict or persecution or are the victims of international trafficking, the Scottish Guardianship Service has never been more needed to ensure vulnerable children and young people arriving alone in Scotland are cared for, protected, integrated and seen as assets to Scotland.

17:39  

If you are a child or young person who comes to Scotland all alone, with no family or caregiver, because you have been trafficked or your home country is no longer safe, what is the one thing that you need most? Surely, it is someone whom you can trust—someone who is by your side and on your side, and who helps you to plan your future and to believe that you have a future.

Those are not merely words paraphrased from a wonderful new video by the Scottish guardianship service; rather, they describe exactly what the service has been doing for the past 10 years. It has been providing a trusted adult—a guardian—to some of the world’s most vulnerable children and young people, thereby ensuring that they can navigate their way through the United Kingdom’s complex asylum and immigration system and receive legal welfare and other age-appropriate support.

I am grateful to MSP colleagues from all sides of the chamber for supporting my motion and enabling me to bring the debate to the chamber tonight. Many of those colleagues will have been pivotal in securing the statutory basis and funding for the life-changing guardianship service, in particular by passing the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015. I know that MSPs will want to join together to pay tribute to the Scottish guardianship service on its 10th anniversary, and I thank everyone who has been involved in that partnership between the Scottish Refugee Council and Aberlour Child Care Trust.

Over the past 10 years, 700 children from 38 different countries, speaking 40 different languages, have been supported to rebuild their lives here, across 29 local authority areas the length and breadth of Scotland. The Scottish guardianship service is an exemplar of a human rights approach being taken in how a country cares for and supports trafficked and unaccompanied young people. As a nation, there are only two questions that we should ask ourselves. Are these children and young people our bairns? Are these children and young people our weans? The answer is yes—they are both. Like all good corporate parents, we have the same hopes, dreams and aspirations for all Scotland’s children.

There are some people and events that never leave a person. I have had the privilege of meeting many refugees and asylum seekers over the years, and it is always a humbling experience to listen to the personal testimonies of our new Scots. In fact, it has inspired me to try to learn Arabic—but that is another story.

The last visit that I undertook as a minister was a trip to Rothesay to visit Helmi’s, a patisserie, to meet Helmi and his family, and other Syrian families who are starting businesses and having weans in rural Scotland. What is not to like about that? I believe, from reading a motion that was lodged by Ross Greer, that Helmi is branching out to Bearsden, in Rona Mackay’s constituency. That year, 2018, was the year of young people. In Rothesay, I spent the afternoon with a number of young people, who had been supported by the guardianship service, at an event to combat social isolation and provide a sense of community for those young people.

I am grateful to the Scottish Refugee Council and Aberlour for their briefing for tonight’s debate. The briefing is rooted in the personal testimony of young people whom they have supported. They include young people such as Zayn, who received essential support to help him to overcome his almost stifling fears when he first came to Scotland; Tati, who was guided through the complex immigration process; Hai, who learned to drive; and Lyn, who is now doing her PhD in ultrasonic engineering at the University of Glasgow. My word—those young people are, indeed, assets to their new country.

The challenge for us all is to live up to our own rhetoric. The Scottish guardianship service fits with the Scottish Government’s commitment to incorporation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, our new Scots support strategy and the action to give young expectant mums in the asylum process access to pregnancy and baby payments and to the baby box.

Over-16s who have immigration leave can vote in Scottish Parliament and local government elections, and there is access to the care-experienced bursary for students and to free school meals and vouchers, where applicable. Where we can improve our support, we must do so.

The Scottish Refugee Council and Aberlour Child Care Trust are calling for national guidance for social workers who are working with separated children, and are seeking clarity around access to the educational maintenance allowance. They do not want the small number of asylum-seeking children to be excluded from our great plans to extend free travel to under-19s. Perhaps the minister can comment on those asks during her closing speech.

I cannot ignore the elephant in the room, which is the fact that the asylum system in the UK is broken and inhumane, and has built-in destitution. There have been three separate and potentially avoidable tragedies within the Glasgow refugee community. Housing for people who are seeking asylum is in disarray, with hotels and other types of accommodation being used for longer than is acceptable. There is a real live concern that the UK Government’s proposed fair borders bill will move away from community support to institutional accommodation for asylum seekers. My word—that would be a backward move indeed.

We would all do well to remember that international law gives us all the right to seek asylum in another country, and we would do well to remember that people who risk their lives in dinghies trying to cross the English Channel do so because of utter desperation, despair and fear.

The Scottish guardianship service is a beacon of hope. I hope that, irrespective of our different views about Scotland’s constitutional future and about how UK immigration should be run, we can all agree that, over the past 10 years, the Scottish guardianship service has been a symbol of the country that we aspire to be.

To the 700 young people who have come to Scotland all alone who have been supported by the guardianship service, let us all say, “Welcome to Scotland. You’re ours. You’re part of our family now.”

17:46  

I am pleased to take part in this evening’s debate on the 10th anniversary of Scottish guardianship service. I pay tribute to and thank Angela Constance for raising this important issue in the chamber this evening.

Since its formation 10 years ago, the Scottish guardianship service has undertaken outstanding work in supporting some of the most vulnerable children who arrive in Scotland alone and separated from their families.

It is simply impossible for many of us to put ourselves in the shoes of those unaccompanied children, who are looked after, thanks to support from the Scottish guardianship service. We find incomprehensible the traumatic experiences that many of those young people have had prior to arriving here, as they reach our country alone and separated from their parents. That is not to mention the fact that many of them have already experienced war, terrorism and conflict in their home countries.

Nearly half of all the supported young people have been trafficked or exploited. Those children arrived here having lost everything—their families, their friends and their homes—but the Scottish guardianship service gives them something that we cannot put a price on: hope.

Applying for asylum is a complex and daunting experience for any individual, especially a child. The one-to-one support that is offered by the service to young people is vital in helping them to navigate the legal process.

It is also important that those children are coming to Scotland to play their part in our society. The support that is provided by the service gives them the skills and the knowledge to overcome many of the cultural and language barriers that they face in their new country.

The service also provides opportunities for young people to share their lived experiences and to come together, which fosters a sense of community. It is vital that they have that chance, which gives them the opportunity to be children once again. The service welcomes them with open arms and gives them an opportunity to follow their hopes and dreams as children growing up here in Scotland.

As has been mentioned, nearly 700 children have experienced the process. The service’s work has to be looked upon as a strength. Only recently, in 2019, 165 children and young people arrived in Scotland, which was double the number in 2018. I hope that that continues to be the positive way ahead.

In my previous role as my party’s shadow spokesperson on international development, I encouraged, and was encouraged by, the fantastic work that has taken place in civic Scotland. It shows the links that we have with other nations—for example, the link between Scotland and Malawi. Those links benefit not just people from other countries, but people in Scotland, too.

I pay tribute to the charity Aberlour and the Scottish Refugee Council, and to civic Scotland in general. Those organisations make a huge difference in bringing the third sector community and the Government together to work collaboratively. The commitment that we have from the Scottish Government is vital, and the funding makes a huge difference by ensuring that organisations the length and breadth of Scotland can participate and be supportive.

In conclusion, I join my parliamentary colleagues from all sides of the chamber in paying tribute to people in the Scottish guardianship service and the staff of the Scottish Refugee Council and Aberlour. I encourage them all to continue to do the work that they have been doing, because by doing so they have ensured that many people are supported. They make a real difference—their efforts make a difference to the lives of hundreds of children who have come to call Scotland their home, and that is right.

17:51  

I, too, congratulate Angela Constance MSP on bringing to the chamber this important debate to celebrate 10 years of the Scottish guardianship service.

If Scotland is to be the best place in the world for children to grow up in, it is essential that the complex needs of separated children and young people arriving in Scotland are met. Although more than 80 per cent of young people are granted leave to remain, the complicated legal process can take months or even years. The guardianship model ensures that one-to-one long-term support is provided to each unaccompanied child to support them through the necessary legal and immigration processes.

That help comes at a time in a young person’s life when they suddenly find themselves needing to rebuild their life in a new country. The young people whom the Scottish guardianship service supports are isolated, are in a totally unfamiliar environment and are often coping with trauma, including as a result of trafficked exploitation or violent conflict. Those things make them particularly vulnerable, and they need dedicated specialist support and advocacy.

The isolation of separated children and young people is made worse by language barriers, unfamiliarity with culture and customs in Scotland and the complicated immigration and legal processes that they immediately face. All at once, they must navigate the care system, the asylum system, the education system and the national referral mechanism, all of which can be confusing and intimidating. Talking with a guardian empowers a young person to navigate those systems with confidence and ensures that they understand their rights and the processes that may determine their future.

The Scottish guardianship service has helped 200 children and young people who arrived in Scotland this year. People who come to Scotland because they need a place of safety should have our support, and that has become even more apparent during the pandemic. The service has provided laptops, mobile phones and data to minimise social isolation and to ensure continuous engagement with services during the pandemic.

Throughout the pandemic, the Scottish guardianship service has helped to keep young asylum seekers connected to one another online. After reading some of their stories, it is clear to me how beneficial it is for those young people to connect together. They are able to support each other because it is a process that they are all going through. When those young people arrive here, their guardians are there to welcome them to Scotland and to be there for them when they need it most. That encourages those young people to stay strong and shows that they are not alone.

By helping young people through the asylum process, supporting them into education and helping them to realise their potential, the service is helping so many young people to flourish in Scotland. Guardians play an essential role in the protection, integration and welfare of young people, and it is no exaggeration to say that they have been providing a lifeline service. I am so thankful for the work that they do in offering companionship and support to young people who are doing us all a service by choosing to build their lives here in Scotland.

17:54  

I, too, thank Angela Constance for bringing the motion to Parliament and securing the debate. At a time when the world is an increasingly scary place for our children to live in, it is more important than ever before that we do all that we can to protect them.

I congratulate Aberlour, the Scottish Refugee Council and the Scottish guardianship service for reaching such a monumental anniversary. I hope that they will continue with this vital service for as long as it is required. The work that they do to support children who are asylum seekers or victims of trafficking, and who are completely alone, is vital, and its impact cannot be overstated. As a lifelong advocate for human rights, I greatly admire the work of the guardianship service. The work that it does ensures that the human rights of so many children cannot be ignored.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child has a number of different articles in place that aim to ensure that all children across the globe have the right to grow up in a safe and secure environment. However, that is not always the case. The children who are supported by the service often arrive in Scotland alone, because their homes are no longer safe or because they have not been protected by the adults in their lives. I am sure that no one in the chamber this afternoon can begin to imagine the fear and the trauma that those children have gone through before arriving in Scotland.

The intense isolation and loneliness that the children experience when they arrive in a foreign country alone, knowing no one, and rarely knowing the language, is incomprehensible. By providing support with legal documents and immigration status, and finding them a home and access to an education, the Scottish guardianship service gives children hope—and it gives them more than hope: it gives them a fighting chance to thrive.

Children thrive when they are safe, comfortable and feel that they have someone on their side who they can trust. That can be seen in the numerous success stories of children who have been helped by the service and who now have families of their own or are pursuing higher education. Some children have also been reunited with the families that they were forced to leave behind, and that is often made possible only by the tireless work of the guardian.

I am proud that local authorities across my region of West Scotland have provided a new home for a number of children over the years. I hope that we continue to be a welcoming community for more children in the future.

Children are so precious. They are our future, and they are a reflection of the society that they live in. By offering such crucial lifeline services to support children who have faced incredibly difficult circumstances, the Scottish guardianship service provides a ray of hope for the diverse, inclusive and open society that we all wish to achieve.

I end by adding my support for the call of the Scottish Refugee Council and Aberlour for the UK Government immediately to restart its resettlement scheme, and I ask that everyone in this Parliament support that call.

17:58  

Like my colleagues, I thank Angela Constance for the opportunity to discuss this important issue tonight. I congratulate her and the Scottish guardianship service, Aberlour and the Scottish Refugee Council on the service’s 10th anniversary.

As we all know, the service’s cause of helping others in supporting young children in a foreign land is something special. We know from those organisations’ briefings, for which I am grateful, that 29 of Scotland’s local authorities have been involved in that support. I do not think that the other three local authorities are in any way complacent, and as someone who lives in the far north, I can assure members that this terrible situation has visited that part of the world, too.

As the motion says—I will refer a lot to the motion—we are talking about children who have been separated from their parents and caregivers. Can members imagine the trauma that that causes a child? Humanity is required to fill that huge vacuum, and I think that Scotland can be proud of the way that it has stepped in.

Human trafficking is a crime against humanity. The motion goes on to talk about supporting the children to

“navigate the complexities of the UK asylum and immigration systems”.

That is not an ordinary bureaucratic environment but an overtly hostile environment, and its proponents are proud to call it that.

The same people are equally reticent about providing support for the countries that many of those children come from. I am proud of the situation that we find ourselves in, in celebrating this great work. We are talking about children who are at a

“confused, disorientated, extremely vulnerable time of life”,

so the provision of an advocate is very important. We all know of the challenges that there can be in dealing with lawyers, immigration workers, social workers and police officers.

I want to take the opportunity to engage with the statutory services and to thank all those public servants and volunteers for the work that they do.

My favourite phrase from the motion is:

“support them to build new lives in Scotland”.

I love that phrase. I want Scotland to be not only just, but just and welcoming. From the Highlands, I say fáilte a h-uile duine and welcome every one of those 700 children.

Angela Constance talked about age-appropriate support. I am delighted about the wide range of support—which I will not repeat—that is provided for the children. Of course, I do not support only a rights-based approach to policy making; it is very important that policy practice reflects that.

I was a member of the Justice Committee during the scrutiny of the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015, and I was humbled by hearing at first hand the harrowing testimony of some of the people who were affected in that way.

International crime knows no borders, and it is good that we are sharing best practice with Northern Ireland. As a side issue, it is important to say that humans can be trafficked in their own jurisdictions.

I also commend the locking in of the funding arrangements in the 2015 act.

It has often been said that Scotland wants to be the best place in the world for children to grow up. We need to demonstrate that. I welcome a keen personal interest in the UNCRC, and I commend the progress and future work that is planned for the incorporation of that. It is vital that we ensure that the rights of separated children are not only protected, but actively promoted. Many children around the world are fleeing conflict and from people who would directly embroil them in fighting in war zones. People are fleeing as a result of the climate emergency and food shortages. Scotland must continue to act and have positive engagement in international affairs. The Scottish guardianship service has never been more needed.

Again, I thank Aberlour and the Scottish Refugee Council and, indeed, everyone who is associated with the Scottish guardianship service for providing the beacon of hope to which Angela Constance referred. I thank her again for the opportunity to highlight it.

18:02  

I congratulate Angela Constance on securing the debate, and I am pleased to be able to respond on behalf of the Scottish Government.

I welcome the opportunity to mark the fantastic work that has been done by the Scottish guardianship service during the past 10 years. The partnership between Aberlour and the Scottish Refugee Council has supported trafficked and unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and young people arriving alone in Scotland, reaching nearly 700 children and young people across 29 local authorities.

I have listened carefully to the range of comments and issues raised during the debate and reassure members of the Scottish Government’s commitment to support the work of the guardianship service. As part of that commitment, the Government has funded its work with £2.25 million during the past 10 years and has incorporated long-term support for guardianship of separated children in the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015. That will help vulnerable children to navigate the complexities of the UK asylum and immigration systems, engage with statutory services and build new lives in Scotland.

It is a strange time in the world, and the pandemic has left many people feeling isolated and alone. That feeling might be unfamiliar to some, but for many unaccompanied young people it is very familiar. They arrive alone in a strange country, with an unfamiliar language and culture, and with absolutely no reason to trust adults or authority. That is why the work of the guardianship service is vital for those young people.

Navigating the complex systems and processes that those young people have to face immediately upon arrival to this country would be a daunting task for any adult, let alone a child who is on their own. The guardians help those young people make sense of the world around them and help them to participate in decisions that are made about them. The young people often do not speak English and are understandably confused and afraid. It is the role of the guardians to build a relationship and gain their trust and friendship, which is no easy task given the circumstances. The guardians provide a voice for the child until they are empowered enough to speak for themselves.

As many members mentioned, the UK asylum system has been in the news recently—and not for good reasons. What is often lost in asylum processes, and indeed in news reporting about asylum, is the human factor. Asylum so often becomes a politicised issue when really it is an issue about humanity and compassion.

Like everyone in the Parliament, I was deeply saddened to learn of the tragic loss of life after a boat carrying migrants sank off the coast of northern France last week. The lives lost included two children, aged five and eight. A baby is still missing. My thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of the family who lost their lives.

The UK Government is closing the door on safe routes of arrival for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children at a time when those vulnerable children need it most. Last month, the UK Government, including five Scottish Tory MPs, rejected an amendment to the Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill, which aimed to ensure one of the few remaining safe and legal routes for very vulnerable children to travel to the UK to seek asylum remains open. I welcome the UK’s renewed commitment, in an amendment to the bill in the Lords, to the principle of family reunion and supporting vulnerable children. The English Channel must not become a graveyard for children. It is the most basic test of our fundamental humanity—to reunite children with their family and to protect them from harm.

Scotland has a long history of welcoming refugees and asylum seekers. We want to continue to be that welcoming country and to work constructively with the UK Government. However, the Scottish Government will go further in the way that we help separated children and bring a distinct flavour of compassion and support to an area over which we currently have no control. The work of the guardianship service should be an example to the rest of the UK of how we should welcome those who come to our country in distress, needing help, looking for an opportunity to rebuild their lives and to contribute to their new home.

I turn to the specific points that Angela Constance raised in her speech. On the issue of training social workers, the support guidance by COSLA on migrants’ rights and entitlements to services provided by local authorities offers general guidance for practitioners supporting unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. However, I acknowledge that national guidance is required for the multi-agency practitioners who support unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. We are looking at developing that as a priority. I would be happy to work with those with an interest in that.

Angela Constance also mentioned free travel for under-19s. Our current plans for the eligibility for the under-19 free bus scheme are based on residence in Scotland. If an asylum seeker is able to prove residence in Scotland they would be eligible to apply for a free travel card under the scheme.

There is much more that I could say. The debate has been wonderful and demonstrates that we are all very proud of the guardianship service. A great deal of work is taking place to ensure that vulnerable children and young people arriving alone in Scotland are cared for, protected, integrated and seen as assets to Scotland.

I thank members for their contributions to the debate. I am proud to close a debate that I know will gain the support of all members from across the chamber, on a service that shows Scotland at its best and leading the way on the issue. It shows that our ambition for Scotland to be the best place to grow up absolutely extends to those who make Scotland their home.

I finish by repeating Angela Constance’s words when opening the debate, which I found very moving. Those words are addressed directly to the children and young people, “Welcome to Scotland. You’re ours. You’re part of our family now.”

Fàilte a-huile duine.

Meeting closed at 18:10.