Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government acknowledges that Gypsy/Traveller communities are amongst the most disenfranchised and discriminated against in Scotland. Our Race Equality Statement identified Gypsies/Travellers as a priority group, who are ethnically distinct and we encourage others to do the same.

Through our Race, Religion and Refugee Integration funding stream, we have allocated funding to voluntary organisations to develop projects specifically targeting the Gypsy/Traveller Community.

The previous Minister for Housing & Communities, Alex Neil MSP also chaired a Working Party which brought forward an interim strategy designed to improve and sustain relationships between gypsies/travellers and the settled community in the north east of Scotland. The strategy was published in March this year and can be found at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/Housing/16342/management/gt/wpstrategy.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-01570 on 27 July 2011. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/MAQASearch/QAndMSearch.aspx.

The Article 12 project funded by the Scottish Government aims to enable a cohort of young Gypsies/Travellers to engage in a positive messages campaign. The project is also developing a still images exhibition of positive images of Gypsy/Traveller life, which will be available on line.

Our One Scotland campaign continues to promote the culture of Gypsy/Traveller communities, on the website as well as in the newly produced toolkit, both of which include case studies of Gypsies/Travellers’ experiences of growing up and living in Scotland. The toolkit is a free resource which we provide to stakeholders,
grass-roots organisations and communities to deliver anti-racism messages as part of their own education programmes.

The Scottish Traveller Education Programme (STEP) which is funded by the Scottish Government, sets out on its website detailed information about the importance and significance of Gypsy/Traveller culture, particularly for teachers and staff employed in schools.

The Scottish Government delivered in-house seminars for Scottish Government officials in June, with speakers from the Scottish Gypsy/Traveller community. The discussion raised awareness of the Gypsy/Traveller experience in Scotland, and attempted to dispel the myths which surround the community.

The Scottish Government is not aware of any Water Gypsies, or bargee families living in Scotland currently. Policies to support this community specifically have not been developed.

The Scottish Government’s Race, Refugee and Integration funding stream has allocated funding to voluntary organisations to develop projects specifically targeting the Gypsy/Traveller community.

During 2011-12 we are providing funding of £62,250 to Article 12, an organisation which up-skills young Gypsies/Travellers regarding issues relating to prejudice and discrimination.

Along with colleagues in Learning Directorate we have provided funding to help support the online Scottish Traveller Education Programme (STEP). Scottish Government funding totalling £103,700 enables STEP to help school age Gypsies/Travellers stay engaged with education, whether on the road or not.

In addition we have made available £80,000 for the development of new and existing short stay sites in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire Council areas in support of the strategy developed by the North East Gypsy Traveller Issues Working Party.

In accordance with the Scottish Government’s overarching approach and our Race Equality Statement, we place significant importance on ensuring that good relationships exist between settled communities and the Gypsy/Traveller community. To this end, the previous Minister for Housing and Communities, Alex Neil MSP, chaired a working party which aimed to foster good relations between both communities in the north east of Scotland where tensions were particularly acute. In March the resulting strategy was published: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/Housing/16342/management/gt/wpstrategy.

One commitment which underpins the potential success of the strategy is to develop an improved understanding amongst the settled community of Gypsy/Traveller culture, partly by increasing engagement between the two communities but also by promoting positive images and messages. We understand that media liaison arrangements are being reviewed and their effectiveness considered currently.

We are also funding Article 12, an organisation which up-skills young Gypsies/Travellers regarding issues relating to prejudice and discrimination. Article 12’s work in 2011-12 will focus on improving relations between Gypsies/Travellers and the settled community.

On the assumption that this question relates to the telephone hacking allegations reported in the media, the Scottish Government has liaised with the Crown Office in relation to the terms of reference of the UK Government judicial inquiry.

Low pay is an issue that the Scottish Government takes very seriously and we support the principles of the living wage campaign. The Public Sector Pay Policy for Staff Pay Remits 2011-12 published by the Scottish Government requires employers covered by the policy to pay their employees a Scottish Living Wage. This is currently set at £7.15 per hour.

Private sector pay, however, is a matter for individual companies. In addition, imposing a requirement on contractors to pay their employees more than the National Minimum Wage could amount to a restriction of the freedom to provide services guaranteed by article 56 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

The European Commission is currently undertaking a review of the public procurement rules and is considering whether and how public bodies should be able to take strategic policy objectives (including social objectives) into account in the procurement process. We are contributing to the Commission’s review and are monitoring development in this area.

The Scottish Government supports local authorities to provide appropriate schooling to meet the needs of the communities they serve. All schools run by local authorities are required to be open to pupils of all denominations and faiths. Faith-based education has made a vital contribution to Scottish society and the right of parents to make that choice for their children remains an important part of the schools system.

In considering the role of education in tackling sectarianism in Scotland, the Scottish Government will consult a wide range of educational organisations, including schools.

The Scottish Government and COSLA published Achieving our Potential in November 2008 as a long-term strategy to tackle disadvantage and income inequality.

The Tackling Poverty Board was established by the Scottish Government and COSLA in September 2009 as a high-level and multi-agency strategic group to oversee the development and delivery of tackling poverty policy in Scotland. The Board’s remit includes a commitment to monitor and challenge how partners are implementing the key actions in Achieving our Potential, and the action being taken to meet the child poverty targets and the solidarity purpose target. Tackling Poverty Board papers, including research into the impacts of key aspects of Achieving our Potential can be accessed at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/tackling-poverty/Initiatives/TacklingPovertyBoard.

Progress in tackling poverty at local level is set out in community planning partnership single outcome agreements.

The principles and commitments that underpin the framework remain the position of the Scottish Government and COSLA and, in partnership with Equally Well and the Early Years Framework, present a coherent and ambitious long-term approach to tackling inequalities. There are no plans to review the framework at present.