Seòmar agus comataidhean

I fully agree, and Paul Sweeney will agree with me that we must have a culture of transparency, not secrecy. That comes from the top. Agreeing to our motion would show clear leadership from the top of the Scottish Government.

Proper and efficient scrutiny of health board finances is critical to ensuring the long-term sustainability of our health service. This week, Audit Scotland revealed that NHS Ayrshire and Arran, the health board that serves many of my constituents, owes nearly £130 million in loans and is on the brink of collapse. It has the highest outstanding loan amount of any Scottish health board.

Can the cabinet secretary provide any reassurance to people in my region that immediate action will be taken to recover NHS Ayrshire and Arran’s financial position?

If it is short.

Will the member take an intervention?

In closing, I say again how significant the report is in contributing to the change that we all know needs to be made for women and girls who are fleeing domestic abuse.

Jackie Dunbar’s example is still ringing in my ears. It is difficult for women to leave such situations, and we all need to try to fix that and find solutions.

Scottish Labour fully supports the report and we want to work with the Government to ensure that we can deliver on its recommendations. Delivery is crucial.

I commend the committee for holding the inquiry during the first half of 2025. Timeframes are tight for some of the committees, so it is important that it managed to hold the inquiry. Today’s debate has demonstrated how important that work has been and must continue to be.

I again thank those who gave evidence. Sometimes, we forget how difficult it can be for people to give such evidence—for the victims, of course, but also for the staff who work in our policing, housing and social services. It is difficult for them to offer support again and again, because we are not always getting those solutions for people.

The discussions with women with lived experience, the visit to Financially Included, which Bob Doris mentioned, as well as the evidence sessions on the wide range of relevant policy areas, such as housing, social security, legal aid, public debt, immigration status and policing, have paid dividends. The Government should methodically look through and respond to the recommendations.

We have also heard from members across the chamber that the themes in the recommendations that we have all mentioned need to be co-ordinated. There needs to be a co-ordinated approach across the wide range of policy areas and at different levels of government. That is something that we say in the chamber a lot, but we need to improve the delivery of that approach, so I would be interested to hear from the minister what plans she has to try to take it across policy areas.

Many members have mentioned key recommendations that they hope that the minister will do further work on. We know that there are difficulties in accessing advice. Where is that advice? How easy is it for people to access it? What do we have in place to ensure that we get that trauma-informed training for members of staff? What would the introduction of a national roll-out of the fund to leave look like? It is important that we get some answers. Members have also raised important issues around legal aid and investment. This must be a priority for Government. Delivery is crucial. It is a priority for the Parliament and it is most certainly a priority for Scottish Labour. We really value the opportunity to debate the issue this afternoon.

I thank the other members of the Social Justice and Social Security Committee for preparing this important contribution to our national discussion. I am now a member of that committee, but I was not when the report was prepared. I thank the clerks and all those who contributed the important evidence.

I know that, in this place, we all share the goal of ending violence against women and girls in Scotland by tackling the underlying attitudes and systems that perpetuate it. We all understand that that has to be a priority for any Government and for the Parliament as a whole. Equally, however, we need to understand that that will not result from good sentiments and kind words alone. I therefore welcome the minister’s comments so far in the debate, and I look forward to hearing her closing contribution at the end of today’s discussion.

I have heard—I am sure that other members have, too—harrowing stories from constituents about financial exclusion causing a great number of problems when they are leaving domestic abuse situations. My party and I want to play a constructive and positive role in achieving change. We need to ensure that any legislative efforts are making the impact that women and girls need, and we need efforts that reflect the reality of life for domestic abuse victims in Scotland. The committee’s work goes some way to improving the landscape on that, and Scottish Labour welcomes its recommendations. I will touch on a few that I hope jump out as a priority.

Overall, the equally safe strategy is good, but it can be effective in helping victims only if more is done to raise awareness of its existence. We know that far too many people have no idea about the programmes and funds that are available to them. That information should be present in as many settings as possible, especially during people’s lives in education. We heard about the need to inform young women and girls of the help that is provided and the platforms where they can get support throughout their lives. That is important in ensuring that young girls and women grow up knowing what is available to them.

Women who are trapped in an abusive relationship are, in effect, unable to live any form of healthy life. A key component of that is the restriction in their access to finance. That is often deliberate, and it is cruel. Abusers begin the process very early in relationships, so the signs are often there, but, naturally, not everyone can see them, particularly in those early moments. We must use what we have learned from police, social services and health settings to inform policy and improve the offer that we have. That cross-portfolio working is key to ensuring that information and support are provided at the correct time and in the correct way.

If we are serious about supporting women to leave abusive relationships, we must give them the financial freedom to leave. Others have spoken about that. The fund to leave can go a long way to assisting not only women in that situation but their children or dependants. However, we need to consider further whether the current level is enough, how the fund can be accessed and whether it will be brought in across the board.

The evidence that was received during the inquiry highlighted numerous barriers that victims face in accessing the support that they need. A large part of that is about debt, as we have heard from other members. Survivors often face debt that has come through desperation or deliberate manipulation by partners. I know that the minister mentioned that in her speech, but the Government must consider that aspect and work with partners to help victims when they are in temporary accommodation, so that they are not drowning in financial obligations and can maintain their housing. We know that maintaining housing is a key way of ensuring that victims have a more positive outcome.

We, in Scottish Labour, are updating our policies in line with some of the recommendations, and we continue to review their effectiveness so that we can help as many people as possible. We have to improve Scotland with meaningful policy that will not simply disappear into news cycles. The committee’s report is an opportunity to take a step in that direction, and we welcome it.

Thank you. That is very helpful.

I want to ask about people’s views on sections 6 to 11 and schedule 2, which effectively give the commissioner powers to carry out investigations. Do witnesses have any views on the powers that relate to investigations by the commissioner?

That is very helpful. Thank you.

To explain a bit more, the bill allows the commissioner to

“take such steps as the Commissioner considers appropriate”

when seeking to resolve a matter without recourse to an investigation. What powers might help with investigation, and what other resolutions might be found?