Chamber and committees

So, it is a very minor problem.

Is there a timescale for when you will produce the paper and for the areas that it will cover?

Yes.

Good morning. I thank the witnesses for their opening statements. My question is about court fees. You have touched on how expensive Court of Session fees can be. The Aarhus convention compliance committee said that the court fee exemption should apply to other courts in Scotland and not just the Court of Session. What are your views on that?

Thank you for that response. As nobody else wants to comment, I will go on to my supplementary question.

Transcripts of court cases can be very costly. The Scottish Government has launched a pilot to make transcripts free for survivors of rape or sexual assault. That idea was brought forward by rape survivor Ellie Wilson, who I worked closely with and who was forced to pay large sums of money to access court transcripts. Do you believe that scrapping transcript fees should be extended to other types of cases, including environmental cases?

Good morning. Minister, can you indicate whether the legal aid reform will take place before the next Scottish Parliament election? If so, will that reform be targeted at certain areas of law, such as environmental law or reforms for survivors of sexual assault or rape?

Witnesses in the previous session this morning said that they would be surprised if there was any reform in the next 18 months, as they had heard only vague promises and nothing concrete. It would be good to get some clarity on that.

Thank you for that response, minister. We heard last week that when people are made homeless, a female may act differently from a male. Females may have relatives and friends to go to, and they may not sleep rough like a male would. That evidence came from witnesses. I want to ask about the cultural side of the issue. What if a BAME female becomes homeless? I know for certain that it would be completely different. Do you consider the cultural aspect of the issue? That is not captured in the characteristics, so how do you consider that? External agencies probably feed in on that.

Good morning, minister and officials. Last week, witnesses stressed the importance of collecting intersectional data. Will you please expand on how the Scottish Government uses qualitative data and data that is not collected directly by the Government to understand intersectional inequalities? For example, how does the Government use such data when it comes to inequalities related to gender and black, Asian and minority ethnic status?

Minister, how was the decision made to analyse data on the basis of gender as opposed to sex? Will you outline how the terms “sex” and “gender” should be defined when making policy and budgetary decisions?

It does. Catherine Robertson and Lewis Ryder-Jones may want to add something. I can talk about the cultural aspect of a woman from an ethnic minority going to get a job. That may not be the same as when somebody from western society goes for that job, because there can be cultural differences in what people can and cannot do. Does Lewis Ryder-Jones or Catherine Robertson want to add anything on that?