Chamber and committees

I am very grateful to the Alnisa service for working with us. The Government is benefiting from the experience, knowledge and expertise that that service has to offer. I reassure the committee that we are listening very carefully to its opinions and that we will continue to work with it.

Thank you for that question. You will be aware that the act was passed in 2020, so if it is all right to do so, I will bring in Nel on that point.

That is a really good point. As I said in my opening remarks, officials are undertaking a mapping exercise to identify the existing training in sectors such as education, health and policing, which will enable us to identify gaps and opportunities. Once that exercise has been completed, officials will engage with stakeholders to co-design appropriate training solutions. It is essential that they are co-designed and that we hear from people who have experience of the matter, whether they be victims or those who support or provide services, so that we have a joined-up approach. That is one of the reasons why it has taken a bit of time to do the work, but we are determined to do it well and to ensure that our approach is sustainable.

The training materials and the awareness-raising materials will be developed for the professional sector and for the wider public, because there is a need for education and awareness raising across society. As I said, the materials will be culturally appropriate and available in multiple languages. We will ensure that inclusive formats are used so that the materials are accessible to everybody.

In order to further raise awareness, officials are exploring the option of organising an event to mark the international day of zero tolerance for FGM in February 2026. That is an example of work not only with sectors and communities but with civic society at large.

I alluded to materials being developed with our advisory group for ethnic minority women and girls. We are drawing on that group’s expertise to ensure that the content is appropriate, accurate and targeted.

I can give you reassurance that that work is well under way. The development of the materials will begin in late summer or autumn. I am establishing a timeline for you over the next year, because we are absolutely on track for implementation in 2026.

Absolutely. Experience from England and Wales shows us that increased awareness and training among professionals led to a rise in the number of applications for FGM protection orders. That clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of awareness raising and training being part of implementation.

I am sorry, but could you repeat the last bit of your question? I am afraid that I am a bit hard of hearing.

Based on the awareness that I have gained while I have been in post, I think that it is difficult to pre-empt everything, especially when a piece of legislation cuts across other legislation and across many other domains; for instance, this legislation falls under child protection, too. When that happens, you have to deal with multiple organisations, and bringing people together always takes time. That is, it can be done quickly, but I think that for legislation such as this to be implemented consistently and to be done well, it takes time to iron it all out.

I am aware that the Minister for Parliamentary Business spoke to the committee in December. Like him, I accept that there have been disruptions and delay that we would not have wanted. He outlined clearly some of the reasons for that delay. In that sense, I understand Ms Chapman’s point that it has taken time, but we need to keep that in perspective. There are complexities in bringing together many agencies. As I said, the implementation of the FGM act is not within just the Scottish Government’s gift. Many other people have responsibilities, and we need to make sure that everybody works together in step. There were clearly also other reasons for the delay. Many things got caught up in Covid—that was well rehearsed at the December meeting, so I will not go into it further. Yes, there has been a delay, but that delay is not entirely to do with the work. I hope that I have demonstrated the clear progress that has been made since the committee was last updated in December.

Absolutely. The statutory guidance will describe the responsibilities of chief executives, directors and senior managers in agencies that handle cases of FGM. The guidance will also set referral pathways, with the aim of improving collaboration between statutory and specialist services to ensure that victims receive the support that they need. Officials have set up the statutory guidance working group, which includes representatives from health, social work, education, child protection, Police Scotland and third sector organisations. Nel Whiting can confirm whether the children’s commissioner was involved. In order to ensure close links with the children’s hearings system, representatives are also included from Children’s Hearings Scotland and the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration. I do not know for a fact whether the children’s commissioner was involved.

To clarify, we are not refreshing the guidance; we are developing statutory guidance.

I am satisfied that we have the resources. I noted with interest the committee’s evidence session in December, and I have been very careful to track the progress that we have made in the past six months. I am satisfied that we are on course to deliver in 2026. There are legitimate reasons for the delay, but I absolutely take on board that that is having an impact. We cannot have that. Women are suffering, so we must do everything that we can. I assure the committee that I am satisfied that we are on course.

I am grateful to the committee for the invitation to provide information on the work that is being undertaken to implement the Female Genital Mutilation (Protection and Guidance) (Scotland) Act 2020. I want to begin by stressing that the Government is resolute in its commitment to the implementation of legislation passed by the Parliament. As the Minister for Parliamentary Business highlighted when he attended the committee in December 2024, work involved in implementation can be complex. It also relies on other organisations and agencies that we need to work with. Hence, to ensure the effective implementation of the act, we are working closely with external stakeholders, including Police Scotland, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, local authorities and health representatives, as well as our Scottish minority ethnic women’s network. We aim to implement the 2020 act within 2026, but the timeline also depends on other organisations’ capacity to implement aspects of the act.

I am clear that, although I want the act to be implemented as soon as possible, we will be implementing it in a way that is sustainable and that ensures that the act can deliver the intended protections to women and girls without placing unmanageable pressure on those who are responsible for delivery.

The work that is under way falls into three main development areas: court rules, statutory guidance and training and awareness raising. I will raise each of those in turn.

Court rules are necessary to provide clarity on how the act will work in practice and what procedures need to be followed to ensure that the legal processes remain effective and efficient. In the case of the FGM act, court rules might be needed to provide clarity on issues such as timescales for carrying out procedural steps; how the views of child victims or witnesses will be sought and by whom; what forms are used to gather information and how it is stored; how anonymity is maintained and where and how removed passports might be stored.

An additional complexity in this instance is that criminal and civil court proceedings will be needed. We have spoken with operational partners and have agreed to establish a legislative working group to ensure that all relevant partners are brought together to work through those issues.

The creation of statutory guidance will help to address knowledge gaps and offer clarity and certainty for practitioners and organisations that are working with victims of FGM. Officials have set up a statutory guidance working group that includes representation from those in health, social work, education, child protection services, Police Scotland, Children’s Hearings Scotland, the Scottish Children’s Reporters Administration and third sector organisations.

The working group has had two meetings, one of which was held yesterday. As a result, the content, structure and overarching aims of the statutory guidance have been agreed. Officials will be drafting the statutory guidance during the summer of 2025, with the intention of circulating a draft version to stakeholders for feedback later in 2025.

We have also agreed, along with the group, to the production of sector-specific pamphlets. Those will be concise and accessible resources for professionals to use in their day-to-day practice. A similar approach was taken when we refreshed the statutory forced marriage guidance, and it was received well.

Finally, I will highlight work related to training and awareness-raising materials. Officials are currently undertaking a mapping exercise to identify existing training across sectors such as education, health and policing. That will help us to understand where the gaps and opportunities lie. Once complete, officials will engage stakeholders to co-design appropriate training solutions.

We understand that awareness-raising materials will need to be culturally appropriate, available in multiple languages and produced in inclusive formats to ensure accessibility for all. We also recognise that community-based awareness is crucial, and we will work closely with stakeholders to ensure that that is a core element of our approach.

I hope that the committee can see that real progress is being made towards implementation, and I am happy to take any questions from the committee.

We are talking about the court rules, which are a type of secondary legislation that set out the practice and procedures of the courts. They provide clarity about how the act works in practice and about what procedures need to be followed to ensure that the legal processes remain consistent and efficient.

The Scottish Civil Justice Council considers and prepares draft rules of procedure for the Scottish civil courts. When approved by the council, draft rules are submitted to the Court of Session for consideration, and if approved by the court, an act of sederunt is made.

In the case of this act, court rules might be needed to provide clarity on issues such as timescales for carrying out procedural steps in a case; how the views of child victims and witnesses might be sought and by whom; what forms are used to gather that information and how that information is stored; how anonymity can be maintained; and how removed passports might be stored.

Of course, the further complexity is that the act allows for FGM protection orders to be issued in both civil and criminal proceedings. During criminal proceedings, courts may impose a protection order following a conviction for an FGM offence. That represents challenges with implementation, as civil and criminal proceedings have different procedures and distinct information technology systems. Therefore, careful consideration is required to ensure that implementation is effective in both courts. We anticipate that implementation of the rules will require systems change and associated costs across the justice agencies.