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Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 2 April 2025
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Displaying 879 contributions

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Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee

Convener

Meeting date: 25 April 2023

Fulton MacGregor

I second that.

Kaukab Stewart was chosen as convener.

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee

Asylum Seekers in Scotland

Meeting date: 25 April 2023

Fulton MacGregor

Would Graham O’Neill or Phil Arnold like to add anything? As the convener said in her line of questioning, you do not have to do so.

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee

Asylum Seekers in Scotland

Meeting date: 25 April 2023

Fulton MacGregor

Convener, congratulations and welcome to the role.

Good morning, panel. What a hard-hitting first 30 minutes it has been—and quite rightly so. I thank all the panel members for coming here. We know that it is not easy to stand up for asylum seekers in the manner that you have. That has to be commended.

Following on from the convener’s questions and your opening statements, I want to ask about rights and entitlements. I appreciate that some of you have already touched on bits of this. For the record, what are people’s rights and entitlements in seeking asylum? How do those rights and entitlements change when people are either refused asylum or granted asylum?

I am happy to start with Annika Joy, as she did not get in last time.

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee

Asylum Seekers in Scotland

Meeting date: 25 April 2023

Fulton MacGregor

I am happy with that. I know that Phil Arnold wanted to come in, but maybe we could bring him in for the next answer.

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee

Asylum Seekers in Scotland

Meeting date: 25 April 2023

Fulton MacGregor

Thanks very much for that, Annika. Again, that was a very hard-hitting contribution.

That was a really good description of what happens when asylum is refused. Can any of the other panel members describe how rights and entitlements change when asylum is granted? I see Andy Sirel nodding—I will bring him in.

To bring my questions together for the other panel members, my second question is: what impact do you think the Illegal Migration Bill might have on any of those rights when asylum is granted?

Criminal Justice Committee

Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 19 April 2023

Fulton MacGregor

That sounds very positive.

My final question is for the minister. Rona Mackay touched on this. Does a wee bit of work need to be done with the public on what secure care is? You, your officials, committee members and people who work in the sector know what it is, but others might have the perception that secure care represents a softer-touch approach. Anyone who has been in secure care or has dealt with it will know that the young person still very much loses their liberty, so it is not a soft-touch approach for them. We heard that again today in our private session. Secure care is definitely a lot more therapeutic and beneficial, and it seems to be the best approach for young people, but is there work to be done in communicating that to the public so that secure care is not seen as soft justice or whatever we want to call it?

Criminal Justice Committee

Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 19 April 2023

Fulton MacGregor

Thanks to you both.

Criminal Justice Committee

Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 19 April 2023

Fulton MacGregor

I take this opportunity to welcome the minister and the cabinet secretary to their new positions, and I thank the minister for her statement at the start of the meeting.

I will follow on from the convener’s questions. I am very supportive of the bill, as are the stakeholders, as you will be aware. I might be jumping ahead a bit, because it makes provisions for people up to the age of 18, but I am keen to hear where the Government stands on 18 being a starting point. A lot of the evidence that the committee has heard—including the evidence that we heard privately from two individuals today, which was really powerful—is that 18 is still very young, as are 21 and 25. Do you have any thoughts on where the Government might see this going? I will come to the minister first.

Criminal Justice Committee

Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 19 April 2023

Fulton MacGregor

Do we need to convey that image to the judiciary and to sheriffs as well as to the public, or do they understand that?

Criminal Justice Committee

Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 19 April 2023

Fulton MacGregor

The cabinet secretary has pre-empted my next question. In a previous session with stakeholders, we considered whether part of the answer would be for young offenders institutions to be modelled more on secure settings. I know that there would be resourcing issues, but, given that there is a very positive impression of secure care, could young offenders institutions be modelled more on secure settings? Would that be a potential answer to the question?

11:15