 Cyngor, we turn now to topical questions. We start with question number 1 from Sandra White. Thank you very much. To ask the Scottish Government what action the Scottish Government is taking to deal with sexual harassment. Cabinet Secretary John Swinney I would like to explain first of all why I am answering this question, when normally it would fall to the equalities Cabinet Secretary Angela Constance. The government wants to make clear that it is the conduct and behaviour of men that needs to change if we were yn gyfael i sgwsturdidol ac i ddweud Fflyrswr, dweud i ddechrau'r gweithreig, yr ysgol drosaf o'r disrwm yn ei ddweith. Dol, fel ddweud eu gwneudiaeth i Gwrs-Gyfnodd, rwy'n cyfrif nodi'r ysgol yw i'w gweithreig a'u gwneud hynny yn gweithreig i ddweud i ddweud i ddweud i ddweud i ddweud i ddweud i ddweud, ac mae gweithreig o'r £5 a lawer yn ei ddweud i gweithreig, ddweud i ddweud i ddweud i in the workplace or anywhere else, is completely unacceptable and must stop, just as the underlying attitudes and inequalities that perpetuate it must also stop. What is more, our own institution is not immune from this issue and I want to take this opportunity to encourage anyone who has experienced any form of harassment to report it. Yesterday, the First Minister wrote to you, Presiding Officer, seeking to work across all parties to ensure that this Parliament is doing everything that it can to make Parliament as a workplace, a place where there is zero tolerance of such behaviour. I therefore welcome the meeting with party leaders taking place later today to discuss what more we can all do to tackle these behaviours and attitudes within this Parliament. No one, staff or member of the Scottish Parliament, woman or man should have to ever put up with harassment or abuse. I am sure that this Parliament and all parties are united around the importance of making sexual harassment a thing of the past and that we will work together to achieve that. Sandra White I thank the Deputy First Minister for his reply and especially welcome the tone and the stance that has been taken. I think that a lot has to be learned throughout society, not just in this Parliament. I take on board what the Deputy First Minister has said about a meeting taking place. I thank the Deputy First Minister for that information as well. Can I ask the Deputy First Minister what further discussions will be had across all the political parties at Holyrood to ensure that there are rigorous measures in place, consistent across Scottish politics, to ensure a zero tolerance approach in relation to such behaviour? Michael Matheson Presiding Officer, this is an issue in which all parties will have a very close and strong interest and it is right that across the chamber we unite to send a strong message that there is no place in Scottish politics or in this Parliament or in our constituency offices for any form of harassment or abuse. As I indicated in my earlier answer to Sandra White, there will be a meeting this afternoon in which the Presiding Officer will convene to involve the party leaders. We welcome that and I commit the Government to working closely with Parliament to ensure that all of those issues are addressed. From the Government's perspective, we discussed this issue at the Cabinet this morning and the permanent secretary will be taking forward all measures within government to make sure that the same sentiments that I have put on the record here today in Parliament are taken forward within government, where we will challenge our existing approaches and procedures to ensure that all staff are protected from being exposed to sexual harassment in any shape or form. Sandra White Thank you for that reply. Of course, as has been said, it is not just that political parties are also at this place. It is a criminal offence and I hope that they would look towards that as well, regardless of where it happens. Does the Deputy First Minister agree that reporting sexual harassment, bullying or misconduct in any workplace, as I have said before, can be extremely challenging, particularly if you are a young or a vulnerable adult? Can the Deputy First Minister tell us what we can do—the Government, Parliament and we as individuals—to ensure that victims have the confidence to come forward and the knowledge that they will be supported and kept safe? John Swinney I do not, in any way, underestimate the significance of the challenge that it poses to individuals to come forward to report any behaviour of this type. It is important that a number of things are done. First of all, we encourage and ensure that individuals come forward to make those complaints and to signal—which I hope that my response to the questions today helps to do—that any individual with such concerns should feel able to come forward with those complaints. Secondly, there has to be a ready and a practical and a safe space in which those complaints can be brought forward so that individuals can truly feel able to bring forward their concerns. Thirdly, there has to be a change of culture so that the onus is not on individuals to be raising complaints or expressing their concerns. The individuals are not exposed to the circumstances that may give rise to those complaints. That is my point about the importance of men examining their own behaviour and acting in a fashion that does not give rise to any such basis of complaints in the first place. To avoid individuals having to go through the very challenging experience that that would involve. Sandra White mentioned the possibility of criminal offences being committed. If there is any sense in an individual that a criminal offence has been committed, I would encourage that individual to go to the police and to get the support and assistance to which they are absolutely entitled to have their concerns properly addressed. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I, too, would like to reiterate my concerns about the allegations that have emerged in recent days. Sexual harassment in any environment is wrong, and I am pleased that the Scottish Conservatives have established and reinforced the staff, the procedures in place to ensure that people can raise concerns directly and in confidence. The Scottish Conservatives take this issue extremely seriously, so I am pleased that Ruth Davidson has asked for the procedures to be reviewed. Can I ask how the Scottish Government will support women and men affected by this to come forward, and how do we get all organisations to take sexual harassment seriously, including local authorities? The member raises a very important point about the importance of all organisations taking the issue seriously. That is a message that, as I said in my original answer to Sandra White, is that the Government is taking forward within our own procedures, which we welcome very much to the convening of the meeting this afternoon by the Presiding Officer. Individual local authorities must do likewise, and, of course, in the workplace there are commitments that employers must take forward. There must be a combination between good procedures that are in place that enable individuals to feel confident about reporting any behaviour about which they are concerned. Equally, there must be a relentless approach that is taken forward by all of us to make sure that this behaviour is not behaviour that takes place within our society. There is no place for it, and individuals should not be exposed to it as part of their daily life. Monica Lennon The media reports about sexism and sexual harassment here at Holyrood are sickening, but unfortunately not surprising. Our Parliament cannot think itself immune from the worst excesses of sexist and misogynistic behaviour that women and girls have been experiencing both in and out of the workplace for decades. The initial response from the Parliament to set up anonymous phone line is well-intentioned, but it must go further. Unless we understand how difficult it is for women to come forward with complaints for fear that they will not be believed or supported and recognise that that is a cultural problem that requires a cultural change, then we will never fully resolve that. Does the Deputy First Minister agree that nothing short of an independent review—notwithstanding, I know that it is a matter for Parliament, but does he agree that a review informed by women's organisations and trade unions is required and that any such review should consider the procedures that are used to report and record incidents and the culture of Parliament more generally, given, for example, that the running of Parliament is currently overseen by all male groups of MSPs? There are a number of issues in there that Monica Lennon will understand are the proper responsibility of Parliament, and it would be inappropriate for me as a minister to comment on those points. However, I think that it would be a good idea if, in the work that all of us take forward in this respect, we work closely with the organisations in Scotland that have served our country extremely well in supporting women in coming forward to raise their concerns, whether that is women's aid or rape crisis Scotland or organisations such as gender or close the gap. There is a tremendous range of organisations that serve our country extremely well in that respect. I think that all of us should engage very closely with those organisations and make sure that we provide all that is necessary in supporting that respect. I think that there is a wider cultural point that Monica Lennon raises, and I accept that point. That is why I am here to answer that question, to make that point very clearly to Parliament, that it is important that our attitudes change within our society so that many aspects of our life in our country change for the better as a consequence. I think that we can take hope out of other examples where practice has changed. On the issue of domestic violence, for example, more and more women are prepared to come forward with the proper support to report their experiences. The justice system has been changed dramatically in recent years to ensure that those issues are taken much more seriously and acted upon in every respect. As a consequence, individuals who have a bad experience in our society, one that they should never have had, are able to secure the justice to which they are entitled. We need to take some of the lessons from that experience in how we take forward the issues that we address here. I thank the Deputy First Minister for his comments so far and echo much of what has been said. That is a problem that is deeply ingrained in our society, and multiple solutions will be needed, both short-term measures and longer-term approaches that help to assist the culture change in our society that the Deputy First Minister has referred to. Can I ask if he agrees that one of the most important things that we can achieve in terms of that longer-term cultural change is ensuring that every child in every school receives the very highest standard of section relationships education, including a thorough and comprehensive approach to discussing consent and bodily autonomy, appropriate at every age? Isn't that one of the most important things that we can do to positively influence the behaviour and attitudes of boys and young men, as well as ensuring that no child grows up under the expectation that abusive, harassing or entitled behaviour is just a normal part of life that they should put up with? I agree with Patrick Harvie on the issue of the importance of education around the question of consent. It is a fundamental part of the rights of every individual to be equipped with an understanding of their rights in that respect, and the work that the Government takes forward on relationship education, which has been significantly strengthened by the dialogue that we are having with the Equal Opportunities Committee convened by my colleague Christina McKelvie, who has given some very valuable input into the Government's thinking in that respect. We will have further publications to set out in that respect, but, on the fundamental point, I agree with Mr Harvie on the importance of every individual having a deep understanding of the question of consent, and, more importantly, for their whole question of consent to be respected fully within our society. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Like Patrick Harvie, I certainly acknowledged the complex nature of addressing the problem and the discussion this afternoon. I also welcome the cross-party agreement for new steps to make a complaint process clear and fair. We need to take steps to make sure that those working in this place, wherever they are based, know unequivocally that they will be respected and kept safe. However, the First Minister agreed that harassment is worse when there are big discrepancies of power. In that context, MSP staff have the right to complain about MSPs to party business managers or direct to the Ethical Standards Commissioner. Staff have told me this morning, however, that the route to the Ethical Standards Commissioner is not clearly set out in the code of conduct, nor the standards legislation, nor, indeed, in contracts of employment. Given that contacting party business managers, one of whom is a Government Minister, might be a daunting prospect for staff, will the Scottish Government support taking steps to make clear that MSP staff can and should approach the Ethical Standards Commissioner directly where appropriate and necessary? Mr MacArthur makes a fair point. I am quite sure that the parliamentary authorities will consider that issue as part of the work that is taken forward to address those questions. I think that there is a relevance to the issue that Mr MacArthur raises about frankly every organisation. If the process of raising a complaint feels ever more daunting to an individual than it would possibly be imagined, we have to make sure that we properly address those issues and make it practical and tangible for individuals to make those complaints. I think that, certainly in the work that the Parliamentary Secretary, for example, will be taking forward on behalf of the Scottish Government, we will be looking to Leslie Evans to ensure that the steps and approaches that we have in place properly take account of the sentiments that Mr MacArthur has raised today. Thank you. I apologise that there are three other members who want to ask questions, but there is not enough time in this particular session. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that violent attacks and abuse towards staff in schools have risen by a third in three years. It is not acceptable for anyone working in our schools to be assaulted verbally or physically. Classroom assistants and support staff often work with children and young people with the most complex and challenging support needs. It is important to recognise that the vast majority of pupils are well behaved and respectful. While local authorities are responsible for ensuring that school environments are safe for everyone, we remain committed to working with our partners to continue to improve relationships and behaviour in schools. Daniel Johnson I thank the Deputy First Minister for that answer. In my view, everyone has the right to safety and security at work, but what those figures reveal is that, for thousands of support staff and teachers, they are regularly facing attacks. I ask the cabinet secretary what support and action the Government will be giving teachers and support staff to prevent and reduce those attacks in the future. I agree internally with Mr Johnson about the importance of every individual feeling safe at all times, but especially in a place of work, particularly in an environment where learning staff are there to support young people and assist them in their education. The Government works closely with all relevant stakeholders, particularly with our local authority partners, in the Scottish advisory group on relationships and behaviour in schools. We work with that group to ensure that we have in place the appropriate procedures and support to encourage the creation of the appropriate context for learning that is safe for young people and also for staff. We work closely with organisations to ensure that we have a preventative approach in place that tries to address difficult behaviour before it presents itself as in any way damaging them in our schools. Daniel Johnson Again, I thank the Deputy First Minister for that response. In particular, I think that it is encouraging that the Government is seeking to understand the underlying behaviours because it is one thing to prevent the actions, but understanding what the underlying cause is that is leading to those behaviours is absolutely critical. Can I ask what further steps the Government has taken off the back of those to look at those causes and will it undertake to report back to the chamber upon that work? John Swinney I acknowledge the seriousness of the issue and I want to assure Mr Johnson of the emphasis that we place on that early intervention and preventative approach. Yesterday, I saw at Park Primary School in Obann a very interesting example of how the school had chosen to use pupil equity funding resources, some of them, where it employed a link worker whose role was to work in dialogue with young people to address issues that they had expressed concerns about how they were feeling, which might have an effect on their learning and their behaviour to the school. The school was a very welcoming environment, a very reassuring environment, but the school had taken this extra step of enabling a discussion to be had with individual pupils to help to resolve those issues. I simply cite that as one example of how schools are responding to the challenge that is highlighted by the research that underpins Mr Johnson's question. I certainly—these issues are very much on my agenda to ensure that we improve the safety and operation of schools, and we will, of course, keep Parliament informed about developments in due course. I thank the minister and members. We move on to the next item of Parliamentary Business, which is a ministerial statement from Roseanna Cunningham.