There has been a lot of discussion of inclusive communication. My initial delving into it indicates that there is no consistency. There are councils and public sector providers that are doing a really good job on inclusive communication but it is not consistent. I hope that we can address that through the bill and by spreading good practice.

Again, intersectionality comes into it as well. There are different layers of communication. We are not just talking about British Sign Language, for instance, but inclusive communication in everything for the hard of hearing—I am not going to list all the groups, because you always forget something, so please forgive me.

The general principle of it is that there are amazing good practices, but people use that term “postcode lottery”, which means that, depending on where you live, you do or do not get something. We cannot have that.

The principle of inclusive communication is important because it goes to the heart of the dignity and agency of those who have communication barriers. Perhaps they do not have the barriers; perhaps it is us who are creating those barriers, so it is on us to deal with them.

We need to ensure that provision is consistent. The public service equity duty is a big part of that. Again, it is about using the carrot and the stick. Currently, I am looking at whether there is a place for legislation. However, remember that we work in partnership with local authorities through the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities. We have to respect that relationship, so we need to consider whether the best way is for the Scottish Government to legislate or whether we need to provide the tools and the frameworks.

Also, ministers have additional powers to strongly suggest—well, more than suggest; I cannot remember the phrase that is in the powers—something. I am considering those at the moment. What powers do we have to enforce that everybody is honouring their duties with regard to inclusive communications?

I have already referred to the Government’s anti-racist employment strategy, which I believe is having an impact. It sets out the actions that the Scottish Government will take to reduce employment inequalities for racialised minorities. They include evaluation of the minority ethnic recruitment toolkit that we published in 2020, and the development of an anti-racist workplace training framework. The impact of those actions will be measured through the evidence plan for the fair work action plan, to ensure that they support our ambition of becoming a fair work nation.

Despite Scotland receiving the most challenging settlement in the history of devolution in last year’s United Kingdom Government budget, the Scottish Government is doing all that it can to prioritise investment to tackle and reduce poverty here, including investment that will benefit black and minority ethnic households. That includes committing £6.3 billion for social security benefits and payments, investing nearly £600 million to support the delivery of affordable homes and providing more than £370 million to enable free bus travel for more than 2 million people. In addition, our anti-racist employment strategy seeks to reduce income inequality for racialised minorities by supporting employers to address barriers so that people from such minorities can enter, progress in and stay in employment.

I thank Ash Regan for raising such an important point and pointing out the trauma that women are going through.

The Scottish Government is committed to dignity and respect for all. The Equality Act 2010 provides protection for women. The Scottish Government strongly supports the separate and single-sex exceptions that are in the 2010 act, which allow for women to have single-sex spaces.

It is vital that the use of emergency accommodation for women who are experiencing homelessness does not exacerbate any of the issues that may have led to them presenting as homeless, such as domestic abuse, mental health issues, substance use or a disability or impairment.

Temporary accommodation is an important safety net and, when support services are provided, care must be taken to ensure the safety of everyone who is accommodated. Our homelessness statistics show that accommodation in the social rented sector is the most common type of temporary accommodation that is used by local authorities. Social rented accommodation accounts for 55 per cent of the temporary accommodation that is used by local authorities, with hostels being used in only a small number—9 per cent—of cases.

The Scottish Government’s delivering equally safe fund is providing more than £7 million this year to local women’s aid groups for support for services for women and children.

We have introduced provisions in the Housing (Scotland) Bill that, if passed, will put a duty on social landlords to develop and implement a domestic abuse policy that outlines how they will support their tenants who are at risk of homelessness, including protecting the right of women to stay safely in their own homes. We will continue to work closely with the housing and violence against women and girls sectors to develop statutory guidance to accompany that duty.

The Scottish Government has been consistent in its calls for the UK Government to immediately right the historic wrong that has been suffered by the WASPI women. I congratulate those campaigners who have relentlessly pursued justice. They should be commended and applauded for their tireless work. I also thank Clare Haughey for securing the debate and for her long-standing campaigning on behalf of the WASPI women.

When the UK Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman report was published in March, we immediately called on the UK Government to take action quickly and compensate the women who were impacted. The report identifies the DWP’s failure to act promptly in writing to the women who were going to be impacted by the changes in state pension age and it calls for compensation to rectify that maladministration.

It is vital that whoever forms the next UK Government delivers the compensation package as soon as possible. They should listen to the WASPI women’s calls for comprehensive compensation and take into account the financial hardship suffered. I am aware that previous debates on the issue have been largely consensual, but I understand the frustrations that have been expressed in the chamber tonight on behalf of the WASPI women.

The PHSO report recommends that the DWP should compensate women born in the 1950s by between £1,000 and £2,950. Although that is welcome, the Government believes that compensation should go further and supports Alan Brown’s bill, which has called on the UK Government to publish a compensation framework for WASPI women set at £3,000 to £10,000 or more. The WASPI campaigners also feel that that would be a fairer outcome, given the wider financial hardship that this devastating policy has caused. We were also pleased to see that Patricia Gibson MP secured a debate on 16 May, resulting in the UK Parliament calling on the Government to deliver prompt compensation to the women who were impacted.

As Marie McNair and Beatrice Wishart have noted, the UK Government unfortunately failed to make a clear commitment to delivering that compensation prior to the dissolution of Parliament, pledging only to consider the PHSO report. That stance is repeated in the Conservative manifesto, and there is no mention of WASPI at all in the Labour manifesto.

Finlay Carson talked about this becoming a political issue, but it is undeniable that the WASPI women feel abandoned. Finlay Carson knows fine well that the state pension is a reserved matter that limits what we can do within a devolved competence as the Scottish Government. It is up to the UK Government to take action on that.

To be clear, the PHSO’s findings and compensation recommendations are that the DWP mishandled the communication of the equalisation of state pension age. As I said, that clearly puts the responsibility squarely at the door of the UK Government to right its own wrongs and compensate the women who were unfairly affected by the maladministration.

Maggie Chapman talked about her continued commitment to put that injustice right. Women are already fighting an uphill battle for pension savings equality without the UK Government making the situation more difficult. The UK has one of the worst gender pension gaps in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and that is from 2023 statistics. Research by the Pensions Policy Institute found that, for women to retire with the same pension savings as men, they would need to work an extra 19 years. My colleague Ruth Maguire talked about the clear gender issues around the WASPI campaign. Clearly, the equalisation of pension age does not mean pension equality, so it is time to stop letting the women down and take action. Rona Mackay also talked about the WASPI women who have, sadly, passed away without receiving justice, and that cannot continue.

The WASPI campaign has been a long and taxing ordeal for the women involved. The PHSO report is a glimmer of light at the end of a very long tunnel. I hope that the incoming UK Government takes notice of the collective voices of the parties across this Parliament and the UK Parliament, that it pledges to take action on the PHSO report, that it finally acknowledges its maladministration and, importantly, that it does the right thing by providing a fair compensation package at the earliest possible opportunity.

The member makes a valid point. I will try to address it in the time that I have.

Jamie Halcro Johnston referred to the powers that we do have. The Scottish Government is committed to addressing the challenge of depopulation through collaborative working with partners—whether they are academic, international, regional, local or community-based—to deliver innovative and sustainable solutions. The publication of the addressing depopulation action plan—or ADAP—represents the meeting of a key commitment of the population task force. It harnesses a broad evidence base and builds on deep engagement with partners to establish a strategic, delivery-focused approach. It recognises that there are no quick fixes to depopulation within affected communities, but it seeks to maximise the tools that we have at our disposal.

I see that I am running out of time, so I will try to address some of the points that have been raised. Tim Eagle raised a point about depopulation funding. We are committed to working with COSLA to deliver solutions in a sustainable way, but we also know that smaller, targeted funding can have an outsized effect. It is important to listen to communities. I restate that this is the first phase of the work on the pathfinder projects, which we will be able to learn from. My ears are open and, as we take the lessons, I am open to looking at solutions going forward. Rhoda Grant mentioned housing—

I thank Mr Halcro Johnston for making those points. As I have said, the challenges are complex, and the Scottish Government is continuing to address those issues.

The sustainability of rural and island communities is vitally important and, of course, we want to see a Scotland in which everyone can play their full part, with empowered communities shaping their individual and collective futures.

Many members have already referred to the publication of our first action plan, which we are implementing in order to address depopulation. The plan aligns with our wider approach to supporting rural and island Scotland, including the national islands plan. We recognise that Scotland is not alone in facing those demographic challenges and that we can learn from other countries. Our population strategy, published in 2021, was the first of its type in the UK. It sets out our commitment, as an outward-looking nation, to engage with other European nations to share learning and best practice on demographic policy approaches.

After the debate, I will be attending a welcome reception at the European population conference, which is taking place in Edinburgh this weekend, to share expertise on demographics, migration, depopulation and more. Harnessing the input of experts from our expert advisory group on migration and population is key to ensuring that we develop the most robust policy responses that we can. That expert group has given us clear evidence and an analysis that shows that Scotland faces a distinct demographic challenge, in part because of the historical legacy of out-migration, which particularly impacts our rural and island communities. We know that the current immigration system, which is reserved to the UK Government, is not effective in dealing with the challenges that Scotland faces.

I am going to run out of time, so I will carry on.

The rural and islands housing action plan makes commitments on affordable homes. Other members have mentioned the issue of second homes, which can provide a benefit but are also a challenge. I remind members of the power that we gave to local authorities to charge a premium of up to 100 per cent on second homes. That is now in place and local authorities have been able to use that power from 1 April 2024.

A few members mentioned schools. There are commitments on the £2 billion learning estate investment programme, and members can look into that for further information. I am speeding through things because of the time. Presiding Officer, I think that I might have tested your patience for as long as I can so I will sum up.

Members have raised serious issues. I want them to know that this Government takes its responsibilities within the scope of devolved matters very seriously, and it is working to enforce, proceed and accelerate the action plan as much as possible. My door is open—there will be points that I have not had a chance to address—and I encourage members to come to speak to me to get more detail on those matters.