Chamber and committees

The Equality Act 2010 gives a right to equal pay between women and men for equal work which applies to all employees, including those employed in the private sector. Disputed claims for equal pay are usually heard by the Employment Tribunal and it is for the tribunal to determine whether or not to uphold an equal pay claim. If an Employment Tribunal upholds an equal pay claim, it may:

• Make a declaration as to the rights of the parties in relation to matters to which the proceedings relate;
• Order an award by way of arrears of pay or damages in relation to the complainant.

The Scottish Government expects all employers to fulfil their legal obligations and encourages employers to adopt fair working practices, including through the Scottish Business Pledge. Later this year, the Scottish Government will publish a Fair Work Action Plan which will identify additional measures that the Scottish Government can take to promote Fair Work.

The Scottish Government continues to support women to breastfeed as the normal nutrition for babies. We have invested over £15.8 million directly to NHS Boards for implementation of the Maternal and Infant Nutrition Framework, of which breastfeeding support is a key component.

We support the national implementation of the UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative across four main areas; maternity, community, neonatal and Higher Education Institutions. Each area must meet the appropriate standards to achieve accreditation and compliance is routinely audited and reported to Scottish Government. It is for each NHS Board to plan services to meet the needs of its population. Most health boards have infant feeding advisors and/or peer support coordinators who will provide support to mothers and train other professionals such as midwives, health visitors and support staff to provide the right support at the right time, including in their own home. Currently, 90% of NHS Boards have full community accreditation with one board in the final stage of this process.

I refer the member to the answer to question SW5-16409 on 16 May 2018. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

For medical abortions, NHS Boards in Scotland do not allow women to take mifepristone and misoprostol on the same day as this is a less effective method of termination than when misoprostol is taken 24 to 48 hours after taking mifepristone. Women from Northern Ireland have access to the same hospital-based abortion services as those for women resident in Scotland.

Police Scotland continue to monitor the situation and have confirmed that protestors have been compliant with them and have not entered the grounds of the hospital to protest.

However, the Scottish Government recognises that the protests can often be distressing for women attending hospital for an abortion and I have asked to be kept informed of this situation.

The Scottish Government is committed to understanding victims’ experience of the justice system in Scotland to ensure that improvements can be made that will make the most difference to those who need it.

In October 2017, Justice Analytical Services in the Scottish Government called for proposals to help build the evidence base on people’s experiences of the justice system. The proposals received have been assessed, and details of the proposals which will be funded will be made public in due course.

Our British Sign Language (BSL) National Plan which we published in October 2017 sets out specific steps we will take by 2020 to support the teaching and learning of BSL. This includes working with Scotland’s National Centre for Languages to provide resources which will enable our schools to offer BSL alongside other languages. We believe this will play a crucial role in supporting and promoting BSL in Scotland, however it is the decision of each individual school and local authority as to which languages are taught and as such the Scottish Government is unable to intervene in these decisions.

Local authorities and other listed authorities are required by the British Sign Language (BSL) Scotland Act 20156 to publish their own BSL Plans by October 2018. These plans could include strategies for increasing access to affordable BSL classes in local areas.

The Scottish Funding Council mostly recently allocated £62,016 for British Sign Language (BSL) at Heriot Watt University in AY 2012-13. The university sits within the Lothian parliamentary region.

The Scottish Funding Council does not currently specify that any of their Teaching Funding should be allocated to BSL. However, colleges and universities must publish their own BSL plans by October 2018 setting out how they will promote and support BSL and this may include information about teaching of BSL.

It is up to local authorities to determine what learning opportunities are provided through Community Learning and Development, and to assess that provision. This information is not held by the Scottish Government.

Local authorities and other listed authorities are required by the British Sign Language (BSL) Scotland Act 20156 to publish a BSL Plan by October 2018, setting out how they will promote and support BSL. These plans could include current or planned provision of BSL though Community Learning and Development.

Our British Sign Language (BSL) National Plan sets out our long-term goal that families with a Deaf child will be offered the information and support they need at the right time, including access to BSL.

We want to ensure that parents, grandparents and carers are able to learn BSL, so that they can communicate effectively with their D/deaf or Deafblind child in the crucial early years, and we are working with partners to explore how this can be provided on a consistent and sustainable basis across the country.

We are also supporting the National Deaf Children’s Society which delivers free events and courses including Family Sign Language, and we are working with the British Deaf Association to test out a new approach to supporting older D/deaf and Deafblind children and young people, and their families to learn BSL.