Chamber and committees

Will the minister provide further detail on any engagement with UK Government lawyers to try to reduce the risk of another referral to the Supreme Court for a revised bill, which would cause further delays to the vital protections that incorporation of the UNCRC can provide?

Like all children, unaccompanied asylum-seeking children should have access to the full care, support and protection of children’s legislation. I am deeply concerned about what the UK Government’s Illegal Migration Bill will mean for vulnerable children and victims of human trafficking who flee to the UK to seek a place of safety. Will the minister provide further detail on any engagement with UK Government lawyers to try to reduce the risk of another referral to the Supreme Court for a revised bill, which would cause further delays—[Interruption.]

Last week, I chaired a round-table meeting with media representatives, campaigners and cross-party members on the role of the media in tackling violence against women. We have agreed to meet again, and the First Minister would, of course, be welcome to attend.

In the meantime, what analysis has the Scottish Government done on the impact that gendered online harassment has on women’s safety?

Any future education reform must proactively remove practical or discriminatory barriers to learning. What consideration is the cabinet secretary giving to the needs of those who may feel excluded or marginalised in the current education system?

I just want to say that it is inconceivable that we would support the bill. The cabinet secretary laid out the reasons for that very clearly at the start of the meeting, and I will not repeat all of them, but the standout for me is that it would deny justice to people in Scotland and Northern Ireland who have been affected by the troubles. The fact that all the parties in Northern Ireland did not support it says it all. I do not even think that we should consider supporting the bill.

This is an incredibly important amendment, and I am delighted that the minister and the Scottish Government are taking the matter so seriously and emphasising prevention and culture change. That is a really positive way forward.

Is the UK Government planning to evaluate how the legislation is working? I am sorry if I have missed that in the notes.

Will the minister provide an update on the support that is being provided to establish advocacy services in local areas to empower families to have a voice in ensuring that systems and services are non-discriminatory and to actively put their lived experience at the heart of services?

I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak in the debate, and I thank Katy Clark for bringing the motion the chamber and congratulate her on her excellent speech.

I agree entirely with the view expressed in Katy Clark’s motion that our women prisoner and remand population in Scotland is far too high. Incredibly, 40 per cent of women in prison have not been charged with a violent offence. A large proportion are victims of domestic abuse and have suffered brain damage as a result of living with a violent man. Many are addicted to drugs or alcohol, brought on by trauma and a chaotic lifestyle.

No woman would choose to go down the path of incarceration and risk losing their home, job and, often most importantly, children. Prison is not the place for them. We know that prison wrecks families and relationships for women and men; that even though many of the 36 per cent who are on remand—a figure that is proportionally much higher for women than it is for men—do not go on to be incarcerated, by that time the damage has often been done; and that most of these women have children. The excellent third sector organisation, Families Outside, is literally a lifeline to those families struggling to cope when a loved one is incarcerated.

With the exception of the most serious offenders, prison is not the place for women. It can only exacerbate the problems that caused them to be there in the first place. So, why are so many women being locked up? Sadly, there is a lack of data around why sheriffs are taking the decision to remand or send women to prison, but the reason why it is happening is important. Is it because there is a lack of alternative options or is it for their personal safety? Until we have the data, we simply do not know.

As convener of the cross-party group on women, families and justice and as a member of the Criminal Justice Committee, I know that this issue has been at the top of the agenda for years, but there has been no real improvement in the figures. However, we are on the right trajectory with the approach set out in the Scottish Government’s “Vision for Justice in Scotland” document, and with the Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Bill and the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill.

The reality is that the current justice system was, historically, designed by men for men, and it really does not meet the needs of more than half of our society. Women and children must be at the heart of our approaches to justice. We must progress a person-centred approach to rehabilitation, where people are supported in the most appropriate and effective setting, and shift the balance to ensure that the role of custody will be reserved only for cases in which no alternative is appropriate.

Everyone going through the criminal justice system should have access to the support and rehabilitation that they need. In that regard, as we have heard, the Scottish Government has instigated four new women’s custody units alongside HMP and YOI Stirling, which is being built on the same site as Cornton Vale. The Lilias centre in Maryhill, Glasgow, and the Bella centre in Hilltown, Dundee, are the two that we have heard about today and are the ones that are open now. I was privileged to visit the Lilias centre just before it opened its doors. It offers a gender-specific and trauma-informed space where assessed women can express and explore the life circumstances that have led them to be in custody, and it will provide a range of evidence-based interventions aimed at maximising the opportunity for reflection, reparation, rehabilitation and, ultimately, reintegration into the community.

We now understand trauma and its lifelong effects. We know that, with intervention, care and support, women who end up in the justice system can reach their potential and live the life that most of us take for granted. Safety, respect and dignity are the very least that those women can expect. We are on the right track to achieving that, but there is still much to do.

Thank you, Presiding Officer.

Although the pure value-for-money assessment of vessel 802 is challenging—there is no doubt about that—the Government had to take a very finely balanced decision. We must take into account the added delays, the wider benefits of continuing to have the vessels built at Ferguson Marine and the full cost of not doing so. A new vessel could not be deployed until May 2027 at the earliest—four years from now, and two and a half years later than the current delivery timescale. It would just not be acceptable to ask our island communities to wait for that further period. We all know that they have waited long enough.

Will Craig Hoy give way?