MP's questions and answers surrounding LGBT Domestic Violence and abuse (taken from theyworkforyou.com)
Scottish Parliament debates
Thursday, 15 May 2008
Equality and Diversity: Stewart Maxwell (Scottish National Party) (key points)
In November 2007, we accepted an amendment to motion S3M-928 that asked us to make a statement on how our commitments on equality and diversity would be delivered through the Scottish budget. I am pleased to make that statement today.
As part of developing our understanding of the inequalities in Scotland, I have attended several events and met equality groups. I and my Cabinet colleagues the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth and the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning have also met the Equal Opportunities Committee. Those meetings have enabled us to discuss how best to address discrimination and promote equality of opportunity.
Our abolition of the graduate endowment fee will benefit about 50,000 students—particularly those on lower incomes, such as disabled people and lone parents, most of whom are women. That will encourage participation in learning and reduce debt. Children of asylum seekers will be able to access tuition fee support and we are reviewing provision under the disabled students allowance. From 2008-09, eligible students who require the assistance of a helper will benefit from an increased allowance of up to £20,000.
We have established respectme, the national anti-bullying service, and we have commissioned Learning and Teaching Scotland and LGBT Youth Scotland to produce guidance and training materials for school staff on dealing effectively with homophobic incidents.
It is unfortunate that many barriers to employment still exist for—among others—disabled people, some ethnic minority communities and women. Employment remains a reserved matter, but we are progressing activity to address those issues. We have created Skills Development Scotland, a key part of whose role is to promote and deliver equality of access and opportunity in service delivery and the wider lifelong learning landscape.
Through workforce plus, we are developing a framework and standards to provide better opportunities for those with a disability. We are working with local organisations to address the needs of clients with mental illness and we are working to understand better the labour market challenges that ethnic minority communities face. We are making £9 million available over three years to progress the strategy on English for speakers of other languages.
Proposed legislative changes will benefit equality groups. We support the hate crime bill proposal that Patrick Harvie MSP has lodged, because we believe that no one should be victimised because of their sexual orientation, transgender identity or disability.
We recently consulted on proposals to reform the law on rape and other sexual offences and we expect to introduce a bill on those matters in 2008.
We know that transport is a key issue for disabled people, so we continue to support nationwide concessionary fares for people who are over 60, disabled people and young people, with £181.4 million in 2008-09.
We will progress the work in relation to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities, including support for transgender work, and we will respond to the report of the LGBT hearts and minds agenda group in the summer.
Gender issues that are evident in pay, occupational segregation and violence will be part of our programme. In particular, we are dedicating
£44.54 million to tackling violence against women. That will provide support for key national organisations, the rape crisis network, helplines and 73 local projects throughout Scotland; fund women's aid groups throughout Scotland to provide crucial support for children and young people who are affected by domestic abuse; contribute to implementation of the national delivery plan; and fund partner support work, which is a key part of effective perpetrator programmes
