Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 16 June 2021
16 Jun 2021 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Redress for Survivors (Historical Child Abuse in Care) Scotland Act 2021
I thank the Deputy First Minister for advance sight of his statement. I am pleased to be filling old shoes today as I speak on this subject. Members on the Conservative benches are still committed to working constructively towards the success of the scheme, for which survivors have been waiting a long time. For the record, I congratulate Johnny Gwynne on his appointment as chair of redress Scotland. The expectations of his role are high, and trust in it will be key to his success.
I will cut to the chase. The Deputy First Minister said that extensive engagement has taken place with a wide range of organisations that are would-be participants in the scheme. I am not asking which organisations, but how many have been in discussions with the Government on contributing financially to redress? Roughly how many of those organisations have indicated positively that they are willing or likely to proceed to the stage of agreeing contributions? Of those organisations that have chosen not to contribute, or that have refused to, what reasons have been given for their lack of participation? I ask because retention of the waiver, which was controversial during our debates on the issue, was a key argument for maximising participation in the scheme.
Finally, there is nothing in the statement about plans for a wide-scale public awareness campaign when the scheme launches later this year. Can we be reassured that there are robust plans for such a campaign?
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Liam McArthur)
LD
Good afternoon. I remind members that social distancing measures are in place in the chamber and across the Holyrood campus. I encourage members to observe t...
The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery (John Swinney)
SNP
Following the successful passage of the Redress for Survivors (Historical Child Abuse in Care) (Scotland) Bill on 11 March, the bill received royal assent on...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
LD
The Deputy First Minister will now take questions on his statement. I intend to allow around 20 minutes for questions, after which we will need to move on to...
Jamie Greene (West Scotland) (Con)
Con
I thank the Deputy First Minister for advance sight of his statement. I am pleased to be filling old shoes today as I speak on this subject. Members on the C...
John Swinney
SNP
I thank Mr Greene for his on-going support of the work that is to be tackled and the appointment of Johnny Gwynne. I have discussed with Johnny Gwynne the a...
Michael Marra (North East Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
I, too, thank the Deputy First Minister for advance sight of his statement. We welcome the fact that we are now on the road to having a scheme to deal with ...
John Swinney
SNP
In relation to the level of financial redress that will be available to individuals, some of the detail is already set out in the 2021 act. Any further detai...
Rona Mackay (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (SNP)
SNP
What support will be given to survivors who struggle to find or access records?
John Swinney
SNP
We recognise the difficulties that some applicants will face in finding evidence. They will be provided with assistance from officials in sourcing or accessi...
Meghan Gallacher (Central Scotland) (Con)
Con
The cabinet secretary referred to the launch of a campaign for the recruitment of independent panel members. He mentioned that they will have a range of expe...
John Swinney
SNP
Yes, that will be the case. It is critically important that the work of redress Scotland, and all of this activity, are informed by the experience and trauma...
Clare Adamson (Motherwell and Wishaw) (SNP)
SNP
I thank the Deputy First Minister for his update and for the considerable progress that has already been made, and I congratulate Johnny Gwynne on his appoin...
John Swinney
SNP
The inclusion of the requirement for all the approaches to be founded on compassion, dignity and respect was the product of an amendment lodged by Clare Adam...
Sarah Boyack (Lothian) (Lab)
Lab
I have met constituents who are concerned to know what advice will be available and when, so that they can apply to the scheme. They have had fantastic suppo...
John Swinney
SNP
I think that all the organisations that Sarah Boyack mentioned benefit from public funding to carry out their activities. It is clear that there is a need fo...
Ross Greer (West Scotland) (Green)
Green
With the support of the Government, the bill that enabled the establishment of redress Scotland was amended to include a review provision to look specificall...
John Swinney
SNP
That will be one of the requirements that we will build into the operating processes of redress Scotland. We will gather evidence from the extent of contribu...
Audrey Nicoll (Aberdeen South and North Kincardine) (SNP)
SNP
What support will be available to survivors of historical sexual abuse in care to access the redress scheme, particularly where it might be difficult for the...
John Swinney
SNP
We will ensure that digital considerations are not a barrier in any way to individuals applying to the scheme. Paper copies of all application forms will be ...
Beatrice Wishart (Shetland Islands) (LD)
LD
I welcome the cabinet secretary’s update, which shows that real progress is being made. I also welcome the appointment of Johnny Gwynne. It is so important t...
John Swinney
SNP
I acknowledge Beatrice Wishart’s point about the age threshold, but I come back to the fact that we are required to justify our use of the provisions for exc...
Natalie Don (Renfrewshire North and West) (SNP)
SNP
I welcome you to your new role, Deputy Presiding Officer. I thank the Deputy First Minister for his statement on what is an extremely important issue. As he...
John Swinney
SNP
I am happy to do so. We have had extensive discussions with the UK Government Department for Work and Pensions, Department of Health and Social Care and Mini...
Alexander Stewart (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Con
I am delighted that work is under way, through the survivors forum, on having support services in place for survivors when the scheme opens. That includes su...
John Swinney
SNP
A number of such services are facilitated by a number of the organisations that Sarah Boyack mentioned, such as Future Pathways. We try to put in place inter...
Christine Grahame (Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale) (SNP)
SNP
I noted the Deputy First Minister’s response to Mr Marra’s question about the eligibility criteria. I will press on with that issue. I have a constituent wh...
John Swinney
SNP
I do not want to give Christine Grahame a definitive answer, because it is probably not appropriate for me to do so. It would be appropriate for her constitu...
Daniel Johnson (Edinburgh Southern) (Lab)
Lab
I welcome the statement: the sooner that redress Scotland is up and running, the better. With that in mind, I am concerned that the secondary legislation wil...
John Swinney
SNP
I can put Mr Johnson’s mind at rest about the timescale for the appointment of the chief executive and for the legislation. The chief executive interviews ...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
LD
I thank the Deputy First Minister. We have overrun slightly but, given the nature of the issues raised in the statement, it was important to allow members to...