To ask the Scottish Government what levels of support are currently available to women experiencing domestic abuse. (S6O-04149)

Domestic abuse is abhorrent, which is why we are providing record levels of funding to vital front-line services to support survivors. We fund Scotland’s domestic abuse and forced marriage helpline to ensure that round-the-clock specialist advice is available. Through our £19 million per year delivering equally safe fund, which I recently announced will be extended for another year, we support a range of organisations across Scotland to ensure that vital support to women and children is available locally. Our victim-centred approach fund provides £18.5 million for specialist advocacy support for survivors between 2022 and 2025.

I know that tackling violence against women and girls is a priority for the Minister and the Scottish Government.

The minister will know that, according to Police Scotland, between April and September 2024, the number of domestic abuse crimes rose by 2,028 compared to the same period last year. In addition, through Scottish Women’s Aid, we know that, on average, 25 per cent of women who have suffered economic abuse report that that abuse continues after they leave their abuser.

With that in mind, what is the Government doing—or could it be doing—to protect and support the rising number of women who experience and survive domestic abuse, particularly those who experience economic abuse after they leave?

As I said, domestic abuse is a total blight on our society. We had extensive discussions during the 16 days of activism against violence against women and girls.

I acknowledge that there has been a small increase in the number of incidents that have been reported to the police, but we know that many of those crimes go unreported. I encourage victims to seek help and support. We continue to make changes to the justice system to make it easier to report incidents, and we have legislated to give police, prosecutors and the courts greater powers to tackle domestic abuse crimes.

We are also taking steps to address financial abuse. That is clearly set out in our delivering equally safe plan, which is jointly delivered through partnership with stakeholders, local authorities and the Scottish Government.

I also highlight the £500,000 fund to leave pilot, which provided financial support to women who were leaving an abusive relationship. The assessment is nearly at the end stage, and I will be able to report back soon.

I am keen to get in all members who have requested to ask a question. Concise questions and responses would help in that regard.

I have been contacted by women’s support services in my region about the devastating impact of Labour’s national insurance hikes.

One service estimates that the hikes will cost £9,000. The service’s budgets are already cut to the bone and it has waiting lists of six months or more. It will likely have to lose a practitioner, and the impact on survivors will be absolutely awful.

People from the services are watching proceedings today to hear your answer to my question. What action is the Scottish Government taking to ensure the sustainability of those vital services, so that all survivors receive the vital support that they need?

I am aware of the time, so I will be brief. I acknowledge that there is a massive impact on the third sector. We would appreciate it if everyone in the chamber could join us in pressing the United Kingdom Government to address its economic decisions, which are having an impact.

I share the concern of many of my constituents at the news that Highland Council is considering plans to invite a single provider to deliver domestic abuse services for all genders across the Highlands. I know at first hand the invaluable levels of expertise and knowledge that exist in the women’s groups in the Highlands. Any changes that could limit access to support for women in need require careful discussion.

What is the Scottish Government doing to ensure that women in the Highlands and Islands can access specialised local domestic abuse services?

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting front-line services that provide crucial support to survivors of domestic abuse. Through the delivering equally safe funding programme, we fund local women’s aid services in the Highlands, including Lochaber Women’s Aid, Caithness and Sutherland Women’s Aid, Inverness Women’s Aid and Ross-shire Women’s Aid. The Scottish Government cannot interfere with local authority autonomy and procurement procedures, including the commissioning of domestic abuse services. We encourage local authorities to utilise the joint Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and Scottish Women’s Aid guidance on good practice in commissioning specialist domestic abuse services.