Chamber and committees

Good morning. John is the author of my question. He says that the citizens panel has concerns that, even though diversity education in personal, social, health and economic classes has a lot of detail on issues such as sexuality, race and gender, there is little reflection on or understanding of cultural differences. He asks:

“How is the minister working with the Minister for Children, Young People and Keeping the Promise to ensure that teachers have the appropriate equalities and diversity training to fully support the teaching of cultural diversity and delivery of PSHE in a culturally sensitive way?”

Good morning, everyone. I am Meghan Gallacher MSP.

I will have the pleasure of asking the minister John’s question about how we start in the classroom with understanding different cultures. Indeed, that is really important for us all to grasp, given that legislation that comes through the Scottish Parliament could impact on the various diverse communities that we have throughout Scotland.

I want to ensure that we ask the minister absolutely the right questions. Can we do anything to help improve such understanding? Have John and other panel members thought of anything that we could bring into the committee or the Scottish Parliament’s structures to ensure understanding of cultural differences and to address that issue in what we do here as a community?

I, too, associate myself with the comments that colleagues have made in relation to the First Minister’s family.

The UK Government has engaged in intensive diplomatic efforts to open the Rafah crossing from Gaza into Egypt to allow humanitarian aid to enter the territory. The crossing is now partially open and aid trucks have been arriving over the past few days. Does the First Minister recognise those efforts and acknowledge the delivery of aid into the Gazan territory so far?

I begin by apologising to you, Presiding Officer, and to members in the chamber, as I will need to leave shortly after my speech.

Edward Mountain was spot on, as usual. It is right that we highlight the challenges that our veterans face, the report by the veterans commissioner and the work that is on-going to better support our veterans. However, as a Parliament, we do not really focus on the contributions that our servicemen and women make to our country, which do not stop when they leave the forces. That is where I will start my contribution today.

I know a wonderful group of ex-servicemen and women in Lanarkshire called Veterans Community Lanarkshire, or VClan, which is a charity that supports veterans and their families in the Lanarkshire area. It is based in Craigneuk, but it also holds a drop-in cafe every Friday in the Kings church in Motherwell—I must say that the soup is delicious.

I have had the pleasure of the group’s company on many occasions, and it is one of the many reasons why I am proud to live in Lanarkshire. Like many veterans, VClan wants this Government to focus on issues that matter to it and its community. Our veterans fought for our rights and freedoms, and I believe that giving them the right support and tools is the least that we can do when they retire from service.

VClan is the custodian of war memorials in Lanarkshire. It cares for, cleans and tidies those important landmarks, and I know of many other groups across Scotland that also take on that important role. Members might be aware of the stark increase in the number of war memorials that have been desecrated in recent years. War memorials were commissioned throughout towns and villages in Scotland to commemorate the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice so that we could live in a world free of tyranny and oppression.

For many of the families and relatives, those memorials provide the only focal point for remembering. It is the names of their loved ones that have been etched into the hundreds of war memorials across the country. The memorials are emotive and at the very heart of communities. It is important that we continue to meet at those important landmarks and that younger generations are educated on what the people who are named on the structures fought and died for.

Since 1996, there have been 66 attacks on war memorials in Scotland. Although that number appears low, almost 70 per cent of those attacks have occurred since 2014. That is a worrying trend. Data shows that most attacks have taken place across the central belt, particularly in the area that I represent. During my time as a councillor and now as an MSP, I have been made aware of several incidents in which war memorials have been damaged and vandalised.

The first incident, in 2019, involved the war memorial situated in the Duchess of Hamilton park in Motherwell. I was horrified by the wording of the graffiti that had been drawn all over the names of soldiers who fought and died for our country. Words such as “fascists” and “rats” alongside the phrase “scum of the earth” were written in red wax that had been stained into the stone. Although some community members and veterans attempted to clean it off, it required a specialised stonemason to carry out the repair work.

Following the attack, I have had involvement following incidents, including at the memorial in Coatbridge, Larkhall war memorial grounds, the Spanish civil war memorial in Motherwell and the Holytown war memorial. It should not be left to veterans and specialist stonemasons to carry out those repairs, because the attacks should not be happening in the first place.

Due to the number of attacks on war memorials across Scotland, groups such as the friends of Dennistoun war memorial have been at the forefront of a campaign to bring in better protections. It has organised a successful social media campaign to highlight the number of incidents and it has brought together groups of people who care about our heritage, our history and our war dead. The group has petitioned Parliament on numerous occasions, asking that more be done to protect those sites from the mindless and abhorrent attacks on the memories of those who made the ultimate sacrifice. However, sadly, those petitions did not go any further. That is why I have launched a consultation on a proposed member’s bill entitled the desecration of war memorials (prevention) (Scotland) bill. The bill has been asked for by veterans to support veterans and their families, the armed forces community and anyone who has a loved one’s name placed on a war memorial.

As the law stands, the desecration of a war memorial is treated as vandalism. However, that fails to recognise both the distress that it causes to communities and the significance of such landmarks. It treats the desecration of a war memorial in the same way that it would that of a lamp post or a telephone box.

My bill would create the offence of desecration of war memorials and increase the range of sanctions available for prosecuting damage caused to them. I hope that the bill would create a stronger deterrent and ensure that war memorials are given the protection that they deserve. As I have said, the bill is for armed forces in the veterans community, for those who have lost a loved one during conflict or for those who are related to, or know, someone whose name is etched into the stone. The consultation will run until 19 December, and I urge everyone to join in. I also ask whether the minister will consider my proposal for this important bill and give it his backing. That would show that the Parliament is truly on the side of veterans and of the fallen soldiers to whom we owe so much.

Do any of the other witnesses have a view on the independence of the legal profession from the state?

As Tracey Reilly mentioned, the bill is not clear on what evidence would be needed for a recommendation to be made to Scottish Government ministers. Would having to come up with such evidence place an additional administrative burden on people? Tracey Reilly also said that, given that it is not clear cut exactly what evidence would be required, the system could be ineffective in that, if there was not the right evidence, cases could not be taken further. Could you expand on that?

Thank you.

I welcome all the witnesses. We have talked a lot about the performance of regulators. In its current form, the bill gives the Scottish Government new powers to review the performance of regulators. Some people have argued that that could undermine the independence of the legal profession from the state. I am interested in whether the witnesses think that there is a risk that the bill could jeopardise the independence of the legal profession.

The SNP Government has failed to provide digital inclusion funding since 2020-21. As the SNP Government cuts council budgets year on year, how does the cabinet secretary expect local authorities to improve digital education without any support?