Chamber and committees

Many speeches this afternoon began with the sad news about what has occurred on the Bibby Stockholm. I echo the comments that have been made by many members and the calls to investigate what happened.

Today’s debate has been robust. Many contributions have outlined what the Scottish Government can do within devolved competence to improve the lives of asylum seekers in Scotland. The committee’s report outlined many important issues that we have discussed, including the slow rate of processing asylum applications, the financial challenges that asylum seekers face, the current housing crisis, and how local authorities support those who can claim asylum here in Scotland.

There were many points on which members found consensus—and, of course, there were areas of disagreement, whether in relation to reserved powers or to the UK Government’s plan to tackle illegal immigration. The report states that committee members disagreed on the UK Government’s approach to tackling illegal immigration. There is a real human cost when it comes to illegal immigration and the criminal activity that exploits so many vulnerable people. However, I appreciate that the topic is emotive and that it will cause a difference of opinion. I will pick up on some of those points shortly.

When I joined the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee, members were concluding the report after taking weeks of evidence on the topic. That is not an ideal time at which to join a committee, because there is a feeling of disconnection from those who gave evidence and shared their personal experiences with committee members. However, what was undertaken produced an important piece of work, which sought to improve the lives of asylum seekers in Scotland. I hope that we can all agree on that.

I also hope that the Scottish Government will start to record data on human trafficking cases in relation to outstanding court backlogs. I was concerned that, recently, in a response to Rachael Hamilton, the Minister for Victims and Community Safety, Siobhian Brown, advised that the Scottish Government currently does not hold that information. Although that was not in the report, I believe that it is crucial to maintain data if we are serious about ending the exploitation of vulnerable people in Scotland.

Members across the chamber raised several points that were in the committee report. The committee convener spoke about the real-life experiences that were crucial to the report, which outlined the challenges that asylum seekers and refugees face. Paul O’Kane echoed that view and highlighted how difficult it must be for people to leave their homes to seek asylum in another country.

Kaukab Stewart mentioned free bus travel for asylum seekers, which is an issue that Paul Sweeney has previously brought to the chamber. The report asks the Scottish Government to develop and report on plans for a Scotland-wide roll-out following the pilot schemes in Aberdeen and Glasgow. I am sure that MSPs will hear more on that when the Scottish Government develops its plans further.

Miles Briggs and Alexander Stewart raised the housing emergency that we currently face in Scotland. We know the number of homelessness applications and the number of children who have been assessed for or threatened with homelessness over the past financial year. Of course, we also know that 6,000 families are stuck in temporary accommodation for more than a year, and 450-plus people have been refused temporary accommodation from 2020 to 2023. I was therefore pleased that the committee’s report sought clarification on the steps that the Government is taking to address the overall housing crisis that we face, because it is urgent. If we want more people to come to Scotland, we need to have affordable homes available. As Alexander Stewart rightly said, the housing crisis has consequences, especially when it comes to hotel accommodation for asylum seekers.

The report discussed the slow rate of processing of asylum seekers. I accept that and agree with colleagues that that must be rectified at haste, not just to alleviate the report’s concerns but to ensure that people are not stuck in the system after fleeing an already difficult and often traumatising situation in another country.

Mental health is another big topic that was raised and debated by many members, and it is a vital part of the wraparound care that the minister mentioned in her opening speech. Services are available for people to access here but, as we know, they are under severe pressure. Although I accept that we need to raise awareness so that asylum seekers can access those vital support networks, we need to ensure that there are no language barriers and that we tackle the challenges that exist across all our mental health services.

I am running out of time. Many other topics were raised today, including the support that local government can provide. However, local government is another area that is under severe financial pressure just now, which restricts the support that it can give to asylum seekers and refugees.

There is clearly a cross-party appetite to do more to help those who claim asylum in Scotland. Like many members who made contributions today, I await updates from the Scottish Government in relation to the report’s recommendations. There has been an important and overarching argument made here today that we need to improve the lives of asylum seekers in Scotland.

The cabinet secretary gave no answer on the timeframe and no answer on the amount of money that the bill has already cost the taxpayer.

Opinion poll after opinion poll has shown that the SNP’s gender bill remains unpopular, with each of its provisions, such as letting 16-year-olds change their legal gender, being opposed by a large majority of the public. When it comes to wasting more taxpayers’ money with a potential court appeal, will the cabinet secretary listen to the public and ditch the bill for good, or will she instead be in favour of her Green coalition partners, who want to spend endless amounts of public money on getting the flawed bill enacted?

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to appeal the decision of the Court of Session that the United Kingdom Government acted lawfully when enacting a section 35 order in relation to the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill. (S6T-01686)

The reconsideration of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill has been two long years in the making. Before I get into the cut and thrust of the bill, it is important to draw members’ attention to the progress that has been made to improve children’s rights across our United Kingdom.

Although the UNCRC was introduced in Scotland on 1 September 2020, its original journey began in 1991, before the creation of the Scottish Parliament and—without trying to make anyone in the chamber feel old—before I or any of the young people in the public gallery were born.

I will briefly address the wonderful young representatives who are in the chamber this afternoon. Today is for you because, if the bill passes, it will incorporate children’s rights into devolved Scottish law. It is a milestone on Scotland’s journey towards making rights real in practical terms and it will add to the existing protections that are already in place.

However, this momentous occasion has not been an easy process, and this is where I will be critical of the Scottish Government. The Scottish National Party ignore several warnings from the Scottish Conservatives that the original bill would not be lawful. However, the Scottish Government did not heed those warnings, and we found ourselves having to go through the courts to bring through legislation that is within the Parliament’s devolved competence.

That is precisely right. The SNP must reflect on that today, because we are two years behind where we should be with this very important bill. Some of the young people who were involved with the UNCRC process in 2018 will probably no longer consider themselves to be young, because it has taken so long for us to get the bill back to the Scottish Parliament.

That being said, the Scottish Conservatives will be supporting the bill at stage 3 today. We know how much it means to children and young people across Scotland, because it incorporates into Scots law the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, including political, economic, social and cultural rights. It places a legal duty on public authorities to act within UNCRC requirements, and it allows children, young people and their representatives to use the legal system to enforce their rights.

Even if it is passed today, the bill will probably not come without its challenges, and there are some outstanding questions. What happens next is the key one. Together Scotland has urged the Scottish Government to answer key questions that are still outstanding. One of them relates to the continuation of the UNCRC implementation programme. The three-year UNCRC implementation programme is set to conclude in March 2024. Together Scotland, alongside other organisations, has asked for that timeframe to be extended. That would allow time to include resources for children and young people, and for adults, to support them to understand their rights, and other measures to ensure a holistic approach that aligns with the existing policies and structures, such as the Promise and getting it right for every child. If the cabinet secretary could expand on that in her closing statement, it would put organisations’ minds at rest, as there is more to come following the bill. It is not just about the intent of the UNCRC but about the practical elements that will enforce the legislation, because they must also be upheld.

That brings me to my final point today. Time and again, we have heard that the bill will be transformational, and it will be. As a member of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee, I heard the story of Shirley-Anne Spider, the cabinet secretary who created the web for the UNCRC to be built on. I am not sure that the cabinet secretary or I would ever have expected that type of imagery to be used, but it sends an important message.

Section 15 refers to the reporting duties of listed authorities, whereby listed authorities must report on the action that they have taken or intend to take to secure or further effect the rights of children. The bill as passed labelled the first reporting period as the period beginning with the date on which the section comes into force and ending on 31 March 2023, with further reporting periods ending after every subsequent three years. However, due to the Government’s incompetence with regard to getting the legislation right the first time, the cabinet secretary has been forced to move that date to 2026, which is three years later than was originally planned. [Interruption.]

Had the Scottish National Party got things right almost three years ago, we would already have known—

Thank you, Presiding Officer. They do not want to hear it, but it is fact.

Had the Scottish National Party got things right almost three years ago, we would already have known what listed authorities are doing and are planning to do to improve the rights of children.

We have not lodged any amendments on this matter, but it is important to highlight that point.

I am not sure that that was the intent. The cabinet secretary was referred to as the spider who was holding the web together. That was in no way meant as an insult; it was actually meant to be complimentary of the evidence that was taken by the committee. If my comment was taken in another way, I think that the member is stretching it, to be perfectly honest.

That brings me back to the point that I was trying to make: the Government holds the web strings for the bill to be a success, but everybody needs to pull together for that to happen. It can be a success only if the Government ensures that young people understand their rights and know how to exercise them.

Local authorities and others have done a power of work already behind the scenes to get ready for the changes that the bill will bring. We need to utilise everyone—not just those who specialise in children’s rights and not just local authorities but our private and charitable organisations that work day in, day out to improve the lives of our young people; our youth work organisations, which will be pillars in the upholding of children’s rights as part of the UNCRC; and parents, who are integral to this journey. I am not sure that we have brought everyone into the UNCRC web yet, but I think that the Government and others can work to do so.

We need to go back to the mess that the Government created at the start of the legislation, because we are not at the stage—

We voted in favour of the principles of the bill, but we also warned the Government—[Interruption.] We also warned the Government on more than one occasion, but those warnings were not heeded. That is on the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Conservatives will be voting in favour of the bill at decision time. I said from the start that the bill is for Scotland’s children and young people, and I look forward to voting in favour of it at stage 3.