Chamber and committees

Our response to the SHRC was issued in May. We appreciate the work that the SHRC does and welcome its spotlight approach in raising the issues. The report clearly demonstrates the importance of all levels of government sustaining progress to advance people’s experience of human rights in rural and island communities. Our response, which we issued in May, outlined the breadth of work that was already under way across the areas that were raised in the report. Our response also set out the actions that we are taking, or are planning to take, on each of the report’s eight recommendations.

As I said in my opening remarks, I fully accept that there is more work to be done, but we are committed to working collaboratively across the public sector to ensure that we achieve our aim of making sure that everybody, regardless of where they live, has their human rights respected and fulfilled.

I know that the SHRC called for all relevant duty bearers to pay heed to its report, and we echo and fully support that call. People should be cognisant of it in designing and delivering public services for our rural communities. We will continue to work constructively with the SHRC, and other stakeholders, on the issues that were raised in the report and, more importantly, to implement the changes that are necessary to ensure further progress.

It was both. Part of my responsibility is to remind, support and challenge regarding the Equality Act 2010 and our public sector equality duty. We were able to discuss some issues that had been raised with me.

As I said, I fully recognise the distinct challenges that those living in rural areas sometimes face. I particularly recognise that intersectionality can often add a layer of inaccessibility. There is a disproportionate impact in the examples that you have given, and across other protected characteristics. It would be the same for ethnic minorities and disabled people, for instance. I am mindful of that, and the cabinet secretary is very mindful of it, too.

Meaningful engagement with rural stakeholders and communities at an early stage of policy development is absolutely vital. We continue to encourage engagement with rural and island communities across relevant portfolio and policy areas to understand their specific experiences of the issues in their localities—which of course can vary—in order to be able to develop a more flexible and localised approach to delivery. That includes engagement through the Scottish Rural Network and direct consultation with island communities on the new national islands plan.

The islands community impact assessment and the rural assessment toolkit, which was launched in April, encourage that in a systematic way, supporting access to specific islands and rural data and offering channels for engagement where they do not already exist.

If you would like more information on that, I am happy to bring in Anna Densham. Before I hand over, though, I will just agree with your point about the vital role that third sector organisations play. I could not have said it better myself. Third sector organisations are essential. They know their communities. I am aware that around 34 per cent of voluntary organisations are based in rural and remote locations, despite only about 21 per cent of the Scottish population living in those areas. That demonstrates how important they are in those communities, and we absolutely value the essential role that they play. We acknowledge that the sector needs support, stability and the opportunity for longer-term planning. Anna Densham can give you more detail.

Thank you for that. I agree and I am very sympathetic, as we all are in Government. It must be most frustrating. It is equally frustrating for us, because our budget is set on a cycle that comes from the Westminster United Kingdom Government. When that budget settlement is done yearly, it is difficult and challenging for the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government to set multiyear funding. We can make decisions on fair pay, for instance, but then there are decisions at the UK level such as the national insurance contributions increase, which can have an enormous impact. It is incredibly frustrating that the benefits of our decisions cannot always be seen because of decisions that are made elsewhere.

The latest estimates indicate that, across Government, we have invested over £1 billion in the third sector in 2023. Anna Densham talked about the fairer funding pilot, which covers multiyear funding worth £130 million over 2025 to 2027. It is part of our commitment to prioritise and focus on the delivery of front-line services and on tackling child poverty. When you are doing a pilot, you are including more and more organisations that you can support. This is not an exhaustive list but some organisations that are included in the pilot are Scottish Mountain Rescue—it is really important that it is part of the pilot—the Scottish Book Trust, which delivers the Bookbug programme, and the communities mental health and wellbeing fund, which is delivered across Scotland through third sector interfaces.

I acknowledge that it is frustrating, but the pilot is an important first step to mainstreaming multiyear funding agreements across the third sector to balance our ambitions against challenging financial decisions and the landscape that we are working in.

You mentioned women’s aid organisations, Ms Chapman, and I can touch on that. The equally safe strategy specifically recognises that women in small rural and island communities can face particular challenges in relation to all forms of violence against women and girls; abuse can sometimes be even more hidden than in urban areas. To help address those issues, we fund vital support services across all parts of Scotland, including in the rural and island communities, through our investment of £21.6 million a year in the delivering equally safe fund. At least £5.4 million of the delivering equally safe fund is allocated to rural and island communities. That figure excludes rural areas within predominantly urban local authorities, so the actual amount will be higher than that. I hope that that gives some reassurance.

I am deeply concerned about the harmful rhetoric that we see across the United Kingdom, which has no place in our society. It is vital that we remain united in the face of division and uncertainty so that that narrative has absolutely no place and gathers no traction.

When our communities tell us that they feel unsafe and that they are under pressure, it is our collective responsibility to listen and respond. I outlined earlier the work that we are doing through our new Scots refugee integration strategy, which has been held up far and wide as a very good example.

We are investing in strengthening our communities, but I call on members—and everyone else—to ensure that we all stand firm against falling for misinformation, check our facts, are mindful of our language and use our platform to ensure that we unite our communities.

We are committed to supporting the integration of refugees and people seeking asylum into our communities through our new Scots strategy, which was developed in partnership with the Scottish Refugee Council and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities. We are funding the refugee support service to provide advice, information and resources to new Scots to help them to build networks and social connections.

In addition, the £300,000 of funding that I announced earlier will be used by organisations working across Scotland to strengthen community cohesion and ensure that our communities stand together to reject division and build solidarity by forging coalitions across a wide range of communities in Scotland.

The debate has certainly given us the opportunity to reflect on the financial barriers to leaving an abuser. As we have heard, those barriers are complex and multifaceted. They relate to the control that a perpetrator has over the victim/survivor, for whom the systems do not always work. I want to categorically make clear, and reiterate, the Government’s commitment to addressing those issues.

We have heard many contributions regarding the equally safe strategy, which is co-owned with COSLA and provides a framework for action. Of course, I recognise that further improvements can always be made; however, I will respond to some of the points that members have raised.

With regard to same-sex relationships and those working with LGBT survivors, that is funded work and it is in the strategy. It is important that we see and acknowledge the results of the funded services for survivors, and that includes work in schools and work that concerns awareness-raising campaigns such as the forthcoming campaign on misogyny, which is also referenced in the equally safe strategy. There is also a strand of work under the strategy that concerns training, such as the national trauma transformational programme. In order to ensure delivery across portfolios, I chair the equally safe ministerial group, which meets regularly to ensure ministers and cabinet secretaries are following up on their parts of the strategy.

With regard to the fund to leave, the Scottish Government is clear that financial uncertainty should not be a barrier to women leaving an abusive partner. I note Roz McCall’s recognition of the fund’s positive impact. The Government would like to make the fund permanent, and we will set out further details at the forthcoming spending review.

I am grateful to the new Cabinet Secretary for Housing for prioritising and protecting housing rights for women. The Housing (Scotland) Bill, which was passed on 30 September, introduced a number of provisions to protect tenants who are experiencing domestic abuse. Those provisions fully recognise the vital role that social landlords have in keeping their tenants safe. The provisions include measures to ensure that social landlords fully consider domestic abuse through financial control, particularly rent arrears, when supporting their tenants who are experiencing domestic abuse, and that they support women to remain in their homes or to be rehoused, if that is what they wish.

It is vital that women are able to access the support that they need when they need it. Our delivery partners, including local Women’s Aid groups, will work closely with others to ensure that women are fully supported in their decision to leave, and that is why, through the delivering equally safe fund of £21.6 million, we fund a range of organisations to do that. We have also made a considerable investment in vital advice services, such as the economic abuse helpline, Scotland’s domestic abuse and forced marriage helpline and Citizens Advice Scotland. These services make a tangible difference to women’s lives by giving them advice to help them to navigate complex financial systems and rebuild their lives.

On legal aid, the Scottish Government recognises that the legal aid system needs to be reformed. Looking ahead, we will develop a fee review mechanism and explore the fundamental changes that are required to create a legal assistance system that is fit for the 21st century. I am concerned about the lack of availability of solicitors. There are fewer civil solicitors than was the case previously, but they are also more active: in 2014-15, there were 1,067 active solicitors, with an annual average of 12 grants each; by 2023-24, there were 791 active solicitors, with an annual average of 17 grants each. The legal aid system is generally effective in delivering help to those in need, but we recognise that there are challenges in relation to certain types of cases and locations.

I welcome the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee’s inquiry into legal aid. Its report was published on 17 September, and it is only right that we fully consider its recommendations and conclusions.

Solicitors in all parts of Scotland are able to access the fund for work that they have carried out and legal assistance schemes that are flexible enough to allow solicitors to travel to rural and remote parts of the country to carry out work, should it not be possible to have local solicitors for people to instruct. The Scottish Government will continue to press the UK Government on reserved issues, such as the condition of no recourse to public funds and universal credit.

I want to assure the Parliament that my ministerial colleagues and I remain committed to working towards a strong and flourishing Scotland, where all individuals are equally safe and respected and where women and girls live free from all forms of violence and abuse, including financial and economic abuse.

I am pleased to represent the Scottish Government in this important debate. I thank members of the Social Justice and Social Security Committee for undertaking their inquiry into financial considerations when leaving an abuser.

This Government is resolute in the belief that coercive control, including financial abuse, has no place in Scottish society. We are striving to eradicate the financial and structural barriers that victims/survivors face when they leave an abuser. Through equally safe, Scotland’s strategy to address violence against women and girls, we have taken measures to prevent violence, to build the capability and capacity of support services and to strengthen the justice response to victims and perpetrators. For example, we introduced the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018, which criminalises coercive control, including aspects of financial abuse.

As a direct result of funding from our annual £21.6 million delivering equally safe fund, the Financially Included project started its work to tackle the economic impact of violence against women. Its impressive work supports women to regain their financial freedom and thrive. This year, we have allocated increased funding to Financially Included to further expand and support the work that it provides and to develop a new Scottish economic abuse helpline.

As a Government, we are committed to doing more. I have asked my policy officials to consider the committee’s report as part of the work to develop the next equally safe delivery plan, which will succeed the current plan at the end of 2026.

The issue of social security was raised by Bob Doris, and I recognise the importance of social security issues to this agenda. In Scotland, we have deliberately built a radically different social security system that provides vital support to those who need it, including women and children who are experiencing domestic abuse. Social security staff, including a dedicated safeguarding team, are trained to identify and support those experiencing abuse. However, as the Parliament is aware, much of the social security in Scotland, particularly universal credit, remains reserved to the UK Government. We remain keen to work with the DWP on areas where we have limited power—for example, on the splitting of single-household universal credit payments, which stakeholders have told us is essential to remove a potential enabler of domestic abuse.

Nobody should have to face additional financial hardship as a result of domestic abuse. We recognise that enforcement practices, such as the way in which liability is shared for council tax or having longer debt expiration periods, can create very difficult circumstances for those who are experiencing or have experienced abuse. That is why, during consideration of the Housing (Scotland) Bill, we supported an amendment to require a review of how council tax arrears affect those in that situation—and that was included in the bill. We also committed to consult on the council tax debt expiration period. The outcome of the review and consultation will be reported to the Parliament, and that will give us a much clearer understanding of the issues and of how best to respond. This year, we have allocated £2.2 million to roll out a national council tax debt project, delivered by Citizens Advice Scotland, to increase the support available to those who need advice and support on any aspect of council tax, including arrears.

As part of the housing emergency action plan, and as Bob Doris mentioned, we have established a new national fund to leave, which supports women and their children to leave an abusive partner and aims to improve their housing outcomes. As Bob Doris also mentioned, the evaluation of last year’s pilot showed that more than 500 women were provided with financial support. The national fund could improve housing outcomes and could assist with the transition to a more stable and independent future for up to 1,800 women and their children.

The Scottish Government recognises the demands on the legal aid system. I listened carefully to Karen Adam’s speech, and I recognise that the needs of those who depend on the legal aid system have changed significantly since the model was developed nearly 75 years ago. Change is needed to ensure that we have an adaptable, flexible, affordable and sustainable legal aid system that supports people who are facing challenging issues and problems. The Scottish Government welcomes the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee’s inquiry into what changes could be made to the civil legal aid system. We are considering that committee’s report, and we will respond to the Parliament in due course. We will continue to work closely with our stakeholders to support women to get the access that they need. Listening to them is vitally important.

Regarding the application of no recourse to public funds, the conditions create significant barriers to leaving abusive relationships. Through the ending destitution together strategy, we seek to mitigate and prevent destitution for people with no recourse to public funds.

I see that I am running out of time, Presiding Officer—thank you for your patience. I finish by assuring the Parliament that we are listening and that we will continue to address this blight on Scottish society.

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. My app did not work in time, but I would have voted yes.

As we have heard in the debate, language is incredibly important. We need to ensure that we are talking about the same issues and that we are using the correct terminology. Not doing so perpetuates the misinformation that some seek to weaponise against individuals and communities.