Seòmar agus comataidhean

Yes, it will probably just take a little bit more exploration, because—excuse the puns—we have gone into quite a bit of depth here.

Given the seriousness of recent wildfires and the impact that that has had on forestry staff and fire officers, shame on the Tories for turning the issue into a political football. The Scottish Government has already stated that there are situations in which muirburn is the best option. Can the minister confirm that the Government is seeking to ensure that muirburn is used only where appropriate and that best practice is followed?

Thank you for that answer. Our investigations over the past few weeks have certainly given us a lot of clarity. Powers over immigration are reserved and are not within our remit, but do you feel that we are addressing the issues sufficiently with the powers that we have, or could we do more?

Good morning, Baroness Kennedy. Your testimony this morning, like your report, has been very sobering. What has been the response from the Scottish and UK Governments to the report’s findings and recommendations?

I have a few questions about what we can do here in Scotland and what is within our competence. Witnesses in the past few weeks have told us about areas that fall within the UK Government’s remit—and, earlier today, Baroness Helena Kennedy told us about issues with the Home Office—but we do have competence in some areas. Are there areas within our competence that we might not currently be using, but which you feel could be used to address some of the issues faced by asylum seekers in Scotland?

That is really good to hear. I also note that the Scottish Government is extending tuition fee support to asylum-seeking children from August this year and that a guardianship system is coming into place. Please give us a brief outline of what that will look like and how it will help our asylum-seeking children.

That is fantastic to hear. We know from asylum seekers’ witness testimony that the uncertainty really affected their mental health, so avoiding any such breaks is particularly important.

What does the guardianship programme look like?

Fantastic—thank you, Presiding Officer.

It is a privilege to open this debate and to have the opportunity to discuss our collective efforts to construct a gender-sensitive Parliament. The concept of a gender-sensitive Parliament is recognised by legislatures around the world and is a response to what my colleagues around the chamber will have lived experience of day in, day out. Sadly, women’s representation in Parliament is not reflective of our representation in society, and even here, where the decisions about Scotland are made, women are denied real power.

The Parliament’s gender-sensitive audit, which was launched by the Presiding Officer in 2022, looked at our rules, practices and culture to examine how women are—or are not—included and represented here. The new report, “A Parliament for All: Report of the Parliament’s Gender Sensitive Audit”, which I encourage every member to read, makes a number of recommendations to address the issues that were highlighted by the audit.

Of course, the barriers to entry for women to this Parliament and politics in general are many, and I want to spend a few moments talking about the obstacles that many of my colleagues across the parties might have faced.

In the 2021 election, I stood on an all-women candidate list in Banffshire and Buchan Coast. On many occasions in that election, I was challenged by a small but vocal minority not on my ability, my values or what I could bring to the debate, but on the basis that I stood on an all-women shortlist. For that small yet vocal minority, it did not matter what experience I could bring to bear when discussing the many issues that are faced by people across Banffshire and Buchan Coast.

For them, it did not matter that I was working class, that I was brought up in an LGBT home, that I had experience of translating for my deaf father or caring for my children with additional support needs, or that I had succeeded in many voluntary positions while juggling a degree and being a councillor and single parent to six children. For them, it did not matter that I had the opportunity of bringing those experiences to Parliament and being a voice for so many others like me, who rarely see themselves reflected in Parliaments like this one. All that mattered was that I was on an all-women shortlist, which meant that I had somehow skipped the queue. While we discuss how we support women in Parliament, I hope that I have given every party leader pause for thought on the uphill struggles, misogyny, abuse and harassment that women face on their journeys into this place.

The audit, which was carried out by Dr Fiona McKay, found that there had been fluctuations over time in the number of women in leadership and decision-making roles in the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body, the Parliamentary Bureau and committee convenerships, for example. That suggests that equal representation of women and men is not embedded within Parliament, nor is it guaranteed going forward. We can and must do better.

The audit also found that the number of women and men on committees does not always reflect the gender balance in Parliament. Men tend to be overrepresented in a number of mandatory committees, such as those dealing with finance, audit, standards and procedures and delegated powers. The one mandatory committee where women tend to be overrepresented is the committee that is responsible for equalities, which is the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee, on which I sit.

On the level of participation in Parliament, the audit found that women tended to make fewer contributions during First Minister’s questions and were less likely to intervene in debates. It also found that men were more likely to have their interventions accepted by men and women.

To the surprise of no women in the chamber today, the audit found that, although there appears to be a positive shift in attitudes towards women in politics, women members of the Scottish Parliament still encounter sexism. I will not go into full detail here, but I have lost count of the number of times that I have been told what I should or should not say, what I should or should not do and where I should or should not sit. I have lost count of the number of times that I have been spoken over or expected to explain myself, and we know full well that that is seldom the case for our male colleagues. I call on my male colleagues to challenge that behaviour wherever they see it. Only in that way can we change the culture for good.

Absolutely.

I thank my colleague for that intervention. He is absolutely right. I thank him for his acknowledgement and for always being respectful to me. We can all spread the message to our other male colleagues that they should do better. Setting a good example is a good way of doing that.

As a mother of six children with caring responsibilities for my children and father, I was particularly interested in the report’s findings on childcare provision and our oft-lauded family-friendly Parliament. It is exceptionally hard for a parent, particularly a single parent, to be a parliamentarian. I welcome the return of the crèche and I hope that greater provision and more flexible childcare will become available in the future.