Chamber and committees

I very much thank Ms Bruce for her questions. The membership of the ministerial task force is still being worked on. If there are suggestions from the committee, my officials and I are happy to consider them. We need to strike a balance between having all the voices around the table and not making the membership so large that we are not able to progress our work. We are still to decide the details of the task force regarding its remit and membership, but we hope that its first meeting will take place sooner rather than later—our ambition is for it to take place in October. If you feel that you or members of your constituency can contribute to any of those aspects, please get in touch with us. As I said, if there are appropriate suggestions, we will consider them.

On your question about ESOL classes, I heard about that issue a lot on my visits during the summer recess. We know that demand for ESOL classes is quite high, and there are communities that are responding to it, either within the sector or through colleges. I will give a great example. With my other hat on, I visited Edinburgh College, which offers ESOL classes with construction courses, for example, or courses for other trades. That is a great way of providing ESOL classes while thinking about where we need to strengthen our workforce.

The details of the community cohesion fund are still being worked out, but there is separate funding for ESOL classes. We recognise that demand is high and continues to grow, so I will consider whether we can do more through the budget-setting processes.

I welcome your comments about the diverse constituency that you represent. However, unfortunately, it has been the centre of some of the demonstrations. I assure you that I am happy to work with you, in a collaborative spirit, to see whether there is anything that we can do collectively on the issue, because I am mindful that, if we do not work together and show shared leadership, we will give rise to some of the bad actors. I want to assure anyone who is listening that those bad actors are in the minority. The majority of Scottish people—the Scotland that you and I know, love and believe in—are welcoming. I understand that and have felt it, so we are not talking about the majority of Scots. Our ambition is to ensure that Scotland remains a safe, inclusive and welcoming country, so I am happy to consider anything that we can do in that shared space.

I hope that I have covered all your questions.

I appreciate where you are coming from. I understand that that is not part of the committee’s remit, but the question has been asked. Our work with our partners in sub-Saharan Africa is crucial, and engagement with some of our partners, during the Commonwealth games and beyond, has shown me the impact that we are having in Rwanda, Malawi and Zambia.

You mentioned economic growth in Rwanda. I appreciate your point and will take it away for consideration with the committee that deals with that part of my remit. However, because of its economic growth, Rwanda is able to mainstream some ambitions through the services that we are partnering with. The issue is not something for this committee to consider, but if there is anything that you and I can do outwith this committee, I am happy to take those conversations forward with my international development hat on.

Thank you, convener. Good morning. I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the committee’s meeting.

Advancing and embedding equality, inclusion and human rights is fundamental to the Government’s ambition to build a fairer Scotland. It is central to delivering our goals of eradicating child poverty, tackling violence against women and girls, promoting community cohesion and delivering excellent public services. It is essential that we create a country where everyone feels the benefits of prosperity and all can live with dignity, and that we prioritise support for those who experience the most inequality and the most challenges in accessing their fundamental rights.

I know that the committee has engaged with a broad range of organisations, representative bodies and individuals from across Scotland’s equality and human rights sectors. I very much welcome the scrutiny from Scotland’s vibrant civil society, which is crucial in challenging us to do better for the communities that we serve.

We all, I hope, share a desire to continue to move our work on equality and human rights from aspiration to action, an expectation that public services should work for everyone and a commitment to improving outcomes for the communities that we serve. The programme for government provided a clear statement of our ambitions. We have committed to introducing a human rights bill in the second year of this parliamentary session. That commitment to embed a human rights culture in Scotland has been welcomed by stakeholders I have met.

The programme for government also centred on vital work to tackle issues with community cohesion and to end violence against women and girls. The committee has heard clear evidence on the importance of community cohesion and tackling social division. We should also consider the intersectionality between equality groups. None of us will be free and equal until all of us are free and equal. An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. Those issues are at the heart of my priorities in my role. Scotland should be a place where everyone feels safe, valued and respected, and where people can live free from prejudice, hatred, discrimination and fear.

Building cohesive communities requires leadership, trust and open dialogue. We have committed to establishing a ministerial task force on community cohesion to identify priority areas for action and address emerging issues, and to increasing the community cohesion fund to £500,000, helping to support grass-roots initiatives that bring communities together, tackle division and promote inclusion. We are refreshing our hate crime strategy delivery plan and continuing action through programmes such as our anti-racism in education programme.

Tackling violence against women and girls remains a key Scottish Government priority. We have set out comprehensive actions that will prevent violence, support victims and survivors, strengthen accountability for perpetrators and challenge the attitudes and behaviours that drive violence.

More broadly, the programme for government also reaffirms our commitment to tackling discrimination and inequality experienced by LGBTQI+ through legislation, policy and partnership working. Alongside that, we will continue to work with the Welsh and the United Kingdom Governments to end conversion practices, strengthening our collective efforts to eradicate those harmful practices and protect LGBTQI+ people from the lasting harms that they cause.

In your prior evidence sessions, the public sector equality duty has been discussed. I want to particularly highlight the importance of fostering good relations as a core part of the duty and as a responsibility that public bodies, including the Scottish Government, are taking seriously.

In an increasingly polarised environment, promoting understanding, respect and constructive dialogue is essential to building a fair, inclusive and cohesive Scotland. Although views may differ on how the duty should evolve, there is broad agreement that equality considerations should be embedded in decision making, which is a principle that the Government supports.

Finally, stakeholders highlighted the importance of robust evidence and data. The next equality evidence strategy is in development and will be informed by stakeholders’ views and priorities. I agree with what you have heard: in an era of increasing misinformation and disinformation, high-quality evidence is more important than ever.

The challenges that we face are significant, but so too are the opportunities. The evidence that we gather, the voices that we listen to and the decisions that we take must all be focused on one thing: improving people’s lives. We can turn our shared ambitions on equalities, inclusion and human rights into meaningful and lasting change.

Finally, convener, we have a real opportunity to make lasting progress for the communities that we serve. That is the task that is before us, and it is one that I am determined to play my part in delivering. I look forward to the committee’s questions today and working with you during the session.

Sorry, but I have one further comment. I have been in post for about four months now. In that time, I have met all the political parties and quite a number of stakeholders. I thank you all for coming to the table in the spirit of collaboration. I am sure that we all come to this from our different values, and we represent different political parties, but where our values align and we share priorities, we should move forward with the ambition to work together. This is about the people we serve outside this committee room. I will endeavour to work constructively, and I invite the committee to do the same, to help us all achieve that shared ambition.

Sure—no worries.

No, I am not concerned. Everything that sits under the forthcoming human rights bill is still being looked at and considered. One of the things that we are absolutely certain about is that the bill will operate within our devolved competence while working alongside existing UK equality law.

We have developed proposals. As for any interaction between the bill and the Equality Act 2010, I can give the committee assurance that, in any such cases, the latter will take precedence. There has been some concern about issues such as the definition of “sex”. The Scottish Government accepts the Supreme Court’s ruling on that issue, and I reiterate that, if there is an interaction between the human rights bill and the Equality Act 2010 in any shape or form, the 2010 act will take precedence. That is clear to me, and I hope that it is clear to the committee.

The proposals around the human rights bill are being considered carefully. We are considering how best to navigate what is—as you will be well aware—an evolving, highly complex equality landscape. Our ambition with the human rights bill is to strengthen Scotland’s human rights framework. I want to ensure that we see absolutely everything that we and public bodies in Scotland do, and our culture, through that human rights lens.

We were just speaking about social attitudes, which the convener talked about, and community cohesion. We know that there is so much more that we can do in that human rights space. I encourage the committee to work with us as we consider the competencies and the complexities of the bill to ensure that we are responding to the needs of our communities in strengthening the proposals and by viewing everything through that human rights lens.

Given that I have only a minute, I will be brief. The misogyny bill will be taken forward by my justice colleagues. I know that Ms Oswald is giving evidence after me, so she will be able to give you a little bit more detail. We are absolutely collaborating, especially on violence against women and girls, and there is cross-party consensus about our ambition to work collaboratively. The misogyny bill will be a crucial tool in addressing violence against women and girls.

You mentioned the LDAN bill. As you will know, primary legislation takes years to come forward, and the Government is taking good, practical steps right now to help our children, young people and adults with learning disabilities, as well as autistic and neurodivergent people. I know that that is a concern for my constituents and for people up and down Scotland.

However, I can give some reassurance that we have practical examples that will help constituents, even before primary legislation is introduced. Those issues sit in my portfolio, but they are also covered in Ms Todd and Ms McAllan’s portfolios. If the committee requires further information, I am happy to liaise with it to provide further details.

Good morning, convener, and good morning, members. It is so wonderful to have this opportunity to discuss the Scottish Government’s international development priorities alongside minister Gethins. I am so proud to take on the responsibility of a portfolio that reflects Scotland’s values and its long-standing commitment to global solidarity.

Across the world, there is conflict, climate change and poverty, and those things are placing increasing pressures on communities, not least in our partner countries, Malawi, Rwanda, Zambia and Pakistan. Against that backdrop, I am deeply concerned by recent significant reductions in the official development assistance that is provided by the UK Government and others. The cuts risk undermining hard-won development gains and reducing support for those who need it most.

By contrast, the Scottish Government has committed to increasing funding for the international development fund by 25 per cent by the end of this parliamentary session. That sits alongside the continuation and growth of our climate justice fund, which is led by the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Rural Affairs. Through our international development and climate justice programmes, Scotland seeks to deliver on its intention to be a good global citizen. Since the international development fund was established in 2005, Scottish Government-supported programmes have delivered tangible outcomes across health, education, equalities and humanitarian action.

There are so many things to talk about, but the ones that I want to concentrate on today include our transformational work on oral health in Malawi. Through the MalDent project, we have seen the graduation of the country’s first home-grown dentists, and the project has secured major World Bank investment for a state-of-the-art teaching facility in Blantyre. With the new dental school, the national oral health policy and a growing cohort of students, the partnership is laying the foundation for lasting change.

Alongside that, we are ensuring that we are tackling violence against women and children globally, so our police force is working with partners in Malawi and Zambia. As part of that, we are shifting attitudes on gender-based violence and child protection. Through our Scottish peace programme, we continue to recognise the importance of the role of women peace builders in conflict prevention and resolution. In that vein, we have supported about 360 fellows from around 40 different countries and regions within the women in conflict 1325 fellowship.

Looking ahead, my priority is to ensure that Scotland’s international development work remains rooted in equality and in collaboration, including with members around this table. Our work continues to be shaped by the perspectives and priorities of people in our partner countries, so I really look forward to today’s discussions and I welcome the engagement to work collaboratively in this space. Thank you very much for listening.

I want to put it on record that our work in the international development space will never be subject to what the Daily Record says, does or assumes—either one way or the other. We believe in Scotland’s values when it comes to our impact in the international role, and that is really important.

With regard to the UK Government’s change in funding and priorities, our priorities have always been quite clear. They are about supporting health initiatives, inclusive education, equalities, disaster response and humanitarian efforts, and also about climate change. Those are Scotland’s priorities, and they are our priorities. Unfortunately, there has been a shift in what UK Government does. Although that has not shifted our own priorities, it does mean that the hard-fought developments that we have seen happen over decades are now at risk of almost regressing because the pace of investment, especially from the UK Government, is not keeping up. There is a real risk that some of the things that we have achieved and developed will not progress, or will not do so quickly enough, or will not have that greater impact. We will be looking at that issue.

As for an update on Nepal, I will just put it on the record that seeing some of the footage from there is truly distressing. I am mindful that there will be families out there, including the families of British nationals, who do not know the full news about their family members. I want to put on record the Government’s empathy and our commitment to work collaboratively with FCDO and the UK Government.

In relation to the funding element for that situation, we have a global start fund of about £900,000. A portion of that is locally available through the start fund in Nepal, and they will be committed to using that fund in humanitarian efforts. [Simita Kumar has corrected this contribution. See end of report.] Given that that situation is quite topical and is still ongoing, we will be having conversations with the Disasters Emergency Committee to understand whether there is a need for, say, a further appeal. As I said, the Scottish Government will, work collaboratively and we will seek to understand how we can respond with aid and further help.

Absolutely, and I am happy to come back to the committee on that point. As I said, we have the programme for government this afternoon and I do not want to pre-empt anything that is in that, but I assure the committee that, if we are looking at any timelines, you will get information on those at the next or subsequent opportunity.

I have been in post for only about three months, and one of my tasks is trying to understand the scope of our international footprint. Before coming into post, I had not realised how vast it is. We should be enormously proud of that.

You are absolutely right, and I make a commitment to informing you and the committee of any timelines once we are a wee bit more aware of them.

Your questions are spot on. There was a time when we would have had unanimous support for our international development role and for Scotland’s role and value as an outward-looking nation and country. I am incredibly proud of that work but, unfortunately, we are no longer in that space with regard to support, and it saddens me that we are not.

You asked if we could highlight the value of our international development work, and I want to reflect on that. I will take Malawi as a quick example. People in Malawi are experiencing some of the most extreme levels of poverty known to man, and we should be incredibly proud that Scotland is playing its part to make sure that people all around the world, including in our partner countries such as Malawi, are being supported.

I will look at Pakistan for a minute and how we support women and girls there. Our specific programme of work in Pakistan is about scholarships and getting women and girls educated. Again, I am incredibly proud of that piece of work.

We also focus on health and health inequalities. If I walk into any toilet in this building, I know that, as a woman, I will be able to access period products. What a privilege that is. It is a travesty that, in some sub-Saharan African countries, women do not have access to period products. It is almost unthinkable that young women do not have such basic needs met. We do not realise that the access that we have is a privilege.

You mentioned Scotdec, and we have some data on that. Our lovely director is just giving me some information. You asked about tangible numbers; in 2025-26, we supported more than 91,000 practitioner engagements. I commit to giving you further information after the committee meeting.

We are doing so much globally but you are absolutely spot on—and this is something that I will take away—that we must ensure that, as a Government, we are much more proactive in sharing examples of that work.

Moreover—and this reflects your previous role as a teacher—this is something that our young people, too, need to know, and I would be proud and willing to support such an approach being taken by our Government and our officials. After all, we want children and young people who are global citizens. That, again, is something that we should be incredibly proud of.