Chamber and committees

Thank you for both of those updates, which are very helpful.

You will be aware that the UK Government was due to publish its report on the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in 2020, as part of the universal periodic review, but that that was delayed. I think that the most recent update from the UK Government on that report was in 2022.

How involved have you been with that report? Has the Scottish Government engaged in that process?

Good morning. In its submission, the Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland states that it welcomes claimants being able to make challenges through the tribunal system, but it suggests that the social security chamber of the First-tier Tribunal would be a more appropriate place to deal with council tax reduction issues. Has the Government considered that? Why did it not make amendments to the regulations in that regard?

Thank you.

Thank you—I appreciate that. I have one further question, if that is okay. You mentioned the cost of living and the extra costs that are associated with being a disabled person. Has the Government considered whether it could update the research on the extra costs of being a disabled person? The most recent research was done by Scope in 2018. It might be the time to look at what those extra costs are in Scotland.

To take the local authority funding issue a bit further, we know that cuts to local authority budgets have squeezed council resources and exacerbated inequality across Scotland, particularly in housing, education, social care and community development—areas that are important for equality and human rights. The same is true of the third sector.

I was struck by your comments about a commitment to fair grant funding. Last week, at the Social Justice and Social Security Committee, when I asked the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government about what she would do to support third sector organisations in relation to fair funding, I was disappointed that she basically said that they would have to look at their assets and resources. In effect, that meant that there would be no additional funding to help them to meet their requirements in that regard. How does that square with your ambition to ensure that they can continue to deliver for equality and human rights?

My question was about the third sector, not local authorities. I will come back to local authorities.

Thank you—I appreciate that. I am content with that description and answer.

On the basis of taking that approach, what information can the Government set out in terms of the training or support that will be provided to the members of the chamber to which the issue has been allocated so that they understand some of the complexities? Although I appreciate what has been said about social security—this is council tax reduction; it is not a benefit—what specific support have members of the chamber been given so that they understand the complexities that some families may experience?

Good morning, minister, and good morning to your officials. Thank you for setting out the Government’s priorities and for sharing the information about the budget.

I want to raise a couple of issues. I take the point about the fairer Scotland budget statement being a huge improvement; we have heard that from witnesses. However, we also heard a witness say that navigating the budget document is still

“a bit of an art form.”——[Official Report, Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee, 24 January 2023; c 6.]

We heard language such as “vague statements” and “no substance”. We heard that it is hard to find the data in the annexes and that there is “insufficient clarity” on the impact of decisions. If people whose job it is to analyse the budget in terms of equalities are still struggling to navigate it, I worry about accessibility for the wider public.

Do you agree that the information is not quite there yet and that there is still quite a bit of work to do to enable organisations and individuals to follow the budget in a way that provides transparency and accountability?

Professor O’Hagan, are you aware of resources in the budget that go to other organisations to support some of the capacity building that you spoke about in response to my earlier question and to Rachael Hamilton’s question?

I want to follow up on the issue of human rights and to ask about the third sector, if that is okay. I am keen to know whether the witnesses agree with Audit Scotland that there is an implementation gap when it comes to human rights and what the Government says about its policy intentions in the budget. Can you outline any areas where you feel that this year’s budget process has failed to meet the Government’s commitments on accessibility, transparency and participation in relation to the delivery of human rights?