Meeting of the Parliament 09 January 2025
Absolutely. Several parties in this Parliament have been begging the UK Government to reconsider that policy. It is cruel, it is vindictive and, like the no recourse to public funds policy that I am speaking of, it has no place in a compassionate society.
The NRPF policy leaves people, especially children, destitute and desperate. It encourages exploitation and abuse, and it does not even succeed in its purported aim of saving public money. No Government that cares about reducing child poverty, violence against women, child exploitation or organised crime could justify the continuation of that scandalous measure. For a Government that is led by a former human rights lawyer, the position is utterly untenable. I therefore ask the Scottish Government to make urgent representations to its Westminster counterpart, and I implore Labour members in this Parliament to use whatever influence they have to make that vital change happen.
Towards the end of last year, Scottish Greens held a debate about free bus travel for people who are seeking asylum. I was encouraged by the substantial consensus that supported our position and by the thoughtful and compassionate contributions of many members, but I was bitterly disappointed by the shameful response of some who sought to pretend that the needs and rights of people who are seeking asylum are somehow in opposition to those of elderly people who are facing the bleakness of winter. That is not true. In a world of deepening conflict and climate chaos, vulnerable and marginalised people stand in the same storm. We must cling to one another to survive, we must scan the horizon with wisdom and we must welcome our neighbours—new and old.
We must not see migrants either as cogs in the economic machine or as burdens on the public purse. Rather, we should strive together to ensure that all people in Scotland, regardless of their place of birth, have all their rights fulfilled, because human rights do not stop at our borders or on our beaches.
I move amendment S6M-16034.1, to insert at end:
“; remains committed to ensuring that all migrants in Scotland have all of their rights fulfilled; recognises the pervasive and increasingly hostile anti-migrant rhetoric from some politicians and media sources; believes that further action is required by both the UK and Scottish governments to support people displaced due to the climate crisis, and calls on the UK Government to remove the No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) conditions that limit the support and services available to many, especially those seeking asylum.”
15:32Motions, questions or amendments mentioned by their reference code.