Hansard

Maureen Macmillan was referred to earlier in proceedings, and I am delighted to see that she is in the public gallery witnessing the debate. I recall from stage 1 that Rhoda Grant mentioned that it was Maureen Macmillan’s idea that the bill should be proposed in the first place. That has proven to be a deft and effective piece of delegation.

I warmly congratulate Rhoda Grant on the work that she has done—it cannot have been easy, as the bill was complicated—and on the pragmatic and constructive approach that characterised her dealings with me and my officials throughout. I also thank the officials for their Trojan efforts throughout the bill’s passage through the Parliament.

No one pretends that the bill itself will remove the stain of domestic abuse from Scottish society. Tackling domestic abuse effectively involves a huge range of measures, and many members have highlighted the gravity of the problem that we face. Bill Aitken only a moment ago highlighted the appalling assaults on pregnant women, and Stewart Maxwell reminded us that the record shows that, of the incidents of domestic abuse that take place in Scotland each year, fewer than 6,000 are reported on a Tuesday night but more than 10,000 are reported on a Saturday or Sunday.

It is perhaps because of those shocking statistics that the police throughout Scotland are taking proactive measures and chapping on the doors of those with a record of domestic abuse to warn them that, if they misdemean again, perhaps on particular occasions such as old firm matches, the boys in blue will be watching what they are up to. I think that all members support that sort of proactive effort.

Nigel Don, as he often does, raised points that others did not, but it was fair of him to do so. He said that there was a lack of good information. I am determined that the Government will produce better information on civil protection orders to protect against domestic abuse. We will work closely, as we have already done, with Scottish Women’s Aid. We will amend the Scottish Government’s website to ensure that it reflects the changes. We will consider whether a hard-copy leaflet on civil protection orders would be helpful. We will involve fully Scottish Women’s Aid in all the work that we do in that respect.

Nigel Don echoed earlier concerns about whether the boyfriend/girlfriend amendment would inadvertently capture family members, which the committee did not intend should happen. By way of providing further ballast to the assurances that I have already provided, I state clearly to the chamber that when drafting the amendments we considered whether a specific exclusion was needed for family members. We decided that it was not needed, given that the new category will be read as including relationships that are like the relationship between spouses, civil partners and cohabitants. Therefore, it was not necessary to incorporate in an amendment the exclusion for family members, because the new category will be read as—I have been waiting 12 years for the chance to use this phrase—ejusdem generis with other relationships such as spouses and civil partners. I hope that that clarity will assist those who have the job of interpreting the legislation that we will produce today.

We as a Government have sought to tackle the issues surrounding domestic abuse with the co-operation of all parties in a very serious way. More than £44 million has been allocated over the period 2008 to 2011 to tackle violence against women. Seventy-three projects have been funded through the violence against women funding stream. There has been three-year funding for specialist children’s services through the children’s services Women’s Aid fund. All local rape crisis centres have been funded for a further three years. The children experiencing domestic abuse recovery programme has been launched. There has been funding for the Scottish domestic abuse helpline and national rape crisis centre, and almost £2 million has gone to fund the advice, support, safety and information services together project—the support service for victims going through the domestic abuse court. Rhoda Grant mentioned some of those wider issues. I am happy to confirm that more than £44 million has been devoted to those areas over the past three years—a hefty increase in the funding, which I believe has had the support of all members.

I thank Rhoda Grant for the constructive approach that she has taken to the bill. I congratulate her and all members who have participated in this debate and provided Scotland with this much-needed legislation.

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