Chamber and committees

I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests. I am a serving councillor in North Lanarkshire.

Good morning and thank you for coming. As the convener said, my questions are on tenants’ awareness of the Scottish social housing charter. We have just been discussing the relationship with regard to tenants and their rights, but do you think that tenants have enough awareness of the charter? If not, how can we increase their awareness?

Thank you. Having tenants sit on the board is a very interesting concept in relation to the charter, as it allows you to hear directly from people who are renting. How are those tenants selected? What areas are they from, and do they sit on the board for a particular term? How does that work?

It did, thank you. Finally, I want to touch on marginalised groups. You mentioned “biased groups” who know about the charter, but I am conscious that there will be groups of people who do not know about it. Is deeper work going on behind the scenes to ensure that we tap into those marginalised communities? It is so important that they, too, know their rights.

Good morning, minister and panel. I, too, refer members to my registered interest as a serving councillor on North Lanarkshire Council.

I will continue with the theme of principles of taxation. Does the Scottish Government’s proposed approach go against the principles of certainty and stakeholder engagement? I ask that because the committee has previously raised concerns about the issue. I seek from the Government the assurance that those principles will underpin the setting of non-domestic rates policy in the future. Will the minister provide reassurance?

As we have already heard from voices around the chamber, there is consensus among MSPs on banning conversion practices in Scotland. Should a ban on conversion therapy be voted through, Scotland would follow 13 other countries worldwide that have already banned the practice, including Brazil, Norway, Switzerland and several regions of Spain.

I share the view of many MSPs that conversion therapy—or, as it is sometimes referred to, “gay cure therapy”—is wrong and has no place in modern-day society. Therefore, it is upsetting to learn that, as Fulton MacGregor highlighted, as recently as 2018, the national LGBT survey found that around 5 per cent of LGBT respondents had been offered conversion therapy

“to ‘cure’ them of being LGBT”.

Being gay, lesbian, or bisexual is not an illness. People within the LGBT community have nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, they should be able to love who they want and be comfortable in their own skin.

In preparation for the debate, I read statements from conversion therapy survivors such as Justin Beck, who realised that he was attracted to men and turned to his place of worship for guidance. He put himself forward for conversion therapy and was left emotionally traumatised by the experience, which he described as “enforced repression”. Justin is, of course, only one example of many individuals who have been subjected to conversion therapy. We must continue to listen to people who have endured such practices to ensure that the Parliament finally implements the ban.

The persecution of LGBT people has a horrific and dark history, and we must continue to consider and debate ways to help and support members of that community. One way to do that would be to consign conversion therapy to the history books during this session of Parliament.

In October 2021, the UK Government announced that it would consult on proposals to implement a legislative ban on conversion therapy across England and Wales. The proposed bill would criminalise talking conversion therapy, thus preventing any non-consensual attempt to convince or coerce a gay person to be straight or vice versa. My understanding is that the Scottish Government has taken a different approach to banning conversion therapy, as is its right as a devolved Administration. Discussions have taken place between the UK and Scottish Governments to ensure consistency in the approach to that important issue.

It is also welcome that, after hearing robust evidence from the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee, the Government has set up an advisory group to investigate how to implement the ban in Scotland. I acknowledge the minister’s comments on religious freedoms and the concerns that religious groups have raised. It is a delicate situation, and I hope that the advisory group will continue to consider and engage with all views on conversion therapy as we move forward.

As my colleague Alexander Stewart rightly highlighted, it now falls on the Scottish Government to ensure that progress is made to prevent yet more LGBT people facing the humiliating and mentally traumatising practice of conversion therapy. However, as the group will not meet until the end of the month, we still need reassurance from the Scottish Government—the minister has given some of that already—that the matter will be treated with the urgency, care and respect that it deserves, especially as this issue was first raised with the Scottish Parliament in 2020 through a petition that secured more than 5,000 signatures. We are now two years down the road. Survivors and campaigners will be eager to see the ban put in place as soon as possible.

There is overwhelming support across the Parliament and throughout our communities to end conversion therapy practices. Therefore, I join calls from across the chamber to introduce the bill as quickly as possible and to ban conversion therapy in Scotland.

In August, the Scottish Government announced a pilot scheme to assess the number of affected buildings, with free tests to be carried out on 25 apartment blocks. However, not one survey has been completed, despite the scheme being launched six months ago. The lack of progress in Scotland could be putting people who live in those types of buildings at severe risk. Can the cabinet secretary give reassurances today as to when the surveys will be completed and when the findings will finally be published?

It was reported this morning that the SQA and Education Scotland will be scrapped and replaced with a new qualifications body and agency by summer 2024. How can the Scottish Government guarantee a smooth transition to a new qualifications body, to ensure that young people and teachers do not have to endure yet more of the chaos in the examinations diet that we have experienced in recent years? Furthermore, does the cabinet secretary think that it is reasonable that young people have to wait for yet another Government report before they find out what changes will be made to the education system?

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported concerns expressed by home owners over the delay to help residents in homes with unsafe cladding. (S6O-00835)

Good morning. We have spoken a little this morning about the tribunal’s workload. We know that, during the pandemic, there was a decrease in the number of applications for eviction orders, as would be expected. As we move out of the pandemic, will the workload increase? Will cases therefore take longer to consider?

You used the term “modest” in relation to the backlog that could happen on the back of the bill. Does the Scottish Government expect a backlog, regardless of whether the bill is progressed?