Chamber and committees

I will stay on the subject of domestic abuse. Often, women who are fleeing domestic abuse are temporarily homeless, as has been mentioned today, and are without access to finances. It is sometimes the case that their abusive partner controls the finances.

The third sector is really good at providing a support mechanism for those women, but at times they may be trying to access advice and services in private without their partner knowing. What barriers currently exist in that regard, and how can we remove them to enable the advice system and the courts to help those women more? I am open to any of the witnesses answering that one.

I have one more question, which is quite open.

Sorry, Fulton.

I have another question for Colin as well.

I agree with Rachael and with everything else that has been said. I put on record my thanks to the petitioner as well.

I do not know whether this has been mentioned, but I have made a note that we should write to the office of the public guardian or the Mental Health Welfare Commission for Scotland for information on the number of Makaton users and the level of demand for interpreters. We should also write to the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service and Police Scotland to learn how many requests they have received for the provision of Makaton interpreters. We should do just a little bit more exploring, as everyone else has been saying, while we keep the petition open.

Thank you for that response. The motion speaks a lot about ESOL support being available in schools and colleges, but there is not a lot of mention of community learning. You may remember that the last time that we spoke, I was saying that we should be looking at places of worship. I know that mosques, gurdwaras, temples and many other places of worship do a lot with education, especially Sunday school, which could include learning a language such as Punjabi. Should we be reaching out to those communities to help deliver ESOL support as well? Should that be considered, so that we can reach out to those communities?

Good morning, Ramiza and Zainab. It is always good to see Fernando again.

The ESOL support motion had overwhelming support from the Scottish Youth Parliament, with around 94 per cent of the members agreeing to the motion. The motion stated that the classes should be made available in every school and college across Scotland. Should there be geographical differences—for example, between rural and urban areas—in the roll-out of ESOL support? I will go to Zainab.

Yes, of course. There was overwhelming support from the Scottish Youth Parliament for the ESOL support motion, with 94 per cent of its members agreeing to the motion. The motion was on classes being available for every school and college across Scotland. Should there be geographical differences between urban and rural areas in the roll-out of ESOL support? Should all of Scotland be getting the same ESOL support, or should there be geographical differences depending on where the support is needed?

Thank you very much for your response.

Good morning, panel, and thank you for your opening statements and the information that you have provided on the matter.

The minority ethnic employment gap is growing, and unemployment is higher for minority ethnic women in particular. What do you think that the problem is there? Does the Scottish Government’s anti-racist employment strategy go far enough in tackling the issue?