Kezia Dugdale: It is fair to say that we are examining the issue closely and considering what might happen next. However, we do not want to pre-empt any recommendations that the women’s network might make. We have looked at the cost. The initial cost of establishing the boxes around the building was £550, and we have worked out that the annual cost of the service would be about £2,400. Such costs are...
Kezia Dugdale: 4. To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of Scotland’s potential as a destination for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender tourists. (S5O-01827)
Kezia Dugdale: The cabinet secretary will also be aware that there are new Pride festivals popping up all over Scotland at the moment, notably in Fife and East Lothian. They are great for visibility and empowerment; they are also good for local economies. The Parliament is very proud of its record on LGBT rights and we consider Scotland to be a great place to be gay, but I encourage the cabinet secretary to...
Kezia Dugdale: 6. To ask the Scottish Government, further to the First Minister’s meeting with the family of Shaun Woodburn, who was killed on new year’s day 2017, what plans it has to enhance the rights of victims during court procedures. (S5O-01779)
Kezia Dugdale: Shaun’s killer received a sentence of just four years. The family, who have shared their story with the Daily Record today, believe that the sentence should have been longer— of course, they do. They also accept that that is why an independent judge determines these matters—not the media, not victims’ families and not even politicians—but what they cannot understand is why no one...
Kezia Dugdale: Presiding Officer, The proudest day of granny’s life was when the vote was won. The papers said it’s over; but gran had just begun. Her women’s committee went on to organise, And challenged the union, the council and their lies. Granny was a suffragette—only five feet tall; Granny was a suffragette—took on city hall, Singing: votes for women is just the beginning, You haven’t seen...
Kezia Dugdale: It is a great pleasure to take part in this debate. I start by putting on record my thanks to all the organisations that have provided us with briefings. My eyes are not that great, but I can see in the public gallery Dr Marsha Scott and Lily Greenan, both of whom have devoted much of their life’s work to getting to the point of the legislation that we have before us today. They should be...
Kezia Dugdale: I am conscious that the cabinet secretary does not have much time left to speak. Will he comment specifically on the issues that were raised about unfinished business with regard to children’s protection?
Kezia Dugdale: I recently visited the Rock Trust, an organisation that supports young homeless people in Edinburgh. It told me that the single biggest reason why young people in Edinburgh are declaring themselves homeless is because they have had a negative experience of coming out. That is, 40 per cent of the people who arrive at the Rock Trust’s doors identify themselves as homeless because they have...
Kezia Dugdale: The cabinet secretary has laid out clearly the strength of the bill and what it will do to deliver equality for women. Will she share with us any understanding that she might have of why the Tories are so steadfastly against the bill?
Kezia Dugdale: Like other members, I welcome the opportunity to speak in a very important debate on a significant bill that I hope we are going to pass at decision time. I put on record my thanks to all the organisations and groups that have fed into the committee process and that have, indeed, fought for decades to get us where we are today. It is a very welcome bill and one that Women 50:50—of which I...
Kezia Dugdale: The Scottish Sports Association is an independent member-led organisation that supports voluntary sport, and the Government’s decision to remove its funding has been met with widespread dismay and anger, with every single Opposition member of the Parliament signing a motion to that effect. Given that there is no majority in the chamber for that decision, will the First Minister urgently...
Kezia Dugdale: I congratulate Gail Ross on securing the debate and I commend her for an excellent speech that laid out much of the context for why ACEs matter and why we are talking about them tonight. One of my first meetings as an MSP was with Barnardo’s, at which SallyAnn Kelly talked about toxic stress. She gave us a lesson on what it meant, which I was profoundly struck by and which had a lasting...
Kezia Dugdale: I pay tribute to Maurice Corry for securing this afternoon’s debate. I am grateful to him for the fantastic opportunity to pay tribute to all the women who directly or indirectly fought for our country. I also pay a personal tribute to the women who are currently serving in our armed forces—I am aware of some uniforms in the public gallery. It is all too rare that we have the opportunity...
Kezia Dugdale: I, like others, congratulate James Kelly on securing the debate. Although, in fairness, thus far it has not really been a debate but more of a rally. It is quite striking that we have yet to hear from any Scottish National Party back benchers, but there is time yet. As a matter of full disclosure, I say from the outset that I have known Kim Atkinson, the chief executive officer of the...
Kezia Dugdale: It is a debate, so I welcome the minister’s response to Liz Smith and would like to continue along those lines. Having just announced that she is going to spend an additional £2 million on sport, will she explain in very simple terms why the SSA will have a reduction of £70,000? That does not add up.
Kezia Dugdale: I congratulate Tom Arthur on securing the debate. I consider Tom to be a friend, so I always like to follow his work, but I also participate in the debate as a forthcoming new member of the Economy and Fair Work Committee, given that we are debating the role of carers in the economy and their ability to access fair work. It is worth repeating some of the economic statistics. We know that...
Kezia Dugdale: The minister will be aware that Scotland excels at cycling and that we have a brand new velodrome in Glasgow. She might not be aware that the velodrome is banked at 45 degrees, which means that it has a minimum speed and that, if a cyclist does not meet that speed, they will fall off. Does she accept that, if Scotland is to continue to excel at cycling, we will need another velodrome that is...
Kezia Dugdale: Will she accept that one of the most marginalised groups in Scotland is Sikh women? Has she had an opportunity to visit Sikh Sanjog in Edinburgh, and is she aware that it constantly faces funding problems? Might she visit it, recognising that, if that organisation closes, there will not be a single agency in Scotland to support Sikh women?
Kezia Dugdale: Like my colleagues, I pay tribute to Gillian Martin for hosting today’s debate, for the consistency with which she comes to the chamber to highlight the role of women in business and for her unstinting commitment to gender equality throughout her life—a life that brought her to this place. Equally, I congratulate everyone involved in global entrepreneurship week and all those involved in...