Twelve Scottish Government benefits including Carer’s Allowance Supplement and Best Start Grants will be increased by 10.1% on 1 April, backed by investment of around £430 million.
The Scottish Child Payment was increased by 150% in 2022 to £25 per eligible child per week.
A total of 13 Scottish Government benefits are now being delivered through Social Security Scotland, seven of which are only available in Scotland.
Social Security Minister Ben Macpherson said: “We are committing £5.2 billion for social security benefits in 2023-24, providing support to more than one million people in Scotland. This is £776 million above the level of funding we are forecast to receive from the UK Government for social security through Block Grant Adjustments.
“The choices we have taken in our Budget represent a significant investment in people and are key to our national mission to tackle child poverty. They will help low-income families with their living costs, support people to heat their homes in winter, and enable disabled people to live full and independent lives. This is money that will go directly to people who need it the most.”
12 Scottish Government benefits will be increased by 10.1% on 1 April 2023. These are:
Child Winter Hearing Assistance
Carer’s Allowance Supplement
Young Carer Grant
Job Start Payment
Best Start Grant Early Learning Payment
Best Start Grant School Age Payment
Adult Disability Payment
Child Disability Payment
Best Start Foods
Best Start Grant Pregnancy & Baby Payment
Funeral Support Payment
Winter Heating Payment
Scottish Child Payment was increased to £25 per eligible child per week in November 2022. This represented a 150% increase in eight months.
The people of Scotland and island communities have been badly let down by ferries project, says Holyrood’s Public Audit Committee
The people of Scotland and island communities have been badly let down, says Holyrood’s Public Audit Committee in a report published today which exposes a ferry fiasco riddled with failures in governance, transparency, accountability, communication and record-keeping.
The report highlights key failings exposed throughout the Committee’s scrutiny of the Auditor General for Scotland’s Report New Vessels for the Clyde and Hebrides: Arrangements to deliver vessels 801 and 802 (1) and recommends change to ensure that future vessels are delivered on time and on budget.
It highlights, for example, the Committee’s serious concerns around the initial stages of the procurement process and, having now established that FMPG holds FMEL’s financial records, calls on the Auditor General for Scotland to complete a forensic analysis of how £128.25m of public money was spent by FMEL.
The report shines light on the serious failings of Transport Scotland, including the ‘weak and toothless’ Programme Steering Group it led and its’ consistent failure to accurately and timeously reflect CMALs concerns to Scottish Ministers.
It also calls into question the role of various Scottish Ministers. The majority of the Committee considered that both the First Minister’s decision to publicly announce the preferred bidder when considerable negotiations were still required – and the decision to proceed in the absence of a full guarantee, weakened CMAL’s position when the standard of FMEL’s work became an issue (2).
The report acknowledges that the Scottish Government’s ‘Project Neptune’ provides an opportunity for governance reform but says that a formal review of the entire project on completion of the vessels is essential for learning lessons for future projects.
Launching the report, Convener of the Public Audit Committee Richard Leonard MSP, said: “The people of Scotland have been badly let down by this project. There have been collective failures at government and agency level from the start. It has been dogged by a lack of transparency; by ineffective governance arrangements; by poor record keeping within the Government; and by baffling communication failures.
“Throughout our scrutiny, we took a wide range of evidence, navigating our way through many conflicting perspectives to reach the conclusions set out today. We had to battle to get some of the information we needed. Sadly, despite our best efforts, some questions remain unanswered.
“We recognise the efforts by the Scottish Government to protect jobs at Ferguson Marine and commend the workforce for their resilience during what has been and continues to be an extremely challenging time. Their experienced voices should have been listened to from the outset.
“It is vital that lessons are learned. That means much needed reform of governance arrangements for future vessel projects. But it also means a change in the way the Government and its agencies conduct themselves and are accountable to Parliament and the people. That is a challenge for the Permanent Secretary and the new First Minister.”
Further recommendations for improvement put forward by the Committee include:
Greater transparency where Scottish Ministers use written authority and shareholder authorisations and recording these occasions as a matter of public record.
Scottish Government to now further review and refine its record-keeping and reporting procedures.
Scottish Government to ensure its Business Investment Framework is sufficiently robust so there is transparency around the expected public benefit of future interventions in private companies, and greater public reporting.
Upon completion of vessels 801 and 802, Transport Scotland and CMAL to undertake a formal project review to learn vital lessons.
Parliament to be updated on the investigation into allegations raised about the procurement process.
(1) The remit of the Public Audit Committee’s inquiry was to scrutinise the Auditor General for Scotland’s (AGS) report, New Vessels for the Clyde & Hebrides: Arrangements to deliver vessels 801 and 802 (published 23 March 2022), which focused on events after Scottish Ministers announced Ferguson Marine Engineering Limited (FMEL) as the preferred bidder on 31 August 2015.
(2) Committee members Colin Beattie MSP and Willie Coffey MSP did not support these findings. Full details of where there was division can be found in the report at Annex C – Extract from minutes.
People are being asked to share their views on a new legal minimum number of school learning hours.
If approved by Parliament, councils will be required by law to provide the equivalent of 25 teaching hours per week in primaries and 27.5 hours per week in secondaries across the school year.
Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville announced plans to introduce the measures last month to protect the school week and give parents greater certainty about the number of learning hours their children can expect to receive.
The consultation is open now and will run until June 13.
Ms Somerville said: “The school week is the backbone of our education provision and benefits all of Scotland’s children and young people. We have been clear that any changes to the school week must be based on educational benefit to pupils.
“Any measures that materially reduce the number of hours children spend learning in school could impact pupil attainment and wellbeing, and undermine our collective efforts to close the poverty-related attainment gap.
“This is an opportunity for parents, children and young people and everyone else with an interest to make their views known about the potential impact of this policy.”
A campaign by Road Safety Scotland* and Police Scotland, in partnership with the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA), goes live today reminding overseas tourists to Drive on the Left when visiting Scotland.
The campaign was launched at Road Safety Scotland’s Annual Seminar by Minister for Transport Jenny Gilruth, who was joined by Superintendent Stewart Mackie from Police Scotland, Margaret Spiers from Arnold Clark and Bruce Arell from Enterprise Holdings.
Figures from Police Scotland show inexperience of driving on the left is among the most common contributory factors for fatalities involving foreign drivers in Scotland1, with the five most common contributory factors being:
Inexperience of driving on the left
Failed to look properly
Poor turn or manoeuvre
Careless, reckless or in a hurry
Distraction outside vehicle
The new Drive on the Left campaign sets out to help drivers stay safe as they embark on their journey to Scotland, by sharing useful information about Scotland’s roads, which often differ from other countries, including how to navigate singe-track roads and passing places.
Drivers are urged to stay alert and be well rested to avoid switching to autopilot, which can easily happen when the roads are quiet or a driver is tired, and can cause someone to enter a roundabout the wrong way or turn onto the wrong side of the road at a junction.
Tourists are also reminded that weather conditions can change quickly in Scotland, making it even more challenging to navigate long and twisty roads.
Minister for Transport Jenny Gilruth said:”We want all visitors to Scotland to return safely from their travels. This campaign aims to raise awareness and remind people to drive on the left at all times, which is particularly important after they’ve taken a break or when the roads are quieter.
“Scotland’s roads can be unfamiliar to visitors and that often demands more concentration. It’s easy to switch to autopilot, particularly if you are distracted, tired or driving in bad weather.
“With the recent number of devastating fatalities on the A9, it’s especially important we reach all drivers travelling on Scotland’s roads this summer. Make sure you plan ahead, take regular breaks and know the rules of the road.”
Drive on the Left wristbands and stickers will be distributed through BVRLA to tourists when they collect a hire car, along with a Driving in Scotland information leaflet, which offers practical advice about driving on single-track roads, looking both ways at junctions, speed limits, planning your journey and taking regular rest stops to avoid fatigue. The wristband is available in 8 different languages.
Advice for drivers will also be shared on the Road Safety Scotland social media channels through digital assets and video content.
Louise Blakelock, head of road policing at Police Scotland, said: “Any serious collision on our roads is absolutely devastating and, while it may seem like a simple message, it’s crucial to remind people of the differences of driving in Scotland and how to drive safely when they’re visiting our beautiful country.
“We fully support this campaign and hope it helps to reduce the number of collisions caused by driving on the wrong side of the road.”
Amanda Brandon, Director of Member Engagement at BVRLA said: “This is an important road safety initiative and we are delighted to see so many of our members getting behind it.
“A significant portion of vehicle hires annually are for people needing a car while away from home. Our members are ideally placed to promote the campaign to help keep visitors safe as they set off on Scotland’s roads.
“We are expecting vehicle hire for oversees drivers to increase again this year, so it’s great to see this campaign go live now ahead of the peak tourist season.”
The campaign is supported by partner organisations including VisitScotland, helping to ensure as many overseas drivers as possible are reminded to drive on the left while visiting Scotland.
For more details and for advice about driving in Scotland, visit bit.ly/DriveOnTheLeft23 or the Road Safety Scotland Facebook and Twitter (@roadsafetyscot) pages.
What cultural activities are happening in communities across Scotland? This is just one question being asked by the Scottish Parliament’s Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee as it starts a new inquiry.
The inquiry will see the Committee look at the Scottish Government’s Cultural Strategy, which focuses on what it calls a ‘place-based’ approach. The Committee will look at what this means for communities up and down the country and what barriers are in the way to developing local cultural activities.
Now the Committee want to hear from those who participate, attend or organise cultural activities in their local areas. It wants to find out what more needs to be done to support these activities and what difference they make to people’s lives.
Speaking as the inquiry launched, Committee Convener Clare Adamson MSP said: “Scotland has a rich cultural heritage and the very heart of that lies within our local communities. From community choirs to book clubs, local galas to theatre groups, there are a huge range of activities taking place each and every day.
“But these activities are not always easy to access or indeed organise, so we want to find out what support is needed to make these events happen. And importantly, where this support should come from.
“Culture enriches us all and this is especially true for our communities. Which is why we want to hear directly from those at the very heart of Scotland’s local communities.”
Questions the Committee is asking include:
What are the key factors that support you to attend or participate in cultural activities?
What support has there been in place to develop and grow cultural activities or events in your local area?
What needs to be in place to enable or to support a variety of cultural activities or events being organised and delivered in your local area?
Report estimates the policy has saved hundreds of lives
Today, Public Health Scotland (PHS) and The Lancet publish new evidence showing the impact of alcohol minimum unit pricing (MUP) on deaths and hospital admissions attributable to alcohol consumption. The report has been welcomed by the Scottish Government.
Carried out in collaboration with the University of Glasgow, the study evaluated the impact of MUP on alcohol health harms, over the first two-and-half years of the policy.
The study estimated a 13.4% reduction in deaths, and a 4.1% reduction in hospital admissions, wholly attributable to alcohol consumption following the implementation of MUP. The study also found that MUP reduced deaths and hospital admissions where alcohol consumption may be one of a range of causative factors. The findings cover the period from MUP implementation up to the end of 2020.
This latest report builds on previous work that estimated alcohol sales reduced by 3% in the three years following the implementation of MUP.
Dr Grant Wyper, Public Health Intelligence Adviser at PHS, said:“Our study estimates that, following more than two and a half years of implementation, around 150 deaths, and around 400 hospital admissions, wholly attributable to alcohol consumption, were averted each year due to MUP.
“The greatest reductions were seen for chronic alcohol health harms, in particular alcoholic liver disease, which were slightly offset with less certain evidence of increases in acute alcohol health harms.
“The findings highlight that the largest reductions were found for males, and for those living in the 40% most deprived areas, groups which are known to experience disproportionally high levels of alcohol health harms in Scotland.
“We know that those living in the most socioeconomically deprived areas in Scotland experience alcohol-specific death rates more than five times higher compared to those living in the least deprived areas.
“The results published today are therefore very encouraging in addressing this inequality, and the overall scale of preventable harm which affects far too many people.”
Prof Daniel Mackay, Professor of Public Health Informatics at the School of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, said:“The methods we’ve used in this study allow us to be confident that the reduction in alcohol health harms we’ve shown is due to the introduction of MUP, rather than some other factor.
“This was important as the COVID-19 pandemic occurred towards the end of our study period and may have had an impact on alcohol-related health harms that was unrelated to MUP. Our main findings for the whole study period were consistent with findings from an additional analysis that focused on the pre-pandemic period only.
“In fact, we tested our main finding across a range of different scenarios and found the results to be largely consistent with our main finding, strengthening our conclusion that MUP has been effective at reducing the harm to health caused by alcohol.”
Prof Jim Lewsey, Professor of Medical Statistics also at the School of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, added:“Our approach compared what happened to alcohol health harms in Scotland with its neighbouring country, England, where MUP was not introduced.
“The methods we have used and the consistency of our findings with what was anticipated before MUP was introduced, allow us to be confident that the reduction in alcohol health harms is because of the MUP intervention.”
The MUP Evaluation Portfolio comprises of a number of research studies that are being undertaken to assess the impact of MUP across a range of outcomes, all of which have now been concluded. A report bringing together all the evaluation findings will be published in June 2023.
Research which estimates 156 deaths were averted each year following the implementation of Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) has been welcomed by the Public Health Minister Maree Todd.
A Public Health Scotland and University of Glasgow study indicates a 13.4% reduction in deaths, and a 4.1% reduction in hospital admissions wholly attributable to alcohol consumption in the first two and a half years after MUP was introduced in May 2018. The report also concludes the policy had reduced deaths and hospital admissions where alcohol consumption may have been a factor.
Researchers say they are confident there is a link between the introduction of MUP and the reduction in alcohol health harms. They also noted there had been significant reductions in deaths in areas of deprivation, suggesting MUP has helped reduce inequalities in alcohol-attributable deaths in Scotland.
Ms Todd said: “I am very pleased with these findings which point to more than 150 lives a year being saved and 411 fewer hospital admissions, further underlining the value of our world-leading Minimum Unit Pricing policy which has helped reduce alcohol sales to their lowest on record.
“We’re determined to do all we can to reduce alcohol-related harm which is one of the most pressing public health challenges that we face in Scotland.
“Minimum Unit Pricing continues to achieve its aim – cutting overall sales, particularly cheap high-strength alcohol, which is often drunk by people drinking at harmful levels.
“It’s also encouraging to see that the research has highlighted that the policy is having an effect in Scotland’s most deprived areas – which experience higher death rates and levels of harms from problem alcohol.”
The study – published by PHS and the Lancet – focused on the first two-and-half years of the policy. It follows a previous report which estimated that alcohol sales had dropped by 3% after MUP. A report bringing together all the evaluation findings on MUP will be published in June this year.
Stop It Now! Scotland and NSPCC Scotland are calling on the Scottish Government to develop a national strategy to tackle child sexual abuse that focuses on prevention to make the country a safer place to grow up.
The two charities hosted an event in partnership with the Scottish Parliament this week (Wednesday, March 15) with leading experts in the field.
They discussed the devastating harms and long-lasting impact that sexual abuse can have on victims, that punishment alone will not eradicate this problem and what we can do to prevent children being abused in the first place. They also talked about the next steps we need to take to guarantee Scotland is the safest country for children to grow up.
They are urging the Scottish Government to develop a comprehensive and coordinated national approachto prevent child sexual abuse, which involves health, police, education, community safety, children’s services, social services, housing and the wider community. The child protection charities say it is vital that everyone understands what child sexual abuse is and knows how they can be part of preventing it.
A review of UK data revealed that 15 per cent of females and 5 per cent of males will experience some form of sexual abuse before the age of 16.
This means at least 80,000 children in Scotland will have been affected by this issue before they leave high school. Although this is thought to be an under-representation of the scale of the problem and the actual number of children who have experienced sexual abuse in Scotland is not known.
The charities say that to understand the numbers of children in Scotland affected and the scale of the suffering it is crucial that a prevalence survey is conducted.
Professor Elizabeth Letourneau, Director of the Moore Centre for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse, School of Public Health, John Hopkins University, said: “Child sexual abuse affects about one in nine children – 12 per cent of all children – globally. Victims are at risk of immediate harms, such as fear, injury, and pregnancy, and a broad array of serious health problems can emerge and last across the lifespan.
“Only one in five cases of child sexual abuse are ever reported to the authorities. This means that we miss at least 80 per cent of cases, so punishment will never be enough if we are to effectively address this public health problem.
“I believe our failure to focus on prevention stems from a general misgiving that child sexual abuse really is not preventable. That people who are at risk of perpetrating abuse are monsters and their behaviour cannot be predicted or prevented, and they will only respond to punishment.
“But we know this is not true. We already have good evidence that we can effectively prevent child sexual abuse perpetration.”
Pat Branigan, Assistant Director of NSPCC’s Together for Childhood, said: “One of the most important messages from today is that child sexual abuse is preventable and not inevitable.
“The ultimate goal is to develop a framework, based on evidence of what we know already works, which can be used to support agencies and organisations to work together and prevent child sexual abuse in communities.
“We need to create strong local partnerships between social care, schools, health, voluntary groups, the police and communities that focus on preventing people from offending, and empower and educate children and adults to recognise the signs of abuse and how they can report their concerns.
“Ultimately it will not be governments, experts or professionals who eradicate child sexual abuse, it will be individuals, families and communities.”
Stuart Allardyce, Director, Lucy Faithfull Foundation / Stop It Now! Scotland, said: “Last year we helped 7,000 people across the UK through our Helpline. Not all were adults worried about their own sexual thoughts, feelings and behaviour, but around half of them were.
“We also had adults who were worried about another adult, or because they had found evidence their partner has been seeking out child sexual abuse material online.
“We believe that if you build prevention initiatives, people will come – professionals, protective adults, but also those who worried about the risk that they may present to children. We can no longer say that people won’t use self-help prevention resources, because the evidence is that they can and do and that prevention works.”
Childlight, based at the University of Edinburgh, also launched the first comprehensive global data repository this week, which will look at all forms of child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA), with the aim of being able to show the scale and nature of this abuse.
Children and young people can contact Childline for free, confidential support and advice 24 hours a day online at www.childline.org.uk or on the phone on 0800 1111
Anyone with concerns about a child’s wellbeing can contact the NSPCC Helpline on help@nspcc.org.uk. The NSPCC practitioners provide free and confidential help and advice and can take appropriate steps to help keep children safe. If a child is in immediate danger, please call 999.
The NSPCC also has advice and resources for parents, carers on how to have simple, age appropriate conversations with children to help prevent sexual abuse through their Talk PANTS campaign. This helps children understand that their body belongs to them and to recognise when something is not okay and how to tell someone.
Hourglass (Safer Ageing) calls on the SNP leadership contenders to support safer ageing
Hourglass has asked the three contenders for the Scottish National Party leadership to commit to safer ageing and to support older victim-survivors of abuse.
Older people are at risk of becoming victims of physical, financial, sexual or psychological abuse. Many others suffer abuse due to simple neglect. Older people are much less likely to report abuse and when they do the experience can be traumatic.
At present, insufficient data is collected on abuse of older people in Scotland. This lack of information is one reason this issue does not get the attention or resources it desperately needs.
Hourglass have called on the three leadership contenders Kate Forbes, Ash Regan and Humza Yousaf to commit to the following actions if they become the Scottish First Minister:
1. Collecting all relevant data on the abuse of older people. 2. Develop a safer ageing strategy for Scotland 3. Host a Safer Ageing forum with Hourglass at Holyrood later this year.
Richard Robinson, CEO of Hourglass said:“The Scottish Government need to take action to prevent abuse of older people.
“The first step is to collect the data on reported abuse. The second is to develop a safer ageing strategy which will outline how the Scottish Government intend to tackle this problem. Thirdly, this is an issue that is seldom talked about. We need the Scottish Government to work with us to raise awareness of this issue.
“Hourglass (Safer Ageing) is the only charity in Scotland that specialises in supporting older victims of abuse. We have nearly 30 years of working in Scotland and throughout the UK and Ireland, where we have continued to see an increase in demand for our services.”
George Foulkes, Hourglass Patron said:“We have an ageing population and the next First Minister of Scotland needs to be to take this seriously.
“The Scottish Government need a safer ageing strategy to protect older people from abuse and neglect.”
The charity is urging those keen to support the charity to make a donation by visiting https://wearehourglass.org/donate or Text SAFER to 70460 to donate £10.
Texts cost £10 plus one standard rate message and you’ll be opting in to hear more about our work and fundraising via telephone and SMS.
If you’d like to give £10 but do not wish to receive marketing communications text SAFERNOINFO to 70460.
A new system that will give the Government and emergency services the capability to send an alert directly to mobiles phones when there is a risk to life has been launched today.
UK-wide Emergency Alerts service launched and in operation from today
System will bolster the UK’s resilience and provides the capability to send alerts direct to mobile phones when there is a risk to life
UK-wide test to take place on Sunday 23 April
Working with mobile broadcasting technology, the Emergency Alerts system will transform the UK’s warning and informing capability; providing a means to get urgent messages quickly to nearly 90 percent of mobile phones in a defined area; providing clear instructions about how best to respond.
The system is now ready to be tested across the country following successful tests in East Suffolk and Reading, as the Government continues to strengthen its resilience capability, making sure it offers the best possible protection against an ever-evolving range of threats.
A UK-wide alerts test will take place in the early evening of Sunday 23 April which will see people receive a test message on their mobile phones.
The alerts will only ever come from the Government or emergency services, and they will issue a warning, always include the details of the area impacted, and provide instructions about how best to respond – linking to gov.uk/alerts where people can receive further information.
Emergency Alerts will be used very rarely – only being sent where there is an immediate risk to people’s lives – so people may not receive an alert for months, or even years.
The service has already been used successfully in a number of other countries, including the US, Canada, the Netherlands and Japan, where it has been widely credited with saving lives, for example, during severe weather events. In the UK, alerts could be used to tell residents of villages being encroached by wildfires, or of severe flooding.
Announcing the launch of the new alerts system, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Oliver Dowden MP, said: “We are strengthening our national resilience with a new emergency alerts system, to deal with a wide range of threats – from flooding to wild fires.
“It will revolutionise our ability to warn and inform people who are in immediate danger, and help us keep people safe. As we’ve seen in the U.S. and elsewhere, the buzz of a phone can save a life.”
Emergency Alerts will be used across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and their initial use will focus on the most serious severe weather-related incidents, including severe flooding in England.
The Government has been working closely with a range of stakeholders and partners across the UK on developing the system, including colleagues from the emergency services, transport groups and the Environment Agency.
Scotland’s Justice Secretary and lead Minister for resilience Keith Brown said: “This new service builds on the arrangements we already have in place with responders and other key organisations in Scotland to keep people safe during emergencies and save lives.
“The system has already been used successfully overseas in other countries including New Zealand, the Netherlands, Japan and the USA where it has been credited with saving lives during severe weather events and earthquakes.
“During rare events where there is an imminent risk to life, alerts can be sent direct to people’s mobile phones with clear instructions explaining what action to take and how to seek help.”
Chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council, Mark Hardingham, said: “Together with every fire and rescue service in the country, I’m looking forward to having Emergency Alerts available to help us to do our jobs and to help communities in the event of emergencies.
“We’ve seen this type of system in action elsewhere across the world and we look forward to having the facility here in the UK – by working together with fire services and partners we want this system to help us to help you be as safe as you can if a crisis does hit.”
Executive Director for Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management at the Environment Agency, Caroline Douglass, commented: “Being able to communicate warnings in a timely and accurate manner during incidents is really important to help people take action to protect themselves, their families, and their neighbours.
“This year is the 70th anniversary of the 1953 east coast surge, one of the worst flood events in our recent history which saw over 300 people perish in England – while our ability to warn and inform has come on leaps and bounds since then, Emergency Alerts is a fantastic addition to our toolbox that we can use in emergency situations.”
By broadcasting from cell towers in the vicinity of an emergency, the alerts are secure, free to receive, and one-way. They do not reveal anyone’s location or collect personal data.
Alerts can only be sent by authorised Governmental and Emergency Services users. Successful live tests of the service have already taken place in East Suffolk and Reading.
A fund that helps to tackle inequality and discrimination has supported more than 115,000 people in its first year.
The Scottish Government’s Equality and Human Rights Fund is providing £21 million in grants over three years to 48 organisations working with diverse communities to further equality and protect human rights.
Funded initiatives include advice helplines, mental wellbeing sessions, English classes and benefits advice.
Equalities Minister Christina McKelvie visited the West of Scotland Regional Equality Council (WSREC) in Glasgow, to see how people have benefited from their work.
Ms McKelvie said: “We want to build a fairer, more equal Scotland which is free from discrimination and where the human rights of everyone are respected, protected and fulfilled.
“I was very pleased to visit WSREC and see the range of activities that they deliver. For example, their cost of living advice service for people from minority ethnic communities has helped to boost family incomes and lift children out of poverty.
“WSREC is just one of 48 organisations that receive grants from the Equality and Human Rights Fund. From advocacy support to public education, these organisations are transforming the lives of the thousands of people that they work with.”
Ghzala Khan, Executive Director at WSREC, said: “Based in Glasgow, the West of Scotland Regional Equality Council supports a range of minority ethnic communities across 12 local authorities.
“The Equality and Human Rights Fund has enabled us to deliver bi-lingual, culturally sensitive services to marginalised minority ethnic groups in the areas of advice and information, employability, direct discrimination, civic participation and health and wellbeing.
“Our work reduces inequality, increases opportunity, and supports people and families to achieve their full potential.”
