Tag: Holyrood

Domestic Abuse Act has begun to have a positive impact but more must be done, says Holyrood committee

‘a thousand words’ commissioned by Scottish Womens Aid and Zero Tolerance. Copyright Laura Dodsworth

The introduction of the 2018 Domestic Abuse Act has been an important step but more action is needed in implementing the Act and tackling domestic abuse, say the Criminal Justice Committee.

As part of post-legislative scrutiny, the Committee has been reviewing the impact of the 2018 Act and how effective it has been in achieving the objectives set out by the Scottish Government. The Act’s key provision created a new offence around non-physical forms of abuse such as coercive control.

The Committee say there is strong support for the 2018 Act amongst prosecutors, law enforcement, and women’s groups and that it is beginning to have an impact, including increasing prosecutions.

However, the Committee believe progress has been too slow and they have called on several issues to be addressed.

The Committee highlight issues with the practical implementation of the 2018 Act, particularly within the police service, the Crown Office and the courts. They call for a ‘short-life implementation group’ to be setup tasked with accelerating progress and tackling the issues raised in the Committee report.

On Police Scotland, the reports highlights delays in specialist training for officers on domestic abuse cases. The Committee says it does not doubt the service’s commitment to tackling domestic abuse and notes resource implications.

However, they say more must be done to ensure that any officer called to the scene of a domestic abuse incident has received relevant training and can recognise the types of situations covered by the Act, particularly those of a non-physical nature.

The Committee also highlight criticism of the current sentencing regime for crimes of domestic abuse and whether more can be done in relation to breaches of non-harassment orders.

They welcome the review of sentencing guidelines by the Scottish Sentencing Council but call on the Cabinet Secretary to consider whether current sentencing policy for offences and for breaches is providing adequate protection for victims.

The Committee voice concern over evidence received by Dr Claire Houghton, who says victims and survivors have described the process of reporting domestic abuse and participating in court trials as “unremittingly grim”.

The Committee highlight the introduction of the recent Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform Bill as an opportunity to tackle this issue and to ensure victims and survivors are not traumatised further when reporting these types of crimes.

Speaking as the report was published, Committee Convener, Audrey Nicoll MSP, said: “It’s clear the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 is supported across the sector and is an important part of efforts to tackle all forms of domestic abuse in Scotland. 

“However, there are undoubtedly still issues which need to be addressed.

“Evidence we have gathered has highlighted issues with implementing provisions in the Act, particularly across the police service, the Crown Office and the courts.

“We have concerns over the sentencing of crimes of this nature and on ensuring there is adequate and ongoing training so all police officers responding to domestic abuse cases can do so effectively.

The Convener added: “It is clear to the Committee that the original communication campaign around the 2018 Act was pivotal in raising public awareness of these issues at the time.

“We are calling on the Scottish Government to consider running an updated campaign, including one which targets children, as a way to continue to effectively highlight the various forms of domestic abuse.

“Domestic abuse as well as violence against women and girls is completely unacceptable and it is clear that more should be done to tackle this issue and support both victims and survivors.”

Other key recommendations in the report:

  • The Committee recommend the Scottish Government review how the use of an aggravator included in the Act is being implemented (as relates to the involvement of a child in domestic abuse cases).
  • The Committee highlight evidence that some perpetrators of domestic abuse seek to use the civil courts (e.g. through child custody and contact disputes) to further the abuse of their victims. They have asked the Cabinet Secretary to consider whether a pilot single court/judge model, when cases involve both civil and criminal matters, could help combat this.

Long COVID: Committee report urges Scottish Government to address stigma and improve awareness

HOLYROOD’s COVID-19 Recovery Committee has published its report on Long COVID and post-COVID syndrome, urging the Scottish Government to take action to address the stigma surrounding the condition and improve awareness among the public and healthcare professionals.

The inquiry focussed on the awareness and recognition, therapy and rehabilitation, and study and research linked to Long COVID, with the Committee noting “concern” in their findings over reports of patients being unable to get the correct diagnosis and the lack of treatment for common conditions associated with the condition.

The Committee said it was “deeply saddened” to learn about the stigma faced by those with lived and living experience of Long COVID, and the report highlights the impact that the lack of awareness and recognition of Long COVID can have on those with the condition.

The Committee also recommended the Scottish Government:

Works with the National Strategic Network and health boards to establish a single point of contact for Long COVID patients in every health board and develops standardised guidance.

  • In partnership with the National Strategic Network, provide a leadership role in reviewing the best practice of Long COVID clinics and evaluate whether they may be an appropriate development in Scotland.
  • Implement a public health campaign to raise awareness of long COVID and the impact it can have on individuals’ health and wellbeing.
  • Reviews the current booster vaccination publicity strategy to reduce apathy and encourage uptake.
  • Supports improving the integration of health boards and the third sector to provide self-management services for Long COVID.

Throughout the four-month inquiry, the Committee took evidence from a broad range of academics, clinicians and those living with Long COVID about the complex nature of the symptoms and the apparent lack of any lessons being learned from other chronic illnesses such as ME/CFS.

The Committee also made calls for more data on the prevalence of Long COVID to be gathered and noted the impact that incorrect coding of the condition can have on the accuracy of data, alongside encouraging improved use of data deployment into clinical practice.

Commenting, Committee Convener, Jim Fairlie MSP said: “The report sets out the urgent need for the Scottish Government to take action to address the stigma and lack of awareness surrounding Long COVID and to improve the diagnosis and treatment for individuals living with this condition.

“Throughout the inquiry we’ve been deeply saddened and concerned to hear of the stigma being faced by those with lived and living experience of Long COVID and the impact this lack of awareness can have on people’s mental health and wellbeing, their educational and employment opportunities and their overall quality of life.

“We’ve now made several recommendations including establishing a single point of contact in health boards, increased leadership by the Scottish Government in assessing the effectiveness of Long-COVID clinics, raising awareness and understanding of the condition and making better use of health data.

“The recommendations made in our report must now be acted on to ensure that the stigma associated with long COVID is addressed, enabling those suffering from the condition to receive the recognition and support they both need and deserve.

“The Committee also wants to, once again, thank all of those who participated in the inquiry and recognise in particular the input from those with experience of the condition, whose evidence helped shape this inquiry from the outset and these recommendations to the Scottish Government.”  

The report is available online

Foysol Choudhury: Bangladesh reception was a fantastic success

Speaking after attending the event commemorating the 52nd Anniversary of the Independence and National Day of Bangladesh at Holyrood on 25th April, Foysol Choudhury MSP said: “The Independence and National Day of Bangladesh event at the Parliament was a fantastic success.

“It was both a poignant commemoration of the lives lost and affected by the Bangladesh Liberation War and a vibrant celebration of Bangladesh’s success, history and culture. 

“It was great to see Scotland’s Bangladeshi community join together in the celebrations, coming together to celebrate over food, speeches, music and dancing. 

“It was also fantastic to have on display a painting commemorating the meeting between the late Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh with Bangladesh’s founding father, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. 

“It was a great night and a fantastic reminder of the links between Bangladesh, Scotland and the UK. I’ll continue to promote these strong ties between Scotland and Bangladesh through my work in CPG Bangladesh in the Scottish Parliament. 

“I thank all of my MSP colleagues and the many Consul Generals from around the world who attended to share in this event, all of the speakers including the Assistant High Commissioner for Bangladesh Kazi Ziaul Hasan, all of our performers who made the night so much fun and the Bangladeshi Community in Scotland, who organised this event.” 

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Miles Briggs raises safety concerns over asbestos in Lothian schools

110 schools across Edinburgh contain asbestos

During Education and Skills portfolio questions yesterday at the Scottish Parliament, Lothian MSP, Miles Briggs asked the Cabinet Secretary for Education  and Skills Jenny Gilruth, about the safety of schools in Scotland.

Mr Briggs said how it is critical that this government and councils acts as quickly as possible to remove asbestos from the Scottish schools estate to ensure that pupils, teachers and staff across Scotland are learning and working in a safe environment.

Across the Lothians 241 schools contain asbestos – 110 in Edinburgh (details below), 31 in East Lothian, 18 in Midlothian and 82 in West Lothian. In the last year, 58 schools had asbestos removed – 20 in Edinburgh, 0 in Midlothian, 38 in West Lothian and East Lothian declined to provide the information.

The Scottish Conservatives have previously criticised the SNP for continuing to pass on “savage” cuts to local authorities, meaning schools don’t have the resources to remove asbestos from school buildings.

The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills of Scotland, herself a former teacher, was asked “what progress has the Scottish Government made in removing asbestos from schools, what impact assessment has been undertaken to look at where currently asbestos is in the school estate and where this will be removed and what timescale will government develop to make sure this happens”.

In response, Ms. Gilruth acknowledged the importance of the issue and said: “Obviously a number of the schools that we are talking about are historically old buildings, I confess that the last building that I worked in, over in Fife, had asbestos in it.

“It is soon to be replaced by a brand new building thanks to this government. I think that’s hugely important as we move forward in improving the school estate, but we will need to recognise some of the challenge here”.

Lothian MSP, Miles Briggs, said: “The danger of asbestos is common knowledge.

“Despite this we still have over 240 schools in across Lothian which still contain this hazardous material.

“It is vital that pupils, teachers and staff across Scotland are learning and working in a safe environment.

“Continued underfunding of local authorities by SNP Ministers makes it extremely difficult for council to carry out the necessary work in our school estates to remove asbestos.”

The TUC has highlighted the dangers of asbestos today, International Workers Memorial Day. Asbestos is the biggest cause of work-related deaths in Britain.

TUC’s Sally Asquith said: “Schools are some of the most likely buildings to contain asbestos, but also the most obvious site for safe removal.

“Many schools desperately need repair or replacing anyway: the Department for Education has admitted a serious risk of collapse in many school buildings. We know more than 90 per cent of schools contain asbestos, and that the rate of mesothelioma diagnoses among former teachers is rising rapidly, so the need for removal is urgent. In the past six months alone, four schools in England had to close after asbestos was disturbed.

“As well as providing adequate support, and research, for those affected, the only real way to prevent asbestos-related illness in the long term is to remove the substance once and for all.

“Only by removing asbestos from all public buildings can we avoid future risk of exposure and stop the thousands of early – and entirely preventable – deaths from this dreadful, fatal illness.”

#IWMD

Edinburgh

A total of 110 schools contain asbestos:

Nursery/EYC – 21

Primary – 73

High School – 12

Special – 4

We have removed asbestos from 20 schools since 1st April 2022.

Holyrood to nominate new Children’s Commissioner tomorrow

The Scottish Parliament will be invited to nominate Nicola Killean to His Majesty the King for appointment as the new Commissioner for Children and Young People in Scotland.

The Commissioner’s general duty is to promote and safeguard the rights of children and young people in Scotland.

Ms Killean is set to succeed Bruce Adamson who leaves the position next month following the completion of his six-year term of office.

A motion to agree Ms Killean’s appointment will be considered by the Parliament on Wednesday 26 April.

The appointment follows an open recruitment process. The position attracts a starting salary of £77,260 and is for a single term of six years.

Nicola Killean OBE was the very first employee of the charity Sistema Scotland in 2007 and worked with the Board to create and grow the organisation to a charity of national significance.

It supports children and young people to gain vital life skills such as confidence, resilience, team work, pride, creativity, and aspiration, and aims to strengthen community cohesion and tackle inequalities in some of Scotland’s most disadvantaged areas.

The charity delivers a social change programme called Big Noise in 5 cities in Scotland, using music and nurturing relationships to support over 3,500 children and young in Scotland.

She graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama with a degree in music education and has had a particular focus throughout her career in creating opportunities for children and young people from more disadvantaged communities.

She previously worked as a nursery teacher, as one of the first cultural coordinators in Scotland focusing on designing arts projects as social development and intervention models, the Scottish Officer for the charity Youth Music, as well as music leader and freelance project manager.

Ms Killean is a Saltire Foundation Fellow, and has also previously held voluntary roles within the Children’s Panel in Scotland and on the Board of Horsecross Arts.

She was awarded an OBE in the New Year Honours list for 2020, for services to ‘Music, children and community cohesion’.  She believes passionately in the potential of all children and young people.

Find out more about the Commissioner for Children and Young People in Scotland

Foysol Choudhury MSP: “Too many Scots live in dangerous housing”

Speaking after his Members’ Business Debate on Damp Housing in Scotland at the Scottish Parliament last week (20/04/23), Foysol Choudhury MSP said: “The tragic death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who died after exposure to extensive mould in his home in England, was a stark warning of the dangers that mould can cause when not dealt with properly.  

“That’s why it was so important for me to bring this Members’ Business Debate to the Scottish Parliament, to highlight that we must act now to stop preventable deaths like Awaab’s from occurring in Scotland. 

“Unfortunately, too many Scottish residents today live in dangerous housing.  

“The Scottish Government’s recent House Condition Survey supposedly found that 40,000 homes in our nation fall below tolerable standards, with a third of these being due to rising or penetrating damp.  

“Given there are on average two people per household, that’s 80,000 Scottish residents living in homes that their own Government considers to be intolerable, with 27,000 of these due to damp.  

“One of my constituents lives with their partner and four children in a council house in Edinburgh.  

“Two of the children have asthma, which has gotten worse, and another has developed a constant hacking cough as a result of damp and mould.  

“My constituent has told me they fear for their children because of their prolonged exposure to mould and has even had to call an ambulance at one point due to their child having severe chest pains. 

“The ambulance report actually cited mould as an environmental factor at their property.  

“Another of my constituents has been living in a mould infested house for 16 months with their 21-month-old son, leading to a disastrous effect on their mental health.  

“Many constituents are left feeling helpless and like nothing is being done to ensure they have permanent, safe accommodation.

“Negligent behaviour of private landlords must be tackled, especially as almost half of private-sector-rented homes in Scotland supposedly failed the Scottish Housing Quality Standards. 

“The experience of my constituents, who have had to move out of their privately rented accommodation because of fears the effects of damp and mould would have on their very young child, speaks for itself.  

“Letting agents and private landlords must ensure tenants are aware of the ways in which mould and damp occurs and how to prevent it.

“In addition, landlords should not be renting out houses or flats that need structural repairs to avoid mould forming.  

“Ultimately, housing providers should be held responsible for ensuring that the accommodation they provide is clean and safe for every resident or tenant that moves in there.  

“The Scottish Government need to do more to help them and hold them accountable when crucial repair work is not being done properly.  

“How many trips to the hospital, long-term illnesses, or deaths caused by damp housing is it going to take for the Scottish Government to take this seriously?  

“I am asking for the Scottish Government to consider setting up a grant scheme to tackle dampness problems in council, housing association and private sector properties. We need to address both the long and short-term problems with damp housing and consider extra investment for a whole house retrofitting programme, across Scotland.

“Too many of our citizens are living in dangerous accommodation and landlords are getting away with doing nothing about it.  

“We, as the Scottish Parliament, have to do more. “

VOTE LABOUR, SAYS SCOTS TORY LEADER!

SNP STOOSHIE ‘DEEPLY DAMAGING FOR SCOTLAND’

DOUGLAS Ross says it is “absurd” for Nicola Sturgeon to claim her decision to stand down as SNP leader isn’t linked to the arrest of her husband.

The leader of the Conservatives in Scotland spoke out as it emerged a camper van had been seized by cops leading the financial probe into Peter Murrell.

Speaking during Camilla Tominey Today on GBNews, Mr Ross hit out at Ms Sturgeon’s explanation behind her reasons to leave her role as SNP leader.

He said: “For her to somehow suggest and continue to suggest it had nothing to do with this ongoing inquiry I think is frankly absurd.

“We’ve now seen the incredible sight of someone who has just been First Minister inside a house when the police came to arrest her husband. Now, obviously, that’s an ongoing live police inquiry and I can’t go much further into it but we have all seen the house being taped off.

“And now we have the incredible story of a camper van being removed from Nicola Sturgeon’s mother in law’s house. It continues to be an incredible story and one that is deeply damaging for Scotland.”

Commenting on what he’d like to see happen next he said: “I think the most important thing is we get to the bottom of this inquiry. It has now been going on for I think, 18 months, almost two years. I think people want answers.”

Mr Ross also hit out at the SNP’s record ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Hollyrood parliament. He said: “I think devolution has been a good thing in terms of bringing powers closer to the people of Scotland. It’s part of the reason I represent people in the Scottish Parliament.

“But for many remote and rural areas, Holyrood now seems as distant as Westminster ever was. So I want to see a Scottish Parliament actually deliver for people and representatives of all of Scotland and at the moment that’s not happening with the centralising SNP government.”

Mr Ross also praised the job Rishi Sunak had done since becoming PM. He said: “I think he’s doing a great job and I think we’ve seen a more progressive Conservative Party which is building more and more support because the public can see a Prime Minister who’s quietly getting things done.

He’s doing many things that commentators and other politicians felt would not be achievable. They have been delivered by the Prime Minister because he’s determined. He works with people across the political spectrum to get results. And we’ve seen that in a number of different areas. And I am very delighted that the Prime Minister is doing a great job across the board.”

Meanwhile Mr Ross also addressed criticism he has received for encouraging Scottish voters to vote Labour. “I always encourage Scottish people to vote Conservative,” he said. “But what I’m trying to say is that there are many seats across Scotland where the main challengers are SNP MPs and that people want to move on from the decade of tradition that we have under Nicola Sturgeon.

“And I think for many people, that’s an option they’re looking at because come the next Holyrood election some people will have been in charge for almost two decades. And no one can say Scotland’s in a better place as a result of that.”

Consultation: Addressing child poverty through parental employment

Closing on Wednesday ⌛

Holyrood’s Social Justice and Social Security Committee want to hear from parents and employers on how child poverty could be addressed through parental employment.

Share your views before the consultation closes: ➡

https://yourviews.parliament.scot/…/child-poverty…

Lothian MSP calls on First Minister to commit to swimming pools fund

Scottish Conservative and Unionist MSP, Miles Briggs, has called on new First Minister Humza Yousaf to commit to additional funding to support leisure centres and swimming pools in Scotland.

The call comes following the UK Government’s decision to release £63 million of investment to support leisure centres and swimming pools in England.

The Scottish Government is set to receive an additional £320 million from the UK Treasury in Barnett consequentials as a result of the latest Budget, with Scottish Swimming among groups calling on the Scottish Government to make extra funding available for the sector.

In Scotland, local councils and leisure trusts operate over 200 swimming pools which are responsible for hosting swimming g lessons for over 106,000 per week.

Public pools in Scotland receive massive support from the public, with a poll in February by JL partners revealing that 94% of Scots backed pools as being good for safety and 93% of Scots agreeing that all children should learn to swim.

Earlier this month, East Lothian sports operators enjoyleisure were handed £40,000 to help cover losses after one of its swimming pools was closed until further notice.

Swimming pools across the region are at risk of closure due to soaring energy costs, with West Lothian Council announcing that every swimming pool is at threat of closure due to the associated cost of running.

Lothian MSP, Miles Briggs said: “The news that the Scottish Government will receive an additional £320m from the UK Treasury is a welcome one.

“However, we now need to see that money spent on real, tangible change for the better of Scotland. Investment in swimming pool across Scotland would be a tremendous use of that money and would benefit both old and young.

“Swimming pools and leisure centres do not just offer recreational opportunities for people; they are a vital way of keeping the nation healthy, both mentally and physically. It is therefore essential that we do whatever we can to prevent their closure.

“That is why I am calling on the new First Minister to commit to new funding for our swimming pools.”