Sectarianism
The next item of business is a statement by Fergus Ewing on a sectarianism strategy. The minister will take questions at the end of his 10-minute statement and there should therefore be no interventions or interruptions.
I am delighted to make this statement on the Government's strategy for tackling sectarianism, which is an issue of concern for everyone in the chamber.
For too long, sectarianism has plagued the lives of too many. We must eradicate it once and for all. In the past, sectarianism was the elephant in the room; we did not want to face up to the bigotry in some of our communities. In 2004, the previous Administration called time on sectarianism. It was time for communities, organisations and individuals to face up to sectarianism and to challenge it. The Government acknowledges the work of Jack McConnell and his Administration in taking that bold step to tackle sectarianism. There is no doubt that progress has been made. Sectarianism is not as prominent as it was when I grew up, but it is still part of the backdrop to Scottish life.
Our strategy is based on funding key projects and bringing together co-ordinated partnerships of organisations to deliver a spectrum of work in communities, the workplace and the courts. We are funding Nil by Mouth to tackle sectarianism in the workplace and to deliver a project supported by the Scottish Trades Union Congress; sense over sectarianism to work in communities; and Show Racism the Red Card to develop work to tackle sectarianism. Last December I launched the anti-sectarianism education resource that we funded YouthLink Scotland to develop. The Iona Community adapted that resource for inmates at Polmont young offenders institution. When I visited Polmont, I was so impressed that I asked the Iona Community to work in partnership with us to look at developing the resource for adult prisons.
By working in partnership, we can eradicate duplication of effort and ensure that our work is co-ordinated, focused and effective. The working group on racial and religious intolerance brings together the voluntary sector and non-governmental organisations. The football banning orders monitoring group, which I chair, brings together the football banning order manager, the Crown Office, the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland and the Scottish Football Association to ensure that banning orders are used effectively. The promoting citizenship through football partnership, which is chaired by SFA chief executive Gordon Smith, brings together the Scottish Government, sportscotland, the SFA, the Scottish Premier League, the Scottish Football League and ACPOS to look at how football can help to tackle societal problems, including sectarianism.
Although football is sometimes where sectarianism raises its ugly head, it also provides a vital lead in getting the anti-sectarian message across. Clubs at all levels are engaged with their communities. I am grateful to them for the work they do, including through the old firm alliance anti-sectarian education programme.
Alongside that good work, we have penalties in place for individuals who indulge in sectarian behaviour. Football banning orders deny bigots who indulge in abusive behaviour access to football matches. The FBO monitoring group is tasked with ensuring that those orders are used effectively. We will press for a banning order to be sought on every occasion that sectarian abuse, violence or disorder occurs. The Solicitor General for Scotland has confirmed that a Crown Office circular has been issued to ensure that deputes are proactive in bringing the possibility of a banning order to the attention of sheriffs. I am sure that all of us welcome that move.
As banning orders have been in place for three years, it is time for us to take stock to ensure that we are doing everything that we can to tackle the violence and abusive behaviour that sometimes mar our national sport. I will, therefore, ask the monitoring group to carry out an evaluation and to report in winter 2010.
Scotland has many marches and parades every year. Although the vast majority of them pass without incident, a minority can be the cause of public disorder and other forms of antisocial behaviour. The right to public assembly is fundamental, but the communities through which marches pass also have rights. Since the 2006 statement on tackling abusive behaviour at marches and parades, the number of marches has changed little. I call on the organisers to consider the impact and disruption that marches can cause. I will invite the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, ACPOS and the STUC to work with me to look at the 2006 statement again to see how it can be used at a local level to ensure that all parties are working together for the good of all communities.
Education is another area that we continue to drive forward, and I am delighted that Learning and Teaching Scotland will refresh the "sectarianism: don't give it don't take it" resource to ensure that it is fully aligned with the new curriculum. I commend that resource to all schools.
I have seen the great work that is being done through art, drama and poetry to embed in young people the message that sectarianism has no place in Scotland. Many projects have been the basis on which schools have been twinned, and I have been impressed by the creativity and drive of the teachers who have developed such initiatives.
Our strategy is to work in partnership with people at the coalface. Working together, we will co-ordinate and maximise our efforts through our partnership groups; ensure that resources are up to date and fit for purpose; and ensure that the penalties for sectarian behaviour are used appropriately, and that we take action when they are not.
Sectarianism has blighted Scotland for too long. It will take a co-ordinated and concerted effort to achieve what we all want: a Scotland where sectarianism is unknown, and a Scotland that recognises and celebrates the fact that being one Scotland of many cultures and faiths makes us a better and stronger nation.
I thank the minister for the advance copy of the statement.
All of us will have agreed with the minister when he said:
"Sectarianism has blighted Scotland for too long."
If the Scottish Government is serious about eradicating sectarianism, it must build on the important work of the previous Executive, particularly in relation to education. The statement is a step in the right direction, but it is not a strategy. We need a detailed action plan and strong leadership. When will the minister publish the detailed strategy document that backs up today's statement?
I understand that a summit has been called for 23 November. What organisations have been invited to the summit? Will the First Minister attend?
Given the number of successful prosecutions under section 74 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003, will the minister introduce a national rehabilitation programme, based on the package that is used by the Iona Community at Polmont young offenders institution?
I welcome the support of James Kelly and his party for the work that we are seeking to do. Before I made my statement, I was pleased to meet the former First Minister, Jack McConnell, as well as Bill Butler, Bill Aitken, Mike Pringle and Robert Brown, to seek to build and continue the cross-party approach that I believe is fundamental to tackling the issue. I am pleased that James Kelly recognises the key importance of working with young people.
It will be difficult for any politician, any Government, any Opposition or any law to reach out and change the attitudes of a small core of individuals who are aged around 40 to 60. Changing some people's bigoted views might frankly be beyond the reach of any of us, no matter how persistent our efforts. However, I believe that, by focusing our efforts largely on the next generations of Scottish people, we will eliminate sectarianism and bigotry from our land. I am pleased that that approach is welcomed by James Kelly.
Today, I have announced a number of the principled measures that we are taking—I hope with the support of all parties. We will build on those measures and continue to work with all parties in developing and fostering our strategy to tackle the issue.
I am pleased to be meeting a wide range of individuals on 23 November, as we unite to tackle the bigoted views of a few people in Scotland. I pay particular tribute to the work of Baillie Gordon Matheson, of Glasgow City Council, and I look forward to working with his successor.
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. Mr Kelly asked three specific questions, but the minister did not even mention them, never mind answer them. Will the minister answer those questions?
I take the view at this stage that there will be several other opportunities for members to put those questions. I am sure that the minister will take on board your observation.
I welcome the statement and thank the minister for early sight of it. It is important to stress, as the minister did, that sectarianism is a fraction of what it was 30 or 40 years ago. However, that still leaves us with an unacceptable situation.
Many instances of sectarianism are football related, as the minister said. That is where we should direct our efforts, because the system has changed. Arrests at football matches are few in number, but there can be serious problems afterwards. Does the minister acknowledge that a principal difficulty is that, particularly when a game kicks off at 12.30 pm, some people spend the day drinking and then indulge in the sort of behaviour that we are talking about? Does he agree that the answer might be to ensure that people who are arrested following an incident in which they manifested sectarian behaviour are subject to a football banning order, even though the incident was not related to a football ground? In my experience, many people who are involved in sectarian behaviour have been denied access to a ground because of the limited number of tickets that are sold to away fans, but are looking forward to going to their ground of choice in the following week.
Bill Aitken made a good point. That is precisely why I announced today that there will be a thorough evaluation of the use of football banning orders.
I will answer Bill Aitken's question specifically. From my reading of the charging section that sets out the grounds for seeking a football banning order, I understand that they encompass behaviour not just at a football ground but outwith the ground, for example in a pub or club. A subsection of the charging section specifically provides that behaviour of a sectarian nature that takes place in a pub before or after a football game can lead to a football banning order. The test is whether a football-related offence took place, and such offences are defined in fairly wide terms. There are therefore powers, but we will carry out an evaluation to ensure that they are sufficient.
I am conscious that football banning orders might not have been used in a sufficient number of cases, in particular in comparison with the approach south of the border. That, too, is why I announced that there will be a thoroughgoing evaluation of such matters. I look forward to working with other parties in taking that work forward.
I thank the minister for the advance copy of his statement. Like Mr Kelly, I hesitate to call the approach a strategy, because much of the information that we have been given can be gleaned from the Scottish Government's website. However, a discussion about sectarianism is welcome.
I raise two issues. First, how will the strategy and the projects that are mentioned in it tie in with Westminster's Equality Bill? Secondly, and perhaps more important, when Alex Neil, the Minister for Housing and Communities, gave evidence to the Equal Opportunities Committee a number of weeks ago, he was asked about religious focus. He said, quite understandably, that his number 1 priority was Islamophobia. He was then asked what his second priority was. The second priority was not given, because the minister said that there was no second priority. Is that indicative of the disjointed way in which the Government will tackle sectarianism?
The Government is concerned to tackle bigoted behaviour of all varieties, whether it is racist, homophobic or sectarian. It could not be said that there is any doubt about that. I emphasise that, as part of our overall strategy, we will work with the Iona Community, as James Kelly—rightly—urges us to. I had the pleasure of seeing its work at Polmont young offenders institution. The organisation has submitted a proposal to develop and deliver an anti-sectarianism education programme to adult offenders. We are discussing that and considering the feasibility of a pilot project. We recognise the Iona Community's good work in seeking to rehabilitate people who express sectarian views.
We also recognise—I do not think that this has ever been reported or mentioned—that when a football banning order is granted, it can be lifted if the person who is banned recants and expresses sorrow and regret for his behaviour. Therefore, provision for rehabilitation is built into the law on football banning orders. The evaluation that I announced will consider that in particular.
We come to open questions. I will get through the number of questions that has been bid for only if people keep their question succinct and if answers follow a similar model.
Like me and many others, the minister will know of the anecdotal view that obtaining a banning order is easier in some places than it is in others. Given that, will he assure me that, when the monitoring group evaluates what is going on, it will consider the current law's adequacy and how it is being implemented?
We will certainly do that. The Solicitor General takes an extremely serious attitude to the matter. As I mentioned, he has issued guidance to all advocate deputes so that they are aware of the issue. Some members might have read of the case of Walls, which arose from a football match between Rangers and Kilmarnock in Kilmarnock. In that case, a two-year banning order was imposed on someone who sang extracts from the famine song and whom stewards repeatedly told to cease and desist. His appeal failed; that is a clear precedent. I understand from the Solicitor General that that precedent has been put on the website of every fiscal and every fiscal's office in the land.
It is plain that a strong attitude is being taken, but much more needs to be done. Perhaps more football banning orders could have been sought in Scotland. That is one reason why I decided, as I announced today, to launch a full evaluation of the effectiveness of the measure.
No punishment can more fit the crime of acting in an abusive and foul-mouthed way on the football terraces than a football banning order. That is an effective deterrent that hits people where it hurts, because they want to return to watch their team. Using FBOs will directly help us to eradicate sectarianism. If they are used appropriately and more effectively, they will see us turn the corner and achieve greater success in tackling the bigoted behaviour that continues in this country.
The minister's statement is welcome as a small step forward to a coherent national strategy, which we have been promised since September 2008. Sectarianism is a complex historical problem that will require a coherent strategy that is backed by the Government to build on the previous Executive's work. On average, there are still 338 convictions for sectarian offences each year in Scotland. We cannot allow sectarianism to slip back into the darkness.
To that end, does the minister agree that education must play a central role in the strategy if it is to succeed? Will he confirm that the Government will encourage local authorities to develop twinning and anti-sectarianism projects between schools by liaising directly with education directors throughout the country and by reinstating the dedicated funding stream that hitherto allowed those who are at the coalface to develop such worthwhile projects?
I share Bill Butler's view that education is key. That is why I was pleased to launch the resource that I described, which is routinely used and which I commend to everyone who is interested in this area of work. It is also why I have worked with many people, including Bill Butler and many of his party colleagues, in attending many different programmes to tackle sectarianism in which schoolchildren take part. The children put forward their views about why it is wrong to discriminate against somebody because of the community that they come from, the football shirt they wear or the football team they support. I entirely agree with Bill Butler in that respect.
I have attended schools that have relationships with other local schools that are perhaps associated with a different faith. Decisions on twinning arrangements depend on local circumstances and are entirely a matter for local authorities, in consultation with their communities, the parents of the children involved and church representatives. I think that we all want to see schools coming together. Equally, however, we do not want to force change from the centre or to force relationships on individual schools. Such relationships are at their best where they have grown organically through partnerships, often involving headteachers coming together and usually after consultation with the parents.
The minister and I come from Glasgow, and I know from personal experience that sectarian attitudes are normally intergenerational and start when people are young. They therefore require early intervention. What funding is the Scottish Government providing for anti-sectarianism activity in our schools?
As I said, we provide a range of funding to assist various efforts to tackle sectarianism. The sense over sectarianism project has received £412,500 over three years to run anti-sectarianism projects in the Glasgow area. Nil by Mouth has been provided with £118,000 over two years to deliver a project that promotes equality and tackling sectarianism in the workplace. Show Racism the Red Card has received £290,000 over two years to continue its anti-racism work. Plainly, not all that work is directly used to educate children. However, the work that is done in schools throughout the land plays a huge part. We acknowledge that contribution by schools and local authorities.
Frankly, this is just not good enough. Will the minister acknowledge that the national strategy against sectarianism did not, in fact, start in 2004 but started in the Parliament in late 2002 with a cross-party document that was produced by, among others, his ministerial colleague Roseanna Cunningham and his ministerial predecessor, Dr Richard Simpson? Will the minister respond to questions that he was asked earlier? Will he publish before Monday a list of the organisations that have been invited to the national summit against sectarianism on Monday? Will he give a clear commitment that the Government will support proposals from any local authority for shared-campus school buildings as part of the new school building programme? Will he support not a further evaluation after two and a half years of review, but a firm commitment to a national rehabilitation programme for the many offenders who have now been caught by the legislation that the Parliament supported and which he says his Government supports?
I have already explained in response to a previous question that we are committed to work that seeks to rehabilitate those who express bigoted views. We are supporting the Iona Community and work in prisons. We have also highlighted the provision in the charging section that recognises the possibility of the early lifting of a football banning order.
I cannot think of anything that would demonstrate success more than a football supporter on whom a banning order was imposed recanting publicly. That might have a bigger impact than any elected politician disavowing and deprecating such behaviour, and it might be more persuasive in convincing the hard core who remain on some terraces not to indulge in such utterly unacceptable behaviour.
I did not say that efforts to tackle sectarianism began in 2004, which seems to be the premise of the initial question from the former First Minister. I recognise that members from all parties have attacked sectarianism, espoused policies to achieve that aim and worked together. I will not become involved in any political attack on any individual or party, because I believe that partisan politics should not be involved in the issue. Indeed, in my statement, I paid tribute to the work of the former First Minister, as I did when I met him to discuss the approach that we would take to the statement.
We should be in no doubt whatever that this Government takes sectarianism and bigoted behaviour extremely seriously. That is why I am on my feet today making a statement, that is why I am happy to attend the function on Monday evening and that is why I will continue to work with all parties in taking forward our strategy on tackling antisocial behaviour.
In my statement, I set out clearly the principles that underlie our approach. Those principles have largely had the support of members who have asked questions.
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. The minister has twice been asked for a list of the invitees to the summit that is being held on Monday, and he has twice failed to answer the question. Is that acceptable?
I cannot force the minister to do so, but I think that it would be helpful if he could address that question if it is put to him again.
I hope that the minister does not forget his Christmas card list.
In January 2006, the previous Executive announced a joint three-year pilot project with Glasgow City Council with an interfaith liaison officer. Will the current Administration continue the interfaith liaison officer's good work? If so, will it seek to extend that work to the Ayrshire and Lanarkshire councils, as was hoped back in 2006?
We are continuing, and have continued, our interfaith work—I have attended a great many functions to do that—and we work with people from many faiths, churches and groups throughout Scotland.
On the member's question about specific individuals and groups in parts of Scotland—he seems to be making a sedentary interruption, which I cannot hear—I would be happy to correspond with him. If he wishes to give me the details, I will certainly look into them and answer any specific matter that he cares to raise with me.
To make matters easy for the minister, I will simply reiterate a number of the questions that he has not yet had the opportunity to answer. Will he give us the list of invitees to Monday's summit? Will the First Minister attend that event? Will the minister give a commitment that joint campuses will continue to be an integral feature of the future school building programme?
Provided that we have the express support of all those whom we have invited to attend, I am happy to release the names of those who attend any particular event. There is no great secret about the event. We all want to tackle sectarianism in our land. The event will be led by me—it was never intended that it would be led by the First Minister—and those attending include the STUC, ACPOS, YouthLink Scotland, the Iona Community, the SFA, the SPL and the SFL.
I remind Cathy Jamieson that the very first event that the First Minister chose to hold was one to thank for their campaigning effort people such as the former First Minister, his predecessor, who are tackling sectarianism in Scotland. I do not think that there can be any doubt about the commitment of the present First Minister, or indeed that of the most recent First Minister or of any future First Minister of our country, to tackling the problem. It is somewhat remiss to raise the matter as though it were some kind of issue, when the First Minister has made it clear that he is four-square against bigotry in our country, as are all the rest of us.
John Park will ask the final question.
No one would doubt the commitment, but we are a bit concerned about the approach that is being taken. The approach that was taken previously meant that the widest breadth of interest was engaged. The minister has mentioned a number of organisations that have shown an interest in tackling sectarianism over a number of years, but the previous approach ensured that organisations such as the Confederation of British Industry and the chambers of commerce were involved in such initiatives. How does the minister intend to involve wider civic Scotland in making progress on such matters?
We are happy to work with any and all organisations that wish to play a part. I acknowledge the existence of a wide range of views. I mentioned a number of organisations simply because I was invited to list some of the principal invitees to the event that I referred to, and I hope that it will be agreed that they represent many, if not most, of the major players that one would expect to be involved in such an event.