Chamber and committees

I thank Mr Sweeney for raising that point, which I will consider.

I will try my best to respond to a few of the points that were raised during the debate—there were far too many to mention, which shows the interest in the debate. I was glad to hear Tim Eagle talk about treating people with dignity, but I wonder how he feels about the hostile environment that was created under the previous Government. That somewhat undermines his statement. Evelyn Tweed, Marie McNair and other colleagues pointed out that hostile environments do not achieve the aim that they are intended to achieve.

Richard Leonard made a compelling case for support, and he also challenged the Labour Government in Westminster, which could act in areas of reserved competence. I assure him that I am doing everything that I can, and it is good to see that there is cross-party support on that.

Emma Roddick highlighted the limitations that are placed on the Scottish Parliament, and I refer again to the 2015 legislation.

To conclude, I welcome the debate and I have listened very carefully. I thank Jen Ang for publishing the report and Maggie Chapman for securing the debate.

I thank Maggie Chapman for bringing the motion to the chamber. She started with very powerful testimonial words from those with direct experience, and I thank her for bringing their voices to the heart of the chamber tonight.

She noted the recent publication of the legal briefing, “Ending Destitution in Scotland—A Road Map for Policymakers”, as do I. I welcome the breadth of the report and many of its recommendations. It is absolutely right that we continue to challenge ourselves to ensure that we are doing everything that we can to reduce destitution in Scotland. The fair way Scotland partnership has sent me a copy of the briefing, and I will respond to it in full very shortly.

Far from failing to act, in 2021, the Scottish Government published our pioneering ending destitution together strategy in partnership with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities. Many colleagues have referred to that tonight. It is the first of its kind in the UK and it sets out our inclusive approach to improving and strengthening support provision and service access for people who are subject to NRPF in Scotland.

Our powers are limited, however, and nationality and immigration, including the policy of no recourse to public funds, are wholly reserved to the UK Parliament. As much as we would like to, we are unable to end destitution for all overnight. We can, however, continue to deliver services, work in partnership with organisations across Scotland and continue to legislate if we have the power to do so or to raise issues with the UK Government if we do not have that power. We do that to ensure the implementation of our vision that no one in Scotland is forced into destitution and that everyone has their human rights protected, regardless of their immigration status.

I will say a wee bit about financial support. Since 2021, we have invested more than £500,000 each year to support the most destitute in Scotland. Between 2021 and 2024, funding was provided to the British Red Cross to deliver the Scottish crisis fund. That pilot project provided people with emergency crisis cash support and was inclusive of people who had no recourse to public funds. Learning from the project showed that some people who accessed the fund could access other public funds but needed casework support to exercise their rights and access appropriate services.

Building on that learning, since June 2024, we have been working with fair way Scotland on the delivery of a project that provides cash support and casework for those who are most in need. That holistic support package is assisting people to exercise their right to public funds, including in housing, emergency cash to tackle food insecurity and the ability to access culturally appropriate foods and essential needs. Since July 2024, more than 400 people have been supported out of destitution.

For some time, we have been lobbying the UK Government to remove the Scottish welfare fund from the restricted public funds list. If people who are subject to NRPF in Scotland were able to access that emergency crisis cash support, that would provide an additional safety net to mitigate destitution. We will continue to call for that, and for all schemes that are created using devolved powers to have the ability to determine their own eligibility requirements.

I understand why Maggie Chapman asks for that, but I refer her to paragraph 6.2 of the UK immigration rules, which includes the words

“a payment made from a welfare fund under the Welfare Funds (Scotland) Act 2015”.

That is why people who are subject to NRPF cannot access the Scottish welfare fund and why we cannot create a new support fund under that act while it remains on the public funds list that is defined by the UK Government. However, I reassure the member that, as I have said, we continue—I continue—to robustly lobby the UK Government to act in those areas.

I will go on to our next steps. As the report highlights, more can be done. We have been working closely with COSLA, stakeholders, third sector organisations and local authorities to review the delivery of the ending destitution together strategy and develop a work plan for phase 2 of delivery. The vision and principles of the strategy are as relevant today as the day that they were published. However, the feedback has been that an understanding of the NRPF condition and eligibility is not always clear for front-line workers. Carol Mochan and other members made that point about opaqueness.

As a priority, prior to the publication of the strategy, we developed migrants’ rights and entitlements guidance, in partnership with COSLA. We have updated that guidance and provided training. That guidance aims to support local authorities when making support decisions, and we want to ensure that it remains up to date and accessible for people. We will also work with Public Health Scotland, general practitioner networks and other front-line workers to improve understanding and awareness of NRPF and people’s eligibilities and to better support them.

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. My app did not connect in time and has not registered my vote, although I was getting assistance. I would have voted no.

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. My app did not connect in time and has not registered my vote, although I was getting assistance. I would have voted no.

—such as education, health, communities, work, benefits and issues around homelessness.

Trans and non-binary people are a small marginalised group, at 0.44 per cent of Scotland’s population—

Through collaborative work on the Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Act 2021, access to free period products is enshrined in law for anyone who needs them, which has built on Scotland’s world-leading work in that area.

Violence against women is a fundamental violation of human rights, which is why we are implementing the equally safe strategy to prevent and eradicate all forms of violence against women and girls and to tackle the underlying attitudes that perpetuate it.

Thank you, Presiding Officer. I will continue. The Scottish Government is committed to increasing equality and improving the lives of trans people in Scotland. Trans people continue to suffer poorer outcomes relative to outcomes among the wider population—

—and race equality organisations that we fund via the equality and human rights fund.

I conclude by restating our position—