Chamber and committees

As we have talked about quite a lot, the issue of housing is very much connected with economic activity. Through our population strategy, we recognise that uncertainty about housing can impact on an individual’s decision to have a family, remain in a community and contribute to the economy.

Scotland has the right long-term plan for housing, and we are working at pace, in collaboration with partners, to critically review and prioritise the actions in those plans. Partnership working at all levels—UK Government, Scottish Government and local government, as well as with key sectoral partners—is needed to deliver that.

I thank Willie Rennie for raising that point. I was at that meeting and I have already stated that I have heard the groups’ concerns and frustrations loud and clear. I will continue to engage, because it is my duty and my job to do so.

I recognise that the aspirations of disabled people and their organisations lie beyond what could be delivered in the first phase of the plan. Difficult decisions had to be made to ensure that the actions could be achieved in the challenging economic situation that Scotland faces. A budget is coming and I ask members across the chamber to vote for it, as I am hopeful that it will provide some kind of reassurance to disabled people’s organisations.

It is certainly not the case that the Scottish Government is silencing any criticism.

Since I came into post, we have had to make some very difficult decisions. I, along with the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, have engaged fully with a wide variety of stakeholders. We have heard the significant disappointment in certain areas from stakeholders, including those who are in receipt of public funding. That criticism can also readily be found in the public domain.

Our ask of stakeholders is that they stay the course with us as we continue to work with them to test and refine, for instance, the proposals around the human rights bill ahead of its introduction next session.

The Scottish Government welcomes discussion and challenge on all matters of public policy, and from all quarters. It is fundamental to the health of our democracy.

I therefore respectfully disagree with the characterisation that Jamie Green has relayed. Internal governance procedures are in place to ensure that public funding is awarded without prejudice or a single point of influence. They include an internal audit system, a governance and accountability team, and accountable officer processes that ensure that funding is awarded on the basis of value for money and the outcomes and objectives that best serve the people of Scotland.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving the collection and analysis of data on gender inequality. To build the strongest evidence base, we continue to advance quantitative, qualitative and lived-experience evidence collection. In the equality data improvement programme, 28 of the 45 actions relate to improvements in sex and gender evidence, demonstrating the breadth of action across Government. We recognise that there is more work to be done to improve the collection, analysis and use of data and evidence on gender inequality, and we are continuing to work with our stakeholders to do so.

I think that I said at the evidence session that I would get back to the member on that.

I want to address the reference to 24 genders; I have answered a question on that before. The Scottish Government recently updated its guidance to public bodies on collecting data on sex and gender to include a coding framework for free-text responses. The framework is there to help official statistics producers categorise people who identify as trans and who have completed an open-response question about their trans status.

The categories were developed based on responses to the question in the 2022 census. As I have said before, the framework should not be interpreted to mean that there are a particular number of genders. It should be used only as a guide to classify responses to the recommended trans status question in surveys.

I thank Tim Eagle for raising the amazing work that that organisation does. The Scottish Government is committed to continuing to support the Royal Scottish Agricultural Benevolent Institution to provide emotional, practical and financial assistance to people who live and work in Scottish agriculture.

We have provided funding of a total of £50,000 to support RSABI in financial year 2023-24, taking the total Scottish Government support to £565,000. We are in discussion with RSABI on future funding requirements. The funding supports it to deliver important services such as emotional, practical and financial assistance to those in the agricultural sector.

I will give a brief response. Beatrice Wishart has raised many issues that also cover colleagues’ portfolio areas, so I will connect with them and issue a more detailed response.

The Scottish Government continues to deliver a range of interventions to support people seeking asylum who live in Scotland. Working with partners, we have reaffirmed our approach of supporting integration from day 1 in the third new Scots refugee integration strategy delivery plan.

Many of the essential services that support people seeking asylum are devolved and are delivered inclusively for everyone who lives in Scotland, as far as that is possible within United Kingdom immigration legislation and rules. This year, we are providing £3.6 million of grant funding to the Scottish Refugee Council for a comprehensive nationwide refugee support service.

It is estimated that a third of the people living in Scotland who are seeking asylum may already be eligible for free bus travel through the national concessionary travel schemes on the basis of age or disability, because those schemes are delivered inclusively. We are committed to exploring whether we can extend free bus travel to all people who are seeking asylum before the end of the current parliamentary session, subject to the successful passage of a Scottish budget that contains the issue and an agreed way forward in terms of practical delivery. I call on Paul Sweeney to urge members on his benches to support that budget in order for that to take place.