Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-09789

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 25 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to support the mental health and wellbeing of Scotland's ethnic minority and migrant communities following the COVID-19 pandemic.

We know the pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing structural inequality in society, putting minority ethnic and migrant communities disproportionately at risk and having more adverse impacts on their mental health. That is why we are undertaking a range of activity to specifically support their mental health and wellbeing. The Scottish Government’s Race Equality: Immediate Priorities Plan sets out our immediate priorities to implement the recommendations of the Expert Reference Group for Covid-19. In 2021-22 that included investing £21m into the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for adults to help tackle the impact of social isolation, loneliness and mental health inequalities faced by a range of ‘at risk’ groups including minority ethnic people. We also provided £150k to MECOPP and £20k to Progress in Dialogue to work in and with Gypsy/Traveller communities to improve mental health and wellbeing outcomes for children and young people.

More generally, we are working to ensure everyone can access appropriate mental health care and continue to increase our investment in crucial services and infrastructure. Our Transition & Recovery Plan, backed by £120m of recurring funding is transforming services, with a renewed focus on prevention and early intervention. We established an Equality and Human Rights Forum to provide advice on the implementation of the Transition and Recovery Plan and wider work within mental health policy, including the development of our new Mental Health Strategy. This Forum includes representation from minority ethnic groups.

Question reference: S6W-09786

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 21 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had or plans to have with (a) ethnic and religious minority communities, and (b) refugees and asylum seekers, in order to improve how it can support these communities following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Scottish Government recognises that a number of Scotland’s communities have been disproportionately affected by Covid-19, and are committed to engaging effectively with communities to ensure they are supported following the pandemic.

The Covid Recovery Strategy focusses on addressing systemic inequalities that were exacerbated during the pandemic. The strategy was informed by a series of engagement sessions with a range of partners, including the Scottish Refugee Council and Expert Reference Group on COVID-19 and Ethnicity.

The Scottish Government continues to engage with minority ethnic communities as part of our ongoing work on race equality and developing anti-racist infrastructure. Furthermore, the Scottish Government funds 14 race equality organisations, who undertake engagement and consultation with communities as part of their work.

We will also continue to engage with refugee and asylum seeking communities as part of our work to support integration from day one. We have committed to work with our partners to develop the next New Scots refugee integration strategy, and will identify opportunities to enable refugees and people seeking asylum to engage in that process and inform the next strategy.

A faith and belief representatives group now meets on a monthly basis to identify areas of common interest and consider input to policy development on a wide range of topics. A new Faith and Belief Engagement Strategy is currently being developed to foster deeper understanding between government and faith and belief communities, which will empower faith and belief communities to be active partners in Covid recovery.