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Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 4 May 2021
  6. Current session: 13 May 2021 to 18 December 2025
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Displaying 3427 contributions

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Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)

General Question Time

Meeting date: 3 March 2022

Shona Robison

The locations have not been made public at the request of those living in the buildings—they do not want that information to be made public. I would have thought that Richard Leonard would respect the views of those people.

Every penny of the £97.1 million will be spent. Richard Leonard dismisses inspections and assessments, but we do not know what remediation work needs to be done until the inspections and assessments of those buildings are carried out. That requires complex engineering work with specialist input to ensure that we know what remediation is needed. Many of those buildings will be deemed safe once those inspections and assessments are done. However, for those buildings that require remediation work, that £97.1 million will be spent on it.

We also need access to the £4 billion that the UK Government has talked about. Along with my Welsh counterpart, Julie James—

Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)

Nationality and Borders Bill

Meeting date: 22 February 2022

Shona Robison

As Paul Sweeney will know, we had a very constructive meeting about that, and he knows that I want to go as far as we can in helping to support those who have no recourse to funds, while keeping within the law. I am happy to continue those discussions.

In conclusion, Presiding Officer, the bill blatantly breaks the UK’s international obligations under the UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. Ultimately, it is about people. It is not hard to look around the world and find conflict, war, terror, persecution and violence. It should not be hard to find compassion and empathy for those who are forced to flee. Would we not seek to do the same to protect our lives and those of our families? The bill does not provide for that. I urge the Parliament to reject the Nationality and Borders Bill, and to support our motion.

Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)

Nationality and Borders Bill

Meeting date: 22 February 2022

Shona Robison

The Scottish Government is not alone in its position that the bill will cause damage, have negative consequences on people’s lives and have an impact on devolved matters and services. Last April, more than 75 charities, belief groups and community organisations in Scotland wrote to the Prime Minister to raise their significant concerns about the new plan for immigration. They highlighted the reach of the UK Government’s proposals into areas of devolved competence. The bill confirms those fears.

An independent legal opinion that was commissioned by the Scottish Refugee Council and JustRight Scotland concluded that the bill reached into or impacted the lawmaking or executive powers of the Scottish Parliament and Government. I would rather believe and support those organisations than Donald Cameron’s comments at the beginning of the debate. Was it not interesting that Donald Cameron mentioned support for the bill only in his final sentence, so embarrassed are the Tories by their association with it?

Sarah Boyack was absolutely right that Donald Cameron and the Tories have tried to dodge the issue. She used some very real examples, particularly in the context of the potentially impending conflict in Ukraine. We could have people fleeing as refugees and ending up being criminalised. That brought into sharp focus the issues that we are dealing with in the here and now.

As Neil Gray outlined in his opening speech, the Scottish Government recommends that consent be withheld on clauses in the areas of age assessment and modern slavery that would trigger the need for legislative consent from the Scottish Parliament. Only last week, the Welsh Senedd also voted to withhold consent on the bill’s age assessment clauses.

For the UK Government to simply state that asylum is a reserved matter—that was parroted today by its Scottish Tory colleagues—ignores the complexity of the reforms that have been proposed. It also ignores the legitimate role of devolved actors in the functioning of the UK’s refugee protection system and the implications for devolved services and our communities.

I thank the Social Justice and Social Security Committee, which considered the legislative consent memorandum within a challenging timescale. Consideration of legislative consent was prolonged due to the complexity of the bill and the fact that significant amendments were tabled as it progressed through the Commons. I appreciate that the committee made time to ask witnesses who were already providing evidence about the bill and legislative consent, and I welcome the report that was published yesterday.

The UK’s asylum and immigration systems are in desperate need of reform. We need effective and efficient systems that are fit for purpose. We need systems that protect and prioritise child welfare and do not subject those who are most vulnerable to unreliable, invasive, unnecessary and potentially inaccurate age assessment techniques. We need systems that support the potential of new Scots and integration for the benefit of everyone in our communities.

Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 9 February 2022

Shona Robison

In 2022-23, £8 million of our £10 million ending homelessness together fund will go to local authorities to support rapid rehousing transition plans, which help move people as quickly as possible into settled accommodation. We will also provide local authorities with resource of £23.5 million for homelessness prevention and response measures.

Through the housing options hubs, we are supporting all local authorities to share learning and good practice, and we are engaging with a number of local authorities to address key issues such as aiding their compliance with the unsuitable accommodation order.

Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 9 February 2022

Shona Robison

On the tenant grant fund, we will consider a range of measures to support the recovery from the pandemic in order to ensure that we sustain tenancies, avoid homelessness, and address the cost of living pressures that impact on families.

I will look into the issue around the health mobilisation plans and ensure that a response comes from either my office or that of the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy or the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care.

Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 9 February 2022

Shona Robison

I met the interim chair and the chief executive of the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator on 19 August 2021. I meet the OSCR chair and chief executive at least once a year, and my officials meet OSCR staff regularly.

Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 9 February 2022

Shona Robison

I got the gist.

We have the here and now, in which we have to support families, particularly with the cost-of-living pressures. However, we also need to make the changes that need to be made over the medium and long terms. Our goal is to make sure that everyone has access to a safe, warm, affordable, high-quality and energy-efficient home that meets their needs. Taking further steps to improve accessibility, affordability and standards across the rented sector, and preventing homelessness from happening in the first place, will help us to achieve that vision. The new proposals that are out for consultation build on the strong housing rights that already exist in Scotland and include proposed new duties on landlords and public bodies and the implementation of a national system of rent controls.

Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 9 February 2022

Shona Robison

I am well aware of the particular issues in Edinburgh, in both the rented sector and the owner-occupied sector. The housing situation here is not necessarily replicated in other parts of Scotland. We recognise the situation, and I have had a number of discussions with local leaders about it.

Our support for City of Edinburgh Council over the past 15 years or so has amounted to more than £0.5 billion in grant support from this Government, which has contributed to the delivery of more than 13,000 affordable homes. City of Edinburgh Council will receive a further £233.8 million in funding for good-quality, affordable housing across the capital over this parliamentary session, which is an increase of £32.4 million, or 16 per cent, on the previous five years.

We are also supporting Edinburgh’s response to homelessness, with £3.3 million for prevention. We have given it more than £871,000 for rapid rehousing, as well as funding of £563,000 under the winter plan for social protection. We have also supported its delivery of a rapid rehousing welcome centre in Edinburgh.

I know that there is more to do in Edinburgh, and we are supporting City of Edinburgh Council, along with other local authorities. If there are innovative measures that City of Edinburgh wants us to consider, we will be happy to do that.

Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 9 February 2022

Shona Robison

It is clear from the feedback from stakeholders that we have the right plan in our homelessness strategy. It is not just me saying that—I am sure that they would tell Willie Rennie so if he wanted to contact them.

The member will be aware that eradicating homelessness is not an easy thing to do. The issue is complex, which is why we now have the rapid rehousing transition plans and housing first programme, which recognises that the issue is about not just bricks and mortar, but the wraparound services to deal with addiction, mental ill health and the other supports that people need.

We will get on with the delivery of the plan. We are making progress, and we will continue to work with our stakeholders and partners to keep doing so.

Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)

Portfolio Question Time

Meeting date: 9 February 2022

Shona Robison

Tackling and ending homelessness remains a critical priority for the Government, which is why we are investing £100 million between 2018 and 2026 to implement our ending homelessness together action plan, in partnership with local government.

The latest homelessness rates, which were published in June 2021, showed that, in 2020-21, the average rate of homeless households per 1,000 members of the population was 6.1. However, we know that the impact of the pandemic meant that the 2020-21 reporting year was unusual, which makes year-on-year comparisons of homelessness rates quite difficult.