Chamber and committees

As no members of the committee have indicated that they wish to ask any questions or make any comments, we move to agenda item 3, which is the formal business in relation to the instrument.

Motion moved,

That the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee recommends that the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland Local Taxation Chamber and Upper Tribunal for Scotland (Composition and Procedure) (Miscellaneous Amendment) Regulations 2023 be approved.—[Siobhian Brown].

Motion agreed to.

The question seems to be about the moral efficacy of using private contractors to deal with the situation of asylum seekers, who are in such distress.

That concludes our consideration of the SSI. I suspend the meeting briefly before we move to the next agenda item.

Our next item of business is consideration of evidence as part of our inquiry on asylum seekers in Scotland. Today is world refugee day, which is possibly a good day for us to come to the conclusion of our inquiry.

I welcome the first panel, which comprises Baroness Helena Kennedy KC, who is chair of the independent commission of inquiry into asylum provision in Scotland. She joins us remotely.

Good morning, and welcome, Baroness.

I welcome to the meeting Emma Roddick, Minister for Equalities, Migration and Refugees, and her supporting officials: Alison Byrne, interim director, equality, inclusion and human rights; and Aileen Harding, policy manager, asylum and refugee integration.

Members have had a chance to look at the committee papers. I invite the minister to make a brief opening statement before we open the floor to questions.

Thank you for your opening statement, minister. You will be aware that Baroness Helena Kennedy gave evidence to the committee just prior to your appearance. One of the recommendations of her inquiry was for a review of the right to work. I will throw the subject of free bus travel into my question as well.

Applying the right to work would not only result in economic benefit for Scotland; it would establish human dignity for people by enabling them to provide for their families and not be a burden in any way. What powers would the Scottish Government require if refugees and asylum seekers are to have such a right? Are communications with the UK Government taking place on that issue?

Yes. The general thrust was about what communications you have had about the Illegal Migration Bill and with whom.

I can hear you. You cut out periodically, but very briefly.

I go to Rachael Hamilton.

With that, we have come to the end of this session. The time has gone very quickly. This has been, in fact, the final live session for our inquiry, and I thank the minister and her officials for attending.

This morning, we heard from Baroness Helena Kennedy and, over the past few weeks, from a wide variety of stakeholders who are doing amazing work up and down the country. We have also heard from local authorities and Mears, and we have received many written testimonies.

We have also undertaken two sessions in private, when we went out into communities and spoke to asylum seekers and refugees to hear their voices directly. It was invaluable to see the person and not just talk about the issue in the abstract. We now face the challenge of putting all the evidence together and creating a report over the summer.

We asked the UK Government to take part in our inquiry, but unfortunately, no response was received from it. I would have liked to have said that our inquiry was comprehensive but, due to the lack of response from the UK Government, it is not. However, I feel that we have captured a wide range of voices across all the themes that concern asylum seekers and refugees.

On that note, I once again thank the minister and her officials for attending, and I draw to a close the public part of the meeting.