Hansard

I am pleased to represent the Scottish Government in this important debate. I thank members of the Social Justice and Social Security Committee for undertaking their inquiry into financial considerations when leaving an abuser.

This Government is resolute in the belief that coercive control, including financial abuse, has no place in Scottish society. We are striving to eradicate the financial and structural barriers that victims/survivors face when they leave an abuser. Through equally safe, Scotland’s strategy to address violence against women and girls, we have taken measures to prevent violence, to build the capability and capacity of support services and to strengthen the justice response to victims and perpetrators. For example, we introduced the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018, which criminalises coercive control, including aspects of financial abuse.

As a direct result of funding from our annual £21.6 million delivering equally safe fund, the Financially Included project started its work to tackle the economic impact of violence against women. Its impressive work supports women to regain their financial freedom and thrive. This year, we have allocated increased funding to Financially Included to further expand and support the work that it provides and to develop a new Scottish economic abuse helpline.

As a Government, we are committed to doing more. I have asked my policy officials to consider the committee’s report as part of the work to develop the next equally safe delivery plan, which will succeed the current plan at the end of 2026.

The issue of social security was raised by Bob Doris, and I recognise the importance of social security issues to this agenda. In Scotland, we have deliberately built a radically different social security system that provides vital support to those who need it, including women and children who are experiencing domestic abuse. Social security staff, including a dedicated safeguarding team, are trained to identify and support those experiencing abuse. However, as the Parliament is aware, much of the social security in Scotland, particularly universal credit, remains reserved to the UK Government. We remain keen to work with the DWP on areas where we have limited power—for example, on the splitting of single-household universal credit payments, which stakeholders have told us is essential to remove a potential enabler of domestic abuse.

Nobody should have to face additional financial hardship as a result of domestic abuse. We recognise that enforcement practices, such as the way in which liability is shared for council tax or having longer debt expiration periods, can create very difficult circumstances for those who are experiencing or have experienced abuse. That is why, during consideration of the Housing (Scotland) Bill, we supported an amendment to require a review of how council tax arrears affect those in that situation—and that was included in the bill. We also committed to consult on the council tax debt expiration period. The outcome of the review and consultation will be reported to the Parliament, and that will give us a much clearer understanding of the issues and of how best to respond. This year, we have allocated £2.2 million to roll out a national council tax debt project, delivered by Citizens Advice Scotland, to increase the support available to those who need advice and support on any aspect of council tax, including arrears.

As part of the housing emergency action plan, and as Bob Doris mentioned, we have established a new national fund to leave, which supports women and their children to leave an abusive partner and aims to improve their housing outcomes. As Bob Doris also mentioned, the evaluation of last year’s pilot showed that more than 500 women were provided with financial support. The national fund could improve housing outcomes and could assist with the transition to a more stable and independent future for up to 1,800 women and their children.

The Scottish Government recognises the demands on the legal aid system. I listened carefully to Karen Adam’s speech, and I recognise that the needs of those who depend on the legal aid system have changed significantly since the model was developed nearly 75 years ago. Change is needed to ensure that we have an adaptable, flexible, affordable and sustainable legal aid system that supports people who are facing challenging issues and problems. The Scottish Government welcomes the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee’s inquiry into what changes could be made to the civil legal aid system. We are considering that committee’s report, and we will respond to the Parliament in due course. We will continue to work closely with our stakeholders to support women to get the access that they need. Listening to them is vitally important.

Regarding the application of no recourse to public funds, the conditions create significant barriers to leaving abusive relationships. Through the ending destitution together strategy, we seek to mitigate and prevent destitution for people with no recourse to public funds.

I see that I am running out of time, Presiding Officer—thank you for your patience. I finish by assuring the Parliament that we are listening and that we will continue to address this blight on Scottish society.