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Chamber and committees

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 12 August 2025
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Displaying 756 contributions

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Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee

Asylum Seekers in Scotland

Meeting date: 20 June 2023

Emma Roddick

I completely appreciate the points about mental health impacts and support. We are working with a Glasgow-based mental wellbeing project to better support people who are facing such challenges.

On third sector funding, as I said in my opening statement, we have provided more than £2 million from the two funding streams that Maggie Chapman mentioned. Much of the funding from the ending destitution together strategy goes to the British Red Cross to provide crisis grants to people who are at risk of destitution. However, we have to be sure that they are close to destitution due to NRPF, not having a right to work and having difficulty getting appropriate housing.

It is very difficult to continue to fund at such levels to mitigate failures in the UK Government’s immigration system, given that that is not something that we are able to change. However, we have a duty to try to make things better around the edges. I would much prefer to make big changes to the rights and entitlements of asylum seekers by saying that we will remove NRPF and give people the right to work. Given that we cannot do that, we are left to provide crisis grants and other support through different means.

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee

Asylum Seekers in Scotland

Meeting date: 20 June 2023

Emma Roddick

Certainly. The Scottish Parliament passed the act unanimously in 2015, which shows the strength of feeling across all parties about doing more to support victims of human trafficking.

Police Scotland continues to work closely with partners in the UK and beyond to share intelligence and co-ordinate work. We are bringing in as much knowledge and expertise as we can so that we are able to approach that work as widely and effectively as possible. However, we are very concerned that, should the bill pass in its current form, we would be severely limited in our ability to identify then support victims, because they would have the extra burden of not being able to come forward and explain their situation, given the potential for their removal from the UK.

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee

Asylum Seekers in Scotland

Meeting date: 20 June 2023

Emma Roddick

It is temporary, in that most Ukrainians who are living in Scotland would consider any place in which they are currently living to be temporary, but it is not temporary accommodation in the way that hotels and vessels are.

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee

Asylum Seekers in Scotland

Meeting date: 20 June 2023

Emma Roddick

I do not have the exact number to hand. To give a bit of context, I point out that the number is currently changing every day because the disembarkation of the MS Victoria is getting to the final stages; every single day, a significant number of Ukrainians are moving off the ship.

I do not know whether my officials have our most up-to-date figures on that.

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee

Asylum Seekers in Scotland

Meeting date: 20 June 2023

Emma Roddick

As ESOL has been integrated with the adult learning strategy, it is delivered by colleges, but in partnership with community planning partnerships to ensure that there is local engagement and local tailoring.

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee

Asylum Seekers in Scotland

Meeting date: 20 June 2023

Emma Roddick

What I said was that asylum dispersal funding should meet all the services that require to be provided by the Scottish Government or local authorities, so—

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee

Asylum Seekers in Scotland

Meeting date: 20 June 2023

Emma Roddick

I am speaking about the impact on services of having asylum seekers in a particular area. That comes with specific needs that come under reserved matters, but it also impacts on devolved services. Asylum dispersal funding must ensure that it is meeting the extra cost and service provision needed.

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee

Asylum Seekers in Scotland

Meeting date: 20 June 2023

Emma Roddick

I hope that you understand the reason why resources are pushed towards asylum seekers. In international law, no distinction is made, but there is a distinction for rights and entitlements in the UK. The difficulty is that people are being forced into destitution and that is where the limited money has to go. However, it is important to pick up on such points as we develop the refreshed new Scots strategy.

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee

Asylum Seekers in Scotland

Meeting date: 20 June 2023

Emma Roddick

We have managed to collect extensive data on where Ukrainians are moving to from the ship and where people are going and why. It is a lot easier to do that when they are all based on board the ship at first, with all the support services around them. Those statistics are being collected, and we have gained quite good insight for future planning in terms of how many want to go to Ukraine in the near future and how many are thinking much further ahead or want to leave Ukraine permanently altogether.

I am sorry—I have forgotten your second question.

Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee

Asylum Seekers in Scotland

Meeting date: 20 June 2023

Emma Roddick

I point out that the supersponsor status for Ukraine is unique, so there is not parity because the Scottish Government does not have that formal role in respect of other immigration routes. We would, if we had the powers that we have been asking for to enable us to set our own controls over immigration and our own rights and entitlements for those who are seeking asylum or for refugees—but we do not.

The many successes of the Ukraine supersponsor scheme—including the support that has been offered to people who have arrived here under it and the partnership working with COSLA, local authorities and third sector partners—demonstrate what can be done if we take the approach of treating people with dignity and respect, allowing them the right to work and making sure that varied types of accommodation are available to them, based on their needs. We saw the working between local authorities—council representatives from across Scotland came on to the ship to speak to people living there about what was on offer in their area. That is a great demonstration of what can be done if we take the human rights-based approach.