Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government recognises the challenges that prisoners and their families may face, and the support that may be required, to sustain tenancies. Housing was a key focus of the Ministerial Group for Offender Reintegration. The Group commissioned research published in January 2016, in order to gain a fuller picture of the scope and provision of housing advice and support services available for those leaving custody. This can be found at http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2016/01/6920

Local authorities have developed a range of links to prisons and practice across Scotland to help prevent homelessness, and assist access to appropriate housing on liberation. Discussion of an individual’s housing needs and circumstances is incorporated into the Scottish Prison Service's induction and pre-release planning work, and those requiring housing support are referred to housing support services.

Under the new model for community justice, which will come into effect on 1 April next year, Community Justice Partners in each local authority will have a responsibility to consult, plan and deliver services that meet the needs of their local communities. This will be supported by a new National Strategy for Community Justice and an Outcomes and Performance Indicators Framework which will be published shortly. Building on the work of the Ministerial Group for Offender Integration, these documents will highlight the importance of housing amongst a range of factors for Partners to address to prevent and reduce reoffending. A new national body, Community Justice Scotland, will also be established to provide leadership across the country. It will work will Community Justice Partners, and provide advice to Scottish Ministers, on any areas it identifies for improvement.

(a) In 2015-16 prison was the accommodation occupied following final discharge of duty or closure of the homelessness case for 529 applicants.

(b) In 2015-16 1,955 people submitted a homelessness application where they became homeless/ threatened with homelessness from prison. Of these applicants 1,615 (83%) were assessed as homeless and therefore entitled to temporary accommodation.

For many women, part-time work can offer the flexibility they desire. However, we know there are fewer women in full-time medium-high and high-skilled jobs compared to men and that women are more likely to work part-time and in lower paid occupations. We therefore want to ensure that women are able to participate in the labour market in ways which suit their circumstances and best utilise their skills. In order to help achieve this we are committed to supporting actions which can help remove barriers and promote flexibility.

Our Labour Market Strategy was launched on 26 August 2016 and sets out our commitment to tackling inequalities around pay gaps and occupational segregation for equality groups, including women. Through this Strategy we will put in place new activity and funding to support the promotion and implementation of the Fair Work Framework and foster responsible business. For example we are establishing a Returner’s Project so that women can get help updating skills and knowledge and employers can retain skilled staff after a career break.

We are also working with the Equality and Human Rights Commission to tackle pregnancy and maternity discrimination. I will chair a working group whose remit will include creating guidelines for employers to ensure best practice, as well as improving access to guidance for pregnant women and new mothers. We have also committed to establishing an Advisory Council on Women and Girls, which will inform our action to tackling gender inequality. The Advisory Council will complement existing Scottish Government groups which have a focus on issues relating to women’s inequality, such as the Strategic Group on Women and Work.

Additional actions to remove women’s barriers to the labour market include the introduction of the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 on 1 April 2018; our steps to increase childcare provision; and our promotion of the development of family-friendly workplaces across Scotland.

We recognise that occupational segregation reinforces gender stereotypes, helps drive the gender pay gap and holds back women’s opportunity to thrive economically. It is also holding back our economy.

But good progress is being made. The numbers of passes by girls in STEM subjects at school has increased between 2007 and 2016. Between 2007 and 2016 the numbers of entries by girls to the main science Higher qualifications, including computing were up by 3%. The number of passes for girls in Higher chemistry and physics is up 8% and 10%, respectively. Passes by girls in biology are down 16.9% but this is in the context of a 62% increase in passes in human biology for girls.

We are tackling gender stereotyping in STEM at school through funding for the Institute of Physics Improving Gender Balance project and are investing up to £1.5 million over the next three academic years, through the Scottish Funding Council, in a programme of equality projects across Scottish colleges and universities. The Scottish Funding Council has published its Gender Action Plan to set out the actions they will undertake in collaboration with colleges, universities and other partners to address gender imbalances and significantly reduce gender gaps in college and undergraduate courses.

Addressing under-representation in our Modern Apprenticeship programme is also a key priority for the Scottish Government and Skills Development Scotland (SDS) to address, in partnership with industry and delivery partners. The Equalities Action Plan for Modern Apprenticeships in Scotland, published on 2 December 2015 includes specific improvement targets for MA participation by disabled people, minority ethnic groups, care leavers and gender balance. Improvement targets have been included for each group to be achieved by 2021. SDS will report on these annually.

We have committed to bring forward legislation on gender balance on public sector boards and we will continue to champion our Partnership for Change 50/50 by 2020 campaign, encouraging organisations from across the public, third and private sectors to make a voluntary commitment to work towards gender balance on their boards by 2020.

Our Programme for Government also contains ambitious commitments in support of women's equality, including creating a new Advisory Council for Women and Girls and a Returners project to enable women who have had a career break to re-enter the workforce.

The aim was to have a consistent approach to the delivery of multiagency services that was required locally according to assessed need. This is expected to be delivered jointly with other public sector and third sector agencies. As part of the work of the MultiAgency Short Life Working Group for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), Guidance for Service Specification for Healthcare to prevent FGM and Healthcare to respond to the needs of survivors of FGM, and service standards to consider, was published in February 2016.

I refer the member to the answer for question S5W-02286 on 22 September. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

The Active Scotland Outcomes Framework sets out our ambitions for a more active Scotland, and is underpinned by a commitment to equality. Realising our vision of a more active Scotland means that everyone should have access to opportunities to be active, regardless of their race or ethnicity, their disability, their gender or sexual orientation, their age or religion.

In the recently published Programme for Government, we have stated that we are committed to improve overall health by encouraging the removal of barriers to participation in sport, including the LGBTI community.

Building on work already in place via the Scottish LGBT Sports Charter launched in May 2015, sportscotland will ensure that funding for all sports including specific actions to tackle LGBTI discrimination. We have provided £38,000 to Leadership Equality and Active Participation (LEAP) Sports for 2016-17 to challenge homophobia, biphobia and transphobia in sport.

Chief Medical Officer and Chief Nursing Officer Letters in 2014, 2015 and 2016 have provided guidance to NHS staff and other professionals delivering sensitive and responsive services. These letters also direct the professionals to the available training, some of which has been developed by relevant third sector organisations and funded by the Scottish Government.

The number of applications made to the Scottish Legal Aid board (SLAB) each year since 2011 are in the following table. The data includes the numbers of applications which were not completed. These were applications which were abandoned by the applicant or which SLAB had to reject due to information being missing from the application which prevented it from being assessed. The reasons for rejection will differ depending on the type of case. Applications may be refused by SLAB on the basis of:

A merits test which differs for civil, criminal, and children’s cases,

A means test i.e. the applicant not being financially eligible for legal aid

A combination of the two.