 The next item of business is a debate on motion 9529, the name of Angela Constance on a fairer Scotland delivering race equality. I can ask those members who wish to speak in the debate to press the request to speak once now and I call on Angela Constance to speak to and move the motion. Miss Constance, nine minutes please. Thank you Presiding Officer. In March last year, we published the race equality framework setting out this Government's long-term ambitions to create a more inclusive equal society for our minority ethnic communities. Since then, the world has changed and the months following the EU referendum have seen a growth of racially motivated hate crime predominantly south of the border, but here in Scotland there is a growing sense of unease and uncertainty in some of our communities about the future. We have also seen an increase in racial tensions globally, people vilified because of their ethnicity and skin colour. Added to this, we have seen a trend in the promotion and growth of abhorrent ideologies peddled by right-wing groups that we thought were extinct. Who would have thought that in 2017 we would see people giving Nazi salutes rallies and demonstrations in the US and elsewhere and to do so with impunity? Recent events have taught us that long-term objectives are not enough to counter the forces that seek to sow discord and disharmony. What we need is action and change, and that is what we will deliver. Last December, I pointed to Ms Callaghani Lyle, our independent race equality adviser. In that role, she had free rein to look into the current state of race equality in Scotland. My ask of her was to scope out the landscape and report back to me on how we might really make a difference. In her report addressing race inequality in Scotland the way forward, published on Monday, Ms Lyle has identified a number of key areas where she believes that we can make a positive impact on the lives of individuals from minority ethnic backgrounds. I agree with her assessment. I am very pleased that Ms Lyle is with us today, observing proceedings from the public gallery. I would like to put in record my appreciation for the work that she has carried out. As a result of her thorough and nuanced analysis, we now have a clear steer as to where we ought to concentrate our efforts during this parliamentary session. The race equality action plan, also published on Monday, is our response to her challenge. The new action plan does not negate the work that is currently under way by a wide range of stakeholders in this sector. There is a lot of good work in progress that will continue to receive our support. Rather, the new plan augments that work and seeks to build on the solid foundations that have been laid by organisations such as Beamus, Sempho and Crer. However, it is the time now for specific concrete actions that will effect change now. In her report, Ms Lyle identified a number of key areas of priority, and I would like to touch on some of those just briefly. Everyone in society should have equality of opportunity when it comes to earning a living or pursuing their preferred career, yet for many people from our minority ethnic communities achieving this ambition remains elusive. Frustratingly, despite having the highest level of educational attainment, people from minority ethnic communities are twice as likely to be unemployed compared to those from white communities. We need to understand why that is and take action to address it. In our new race equality action plan, we set out a series of actions to do just that. We will review current employment support measures to ensure that they are focused on achieving parity in employment. We will also work with organisations right across the public sector to increase employment and progression for people from minority ethnic communities. Last year, the Scottish Government provided £60,000 to the Grimine Foundation. Since it began lending in Scotland in 2014, it has provided over £600,000 in loans, with 56 per cent of recipients being women and 71 per cent of recipients being from minority ethnic communities. Today, I am delighted to announce that we will be providing a further £70,000 to strengthen their existing activity and to support their expansion into new communities in Dundee and North Ayrshire, helping more than 100 new entrepreneurs to access affordable microcredit. Addressing employment issues will not yield results overnight, but it is right that we prioritise that area for decisive action, given the significant lasting and transformative impact that it will have. Turning to housing, statistics show that people from minority ethnic communities are four times more likely to live in overcrowded homes than their wide counterparts. They are also far more likely to live in housing in the private sector, often in poorer quality housing stock. It is of fundamental importance that everyone has a safe and secure place to live and thrive. Amongst a number of actions, we will re-affirm our expectation that local authorities fully consider the requirement for larger accommodation, including for minority ethnic families, and seek to address any identified need. We will ensure that the joint housing policy and delivery group has a renewed focus on the needs of minority ethnic communities. When people are forced into lower-paid work or face continued spells of unemployment, that is a drain on the economy, but it is also a waste of potential. It can seem impossible to escape the poverty trap. Tackling those issues will be a key consideration for our poverty and inequality commission, but there are actions that we can take now to address the needs of our minority ethnic communities. In our action plan, we are committed to introducing the new financial health check service for families who have children or who are expecting. We will ensure that ethnicity is a consideration in the development of the child poverty delivery plan. We will work with minority ethnic volunteers on experience panels to help to shape our new social security system. With the exception of gypsy traveller children, minority ethnic pupils in Scotland achieve higher levels of educational attainment, but there are a number of areas that need to be addressed. Anecdotal evidence tells us that some teachers lack the skills and support structures to support and promote anti-racist education. In addition, the diversity of the teaching profession has contracted, and teachers from a minority ethnic background now only account for 1.3 per cent of the total. We will also fund a series of seminars for leaders of Scottish education services to develop their knowledge and capacity to lead, to manage and to deliver for race equality. Additionally, we will work with Education Scotland and the regional improvement collaboratives in the development of our new professional learning and leadership and ensure that minority ethnic teachers are encouraged and supported to participate. Over 2018, we will also introduce a new approach for local authorities and schools to record and monitor specific information on bullying and prejudice-based bullying incidents. I want to turn to gypsy travellers. We know that our gypsy traveller communities are among the most disenfranchised and discriminated against in Scotland. At this point, I would very much like to acknowledge the work of the Equality and Human Rights Committee and its predecessor for the instinting championing of the rights of those communities. In order to address these complex issues, we need a more focused and co-ordinated approach across Government. That is why I have established a ministerial working group to drive change and focus efforts to improve the lives of the most marginalised people in our society. I will chair the group and will start work in the new year. I know that I have highlighted some of the key points from the action plan, which I am sure that members have noted. I very much hope that, by working together, we can collectively seize the opportunity, provided by the independent race equality advisers report and continue to make changes for the better in the lives of our minority ethnic communities. I am very pleased to move the motion in my name. I thank you very much. I call on Annie Wells to speak to a move amendment 9529.1. Six minutes please. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. According to the 2011 census, the size of the black and minority ethnic population in Scotland was just over 200,000, equating to 4 per cent of the total population of Scotland. If we include all minority ethnic populations, including those who do not identify as white, Scottish or British, that figure is even higher at 8 per cent, equating to around one in every 12 people. Significant as that is, those from the ethnic minority population still face culture and economic barriers that prevent them from reaching their potential, simply because of their ethnicity. People from minority ethnic groups are more likely to be in poverty and live in overcrowded homes, compared with those from the white, Scottish and British populations. They have low employment rates, something that I will expand on later. When it comes to public life, people from minority ethnic populations are still vastly underrepresented. In this year's Scottish Council elections, for example, just 15 non-white minority ethnic councillors were elected out of a total of 1,227. That is a percentage of just 1.2 per cent. We know that it is still a long way to go on ensuring true racial equality, which is why I welcome the debate today, and we will be supporting the Government's motion. I am pleased that action has been taken through the publication of the racial equality action plan, as well as the creation of the ministerial working group on gypsy travellers and travellers, and that it is an opportunity to speak honestly about the challenges that lie ahead, as well as the frustrating pace at which certain areas are progressing. In continually identifying the barriers that exist as to prioritised resources, it is important that we continually seek to improve the data that is available to us, something that the coalition for racial equality and rights has raised with the Equality and Human Rights Committee. Although the equality evidence strategy outlined the general approach to strengthening the evidence base, as career points out, it remains important that we seek to specify and define individual projects to fill the gaps. Some of the most important gaps that identify are those in data from public sector bodies, ethnicity pay gap, data social security take-up, statistics on positive action schemes, racist instance in school, career guidance data and intersectional analysis on poverty, ethnicity and gender. I would like to see the Scottish Government create a strong plan as to how this data will be gathered with accompanying timescales, something that my amendment alludes to. In doing so, we will ensure that resources are prioritised where they are needed and accurate data is recorded so that we can see what needs to be done and in what specific areas. Where we know there are vast disparities, as we have seen with employment, often seen as out of poverty, I would like to see concerted efforts being made to bridge the gap between white Scots and ethnic minority groups. We know that ethnic minorities outperform in education compared to white Scots, but when it comes to the labour market, things drastically change. BME people are often clustered into lower-grade part-time jobs, and while Scots have employment rates of 74.2 per cent, that figure plummets to 58.5 per cent for ethnic minority groups. Discrimination still exists in both the private and public sector. A career study evidence that, for local authority jobs, even after the interview stage, white candidates were almost twice as likely to be appointed as BME candidates. A 2009 DWP study found that, despite submitting the same application, people with a BME name had to submit 16 job applications, compared with nine for those with a white name before response. That is still unacceptable. As we heard from the 16-year-old Charlotte at the Equality and Human Rights Committee last week, as a gypsy traveller, she felt compelled to hide her ethnicity when starting work at a nursery. More evidently needs to be done, and I am pleased that the plan sets out actions on that. A final point that I would like to make today is about the importance of being as proactive as we possibly can when it comes to improving the life of Scotland's minority populations. During meetings where I have sought to learn about promoting diversity in public life more broadly, the need to go into communities directly has been brought up time and time again. When I met with Inspector Shakur of Police Scotland, who specialised in encouraging members of minority groups to consider a career with force, I was truly inspired to hear about his efforts in breaking boundaries and speaking to everyone in the community, whether that be faith leaders, parents and potential new recruits. I was inspired by the passion of Inspector Shakur, who really showed me that to encourage diversity in employment and public representation is about getting into those communities and showing that you care. To conclude today, I would like once again to thank the Scottish Government for bringing this issue forward to reinstate the Parliament's efforts in bringing full racial equality. It is important to have an honest debate around this subject and to talk openly about what we can do to achieve the aim set out in the motion on amendments. There has been some progress made in recent years, but on a number of fronts we still need to see progress stagnating. That is something that I hope that more focused action can bring about improvement on. I move the amendment to my name. Thank you very much. I call Pauline McNeill to speak to move amendment 9529.3. Ms McNeill, five minutes please. Fifty years after the introduction of Britain's first legislation aimed at tackling inequality for minority ethnic people, they still face serious disadvantages in their daily lives. Higher rates of poverty, as we have heard, lower rates of employment and a range of health inequalities dominate the picture. What is more, the lack of minority ethnic visibility in every aspect of public life is shocking and is a testament to the failures of public policy and successive governments. When it comes to political life, as Annie Wells has already said, it is shocking to find that there were actually two councillors down from the previous local election and, in fact, based on that 4 per cent of the minority ethnic community, there should in fact be 49 minority ethnic councillors in Scotland to reflect the population. Sadly, we will only have three female councillors who are minority ethnic. Similarly, only 1 per cent of police Scotland officers are staff from a minority ethnic background. There is something seriously wrong here and there has to be something in the action plan that means something to get that figure up. Despite the reality, the action on race equality has fallen off the agenda. The Government's framework for race equality is long overdue. The debate is long overdue in this Parliament and I have to express a frustration that the debate is reduced to a near and a half slot. I think that I would have preferred that the debate is delayed so that we could have had longer to debate it. I recognise the framework itself. Can I just remind the member that it is the bureau that decides and that is represented by business managers across all the parties who agree the timings? I was just expressing my personal view that, given the importance of the issue— I think that it is famous to say that it is agreed across the chamber by the business managers. I still stand by what I have said, which is that I would have preferred that the debate was delayed because I just think that it is such an important debate for the Parliament. The framework itself is a very positive thing, but, if I am honest, the document really needs to try and set out a clearer vision. I know that the Government tried to do that in the action plan. I agree that what appears to be missing from this approach is any serious monitoring of what progress we might make along the way, and the Labour amendment tries to address that. We will also be supporting the Tory amendment this evening. Another aspect that can be lost in this debate is how diverse the problem is. The fact that the minority ethnic population is around 4 per cent tells us very little about the problem. Organisations such as Beamus would argue that that figure is higher if we include the Polish and Irish communities and those from the AAC countries such as Romania and Bulgaria. African and Polish communities are much more likely to be in low-paid jobs, but minority ethnic women are doubly disadvantaged. Gypsy travelers, included in the definition under the act, are a very small group. As the cabinet secretary has said already, they face extremely high levels of discrimination when compared with other groups, and I welcome her announcement today. It is essential that different aspects of the needs of each community are analysed and that it is not simply seen as a hierarchical problem in nature. Minority ethnic people are twice as likely to be in poverty. Indeed, one-third are in poverty after housing costs compared with 18 per cent of non-minority ethnic communities, and they have a lower rate of benefit take-up. Racism and disadvantage is deep-rooted. It is the cycle of hidden or unconscious bias in all levels of society that need to be seriously challenged of where to make progress. Scotland is not that different from the rest of the UK when it comes to institutionalised racism. Women and girls is one of the areas that I would like to ask for deeper analysis. There is a lack of disaggregated data, and the Scottish economy, as we know, is highly segregated. Ethnic minority women are underrepresented in the lead sectors of the knowledge economy, including science. 39 per cent of Pakistani women are in the wholesale retail sector. 56 per cent of Chinese women are concentrated in the hotel sector. Girls have a higher level of attainment than boys in BMA groups. In fact, they have a higher level of attainment amongst all groups. We need to have a very serious look to see how we can make that matter to those groups of girls. Close the gap noted that there is a concentration of women in low-paid professions and that they are significantly underrepresented in senior roles. Minority ethnic women experience a double barrier of racism and sexism, and it makes it difficult to find work that matches their qualifications, despite, as I said earlier, achieving their higher qualifications. I recognise that the work that the Government is doing, Labour Benches will be supporting the Government motion today and, of course, as I said, the Tory motion. We need to start making real progress in this area, and I hope that we will start very, very soon. I don't think that you moved your amendment. I move the Labour amendment in my name. Thank you very much. Open debate. Speeches of four minutes, please. Can I remind members that if you have not pressed your request to speak button, it follows you have not requested to speak, Mr Dornan. I call Clare Haughey, followed by Graham Simpson. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Today's debate, and indeed the publication of the race equality action plan, sends a strong message to those from ethnic minority backgrounds that the Scottish Government is resolute in making our country a better and fairer place, no matter your background or race. The strategy sets out many positive steps that will be taken over the coming years to drive real and lasting change, and it will strive to ensure that all are able to realise their true potential. It is a plan that contains no less than 120 different actions, from employment to education, health to housing and poverty to public representation, showing the Scottish Government's clear commitment in improving every aspect of a person's life. We have come a long way over the last few decades in reducing racial inequalities, but it is a disappointing reality that those from underrepresented backgrounds still face poorer outcomes than the majority of Scots. For example, in the year ending June 2017, the employment rate in Scotland for white people was 74 per cent. However, for ethnic minority groups, the employment rate is much lower at 58 per cent. Stats also showed that, while one in five people defined as white British living poverty, over one in three from minority backgrounds do so. People from such communities are twice as likely to be unemployed, and if we tackle the inequalities and discrimination within the labour market, many other linked inequalities can be alleviated to. Our aspiration is not simply to move those marginalised into employment, but to ensure that they are employed in jobs that are appropriate for their level of skills, qualifications and their experience. One of the most marginalised groups in Scotland currently is the Gypsy Traveller community, as we have heard. The most recent Scottish social attitudes survey found that 34 per cent of people in Scotland believed that Gypsy Travellers were unsuitable to be a primary school teacher, while 31 per cent would be unhappy if a relative married a Gypsy Traveller. Just for one moment, Presiding Officer, let us reflect on those findings. If this was any other community, there would be a social outcry, and those holding such views would be taken to task. Such attitudes are not easily changed when a former Tory MSP, now an MP, voiced similar views himself. When asked if he were Prime Minister for the day and if there were no repercussions, then what would he do? Douglas Ross responded that he would like to see tougher enforcement against Gypsy Travellers. The Gypsy Traveller community are a huge part of Scotland's rich cultural heritage, and Mr Ross should be ashamed by the way he signalled out the group. The discrimination against them sadly seems accepted and normalised by many, and therefore I welcome the commitments made by this report to tackle that. In addition to financially supporting organisations that work to improve outcomes for Gypsy Travellers, the Scottish Government will also, as we have heard, establish a ministerial working group specifically to drive forward improvements for this community. Such steps show the Scottish Government's leadership in advancing race equality. My constituency of Rutherglen is home to Scotland's second largest settlement of show people. Show people for centuries have toured the country, providing entertainment and other services to local communities, taking pride in their strong, unique cultural identity. I doubt that there is a member here in the chamber who does not have a childhood or even a more recent memory of a trip to the shows. From the constituents that I have spoken with and from the discussions that we have had in the showman's guild cross-party group, many of the community would wish to be able to identify themselves as distinct peoples. The option to identify oneself as white Gypsy Traveller was included for the first time in the Scottish 2011 census, and that is a step that I welcome. However, many show people also wished their community to be granted equal status and acknowledgement in any further census. The show people identity can often be misunderstood, and therefore any steps to increase their knowledge of theirs and different minorities and cultures should be welcomed. Thank you very much. I call Graeme Simson, and I will call by Coulter McGregor. Mr Simpson, please. Thank you. I can also welcome the debate, but I agree with Pauline McNeill that it is a shame that it has been shoehorned into the end of the afternoon. As Annie Wells said, we will be supporting the Government's motion. You do not really need to say any more than the first few words of that motion that no one should be marginalised or discriminated against because of their race or background. Calliano Lyles addressing race inequality in Scotland the way forward is an important document. It is a useful and detailed outline of some of the key challenges. Can I also welcome the race equality action plan in which the cabinet secretary states, quotes, that the reality is that in Scotland today, people from minority ethnic communities are twice as likely to be unemployed, run a higher risk of poverty and are more likely to live in overcrowded homes? It is housing that I want to concentrate my remarks on today. First, some statistics taken from both reports. In Scotland, white, other British, Pakistani and white Scottish ethnic groups had the highest levels of home ownership, 70, 68 and 68 per cent respectively in 2011. The African and white gypsy traveller groups had the highest proportions of people who lived in social rented accommodation, 41 per cent. That was double the rate in the population as a whole. White Polish, Bangladeshi and African households had the highest rates of overcrowding. Ms Lyles says that people from minority ethnic communities are disproportionately likely to live in the private rented sector, but that we know little as to why this is the case. She recommends that research is done to explore the gap between what minority ethnic communities need, what they have and why. Accurate data is important, as our amendment points out. Ms Lyles suggests that the Scottish Government should consider setting aside a proportion of the affordable housing investment fund to allow for the provision of larger properties for minority ethnic communities in those local authority areas that are failing to do that. Ms Constance does not go quite as far as this in her own series of action points, and I think that she is probably right in the tone that she sets. We need to treat everybody in housing need fairly based on accurate data. Ms Lyles also addresses the crucial area of housing quality and focuses on the private rented sector. She says that we have the legislation required to target housing quality improvement in those sectors where minority ethnic communities predominate. What is now needed is better enforcement of that legislation, and she calls for the Scottish Government to do an assessment of the enforcement of private rented sector regulations and report on the findings. As members across the chamber have said previously, housing conditions and maintenance is a huge issue. We should not limit our discussion on this to particular sections of society or indeed particular forms of tenure. The issue is massive and needs to be seen as such, although it is clearly a particular issue for certain sections of society. Deputy Presiding Officer, I said at the start that I welcome the race equality action plan. However, like most Government documents, it is heavy on waffle, particularly the housing section, and light on detail. However, if we back that motion, we can truly have a chance of achieving race equality. I also hear what the member had to say about the length of the debate. Can I suggest that Graham Simpson and Pauline McNeill will take that up with their respective business managers, because that is the only way that those arrangements come about for timings? If they are not happy, they should take it up with them so that they do not have this happen next time. That is not a point of order, Ms McNeill. Since you intervened in my speech twice to say that, I just wanted to know if any rules had been broken. I hear the Presiding Officer saying that we should raise it a bit. I think that it is a point of clarification to the chamber. I hear that parties are unhappy about the length of timeness debate. The resolution for that is to speak to your business managers who agree the timings for all the debates in the chamber. That is an issue for all parties here. Every party in here has their business manager represented at the bureau meeting who decides the timings for debates. It was for clarification for the chamber about why this is a short debate. I now call Fulton MacGregor Folbaugh Annas Sarwar. I agree wholeheartedly with the motion and that Scotland should be a country that is proud of its record of striving for equality. We should continue to endeavour to be a country that nurtures good relations within communities, supports interfaith activities, and tackles prejudices and attitudes that foster intolerance and hate crime. Scotland should be a place where individuals from a variety of backgrounds can live and raise their families safely and without fear of prejudice. Further, more people of all faiths and ethnic backgrounds should be able to follow their religion or beliefs without bigotry or bias from others. The race equality framework for Scotland shows a real commitment from this Government to tackling the barriers that are faced in achieving race equality and in tackling racism and addressing the obstacles that prevent people from minority ethnic communities from realising their potential. In terms of employment barriers, I believe that private companies should report not just in their gender pay gap but in gender, race and disability. We should be ensuring that the Scottish living wage is paid across all sectors, particularly in those where significant numbers of workers from BME backgrounds are present. Many such citizens are the most economically active but, as others have said, are residing disproportionately in poverty. However, it is even getting into work in the first place, Presiding Officer. Someone who has spoken to me as a constituency case from Iran has a degree in interior architecture and design and a master's in construction management, yet he has experienced significant barriers getting into that line of work. Why? Is it because she is female? Is it because she is from a BME background? I am not sure, but that is something that we need to address. I also believe that modern apprenticeship programmes should continue to ensure that it is putting measures in place to achieve equality objectives by continuing perhaps broadening the strategic intervention across both marketing and integration to the world of work. I would also like to take this opportunity to highlight that I am the convener of the cross-party group on racial equality, taken over from a predecessor, Bob Doris. I would like to thank the vast array of organisations far too many to mention that make up this group and contribute, but particularly the coalition for racial equality and rights, in particular, Yatin, Rebecca and Carol, who make sure that the cross-party group functions well. The group aims to provide a forum for issues relating to race and anti-racism and to seek solutions to discrimination faced by Scotland's black minority and ethnic communities. As a wee plug, the next meeting is the 23rd of January, and I would encourage all MSPs who have contributed today's debate and wider to come along. I am on that issue for the next cross-party group meeting. There is an invite that has just been put into the cabinet secretary and Cillunny Lyle, so I hope that their diaries will permit them to come along and discuss the framework. Of course, some of the speakers that we have had at previous meetings have included Ms Lyle. She came and done an excellent presentation while forming the debate that we are here today about. However, what I think is fair in my position is convenient. It is only fair that I highlight the overall feeling in the room by members, which I think can be put into some broad areas. Scotland has improved over time. However, progress is very slow. People from BME communities in particular still feel the strain of prejudice in a wide range of areas, including welfare, justice and education systems. For example, there is a disconnect between individual diverse communities. That has come up quite a lot through the cross-party group. Those communities do not want lip service in talking shops. They want elected members, parliamentarians and others to take their thoughts and views seriously. I think that that is what this framework brought forward by the Government and the cabinet secretary does. I can actually see them thrown out of time. I was going to speak about the Gypsy Traver community that we spoke about in the group as well, but I know that my colleague Claire Hawkey has eloquently covered that. I think that, in summary, one of the most important actions is for a zero-tolerance approach to discrimination to be employed. It just does not go for the general public, but for employers, health care providers, planning bodies and our range of people across the public sector. I call Anna Sarwar to be followed by John Finnie. Can I be clear that my comments today are not a criticism of the minister, or indeed of the good intentions of the civil servants, or indeed of the action plan? I welcome the action plan and the points in the action plan, but I want to reflect on my own lived experience and stories that are shared with me by family, friends and also constituents. Although I think that the aims in the plan are noble, I think that there is a wider institutional problem that needs to be addressed. Let's take this Parliament as an example. We have had five parliamentary elections, and in that time we have only elected four different ethnic minority members to this chamber, all from Glasgow, all from South Asia background, all Muslim and all male. In the entire history of the Westminster Parliament we have only ever elected three ethnic minority members to Westminster. You might say two from the same family, perhaps, negates some of it, but, as it stands, we have zero representation of ethnic minorities from Scotland in the UK Parliament. Anyone who is from an ethnic minority that has represented any political party in this chamber or in Westminster will tell you that we are actually nervous when it comes to talking about race, because part of it is a belief that we need to express ourselves as being representatives of all communities, not just the community that we come from. That is why we avoid talking about race. I can be honest—I am nervous about talking about race today in this Parliament, and, as people know, I do not often get nervous about many things. What I want to speak about is what I think is, at times, a Scottish exceptionalism. I do not think that we as a country or a society should actually talk about race the way we should. I do not think that our chattering classes talk about race. I do not think that the media talks about race. We rightly all repeat the line that Scotland is an open, diverse and inclusive country, but that should not blind us with the challenges that are in Scotland as well. It sometimes feels as if we talk ourselves up as being different and better than other places when, in actual fact, there is good and bad in every country. You do not become any more or less a racist when you go past a border just past Carlyle. We have good and bad in all our countries. The other difficulty is that, when ethnic minority people do talk about race, because it is not talked about in wider society, because it is not talked about in our wider country, because it is not talked about in our media, we often get accused of playing the race card when we do. I welcome and I celebrate and I join in all those campaigns around everyday sexism, very important, around everyday homophobia. What about the discussions about everyday racism that takes place? We have all heard it. I am not a racist, but I know you say you are Scottish, but one of my personal favourites. I cannot be a racist. I have black friends or, as someone said to me just a few weeks ago, this is particularly worrying. I cannot be a racist. I teach black children. The reality is that we have seen reduction in racial hate crimes in our communities, but we have seen an increase in religious hate crimes instead, often transferring that hatred on to a different form of different. Islamophobic hate crimes have doubled in the last year in Scotland, and that is impacting particularly on women and women who wear a headscarf. I do not have time, but I would go into more detail out of some of the examples of the challenges that we face around police Scotland. We have already heard the statistics, so I will not cover them again. However, we need to measure and address the wider institutional issues that we face, not just action but how we change and challenge a different culture. We are not just talking about the proportion in the wider workforce that represents the BME, but examining the proportion that is representative in lead roles. I have experience in the past three months of a certain campaign. I will not go into the details of that today, at some point perhaps in the future, when I think that I am more confident to do so and may speak about some of it. However, the question that needs to be asked is how many CEOs of companies in Scotland are ethnic minorities? How many chairs of public bodies in Scotland are ethnic minorities? How many chief executives of councils or government departments in Scotland are ethnic minorities? How many departmental directors are ethnic minorities? How many special advisers are ethnic minorities? How many staff that run political parties are ethnic minorities? How many university or college principals are ethnic minorities? How many school head teachers are ethnic minorities? How many editors or producers are ethnic minorities in Scotland? The answer to each and every single one of them is either none or next to none. That is not acceptable and that needs to be addressed in a wider society. I want to say a lot more now is not the time perhaps at some point in the future. I appreciate that and that is why I let you have longer in that particular speech. John Finnie, to be followed by Alec Cole-Hamilton, please. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. I very much welcome this debate and the comments that have been alluded to earlier, no one should be marginalised or discriminated against. I proposed an amendment to this and the amendment was to insert recognises the failure of successive Governments to eradicate long-standing and deep-seated prejudice against gypsy travellers. I have a lot of engagement with the gypsy traveller community, most of whom call themselves Scottish travellers. I think that it would be childish not to say that there has been a lot of progress in this and I welcome the leadership that the Cabinet Secretary has taken on this. I do not think that we can look forward without always looking back and I want to allude to documents that were made available to the equal opportunities who held a briefing the other morning there and it was about the historic situation that gypsy travellers found themselves in. This was a housing experiment and I am very grateful to Roseanna and Sheamus McPhee. Not that I should need to say this but that it is highly educated and talented people, both unemployed and gypsy travellers. I am going to read a couple of passages from the letter of a mate. This is a letter on 19 March 1954. After working among this class of people for the past 17 years, I fully appreciate the general opinion that the majority of the nomad families have not many redeeming features. Nevertheless, if we are to tolerate such a way of life in our midst, they may must provide suitable camping sites for this class of people. Further on, this property is 12 miles from Bairglourie, and I suggest that it would be ideal for a tinker settlement, which I can see as the only solution to the tinker problem. I am sure that this proposed small tinker settlement would at least be part of the solution to this grievous problem in our midst and would be an example to other counties as to how to tackle the tinker problem. This was written to the county clerk, and if I tell you it was written by a gentleman who signed himself William Webb, he will chaplain to the tinker. That tells you all you need to know about the standing. I would say in relation to that that no one should be marginalised and discriminated against. How do our Gypsy Traveller communities feel about that at the moment? In a briefing that was prepared for the recent session of the Equal Opportunities Committee, I was previously a member in the last session, it alluded to two of the reports that have taken place Gypsy Travellers in care and where Gypsy Travellers live. We heard stories, and it is not unique to the Gypsy Traveller community about medical practitioners refusing to treat Gypsy Travellers. Gypsy Travellers are being turned away from accident and emergency, and we know that there is limited information, so we support the Conservative position about data, but there is limited information. If you know that the Irish Traveller movement has gathered a lot of information, I commend the yellow flag system that I have commended to the Scottish Government in the past. If I could only find my note, it talks about encouraging an environment of interculturalism. Those are still different people. Those are the folk that part their trailers in Les Mises beside main roads. Why do they do that? They do not choose to go in industrial estates. They no longer have access to their historic stopover sites. Local authorities have a mixed position on that, and local authorities have obligations to assess housing need. I have had challenges with that in my area. Highland Council has four sites. One of the sites suffered a lot of damage. I raised this with them when they were going to sort it. They said that there was no need. I said, how did you establish the need? We will cut along to the short. It is all being sorted. When I passed on Friday night, the site was full of families, and that is good to see. I would say that the political leadership that all those reports have called for is absolutely needed. I get that no-one wants a bunfight over whose responsibility is planning a matter that is reserved to local authorities, but someone has to grasp that because we all need to live somewhere and we all need to have access. If your lifestyle is genuinely going to be facilitated, there is no reason that a nomadic lifestyle cannot be supported in this day and age. That will require people to either seize power or seize power, but either way, we need that change. It also requires political leadership, and whilst we are happy to support the Conservative Party tonight, it needs political leadership. Douglas Ross has been alluded to. There are not many of us who get the opportunity to say, if you have charge of things for the day, what would you do? That was not a spontaneous outburst. There was something deep seated there, and that was a history of involvement with planning issues in Murray, indeed. This week, I read, and you will excuse my language, that the Conservative Party had restored the whip to the MP Anne-Marie Morris, who apparently used the N-word. We need leadership. We had an excellent speech from Anne Sarwar. We need to change things. You will get full back in, cabinet secretary, for the plans that you have here, if we can deliver on them. I, too, welcome today's debate, and I very much thank the Scottish Government for using their time to allow the Parliament the opportunity to consider the race equality action plan published this week. All told, the 120 action points recommended by the plan represent the distance that we, as a nation, still have to travel in respect of our efforts to eradicate racial inequality and discrimination in this country. I have quoted the words of Coretta Scott King in his chamber before when she said that the struggle for equality is never truly over. You have to win it with each and every generation. When the president of the United States, the putative leader of the free world, takes it upon himself to retweet the vile, fabricated and hate-filled videos of Britain First, designed to incite hatred against Islam, that should serve as a weather vane for where our generation's struggle shall lie. The action plan gives us both the measure of the task before us in Scotland and, in the main, presents a road map of how to get there. It speaks to a range of frontiers that we need to collectively make progress on. The calamitous decision to exit the EU has emboldened the far right in this country and has led to an uptick in religious intolerance, race and hate crimes. While that has predominantly been manifest south of the border, we do our communities a disservice if we believe that this increase has only been manifest in England. I welcome the plan and pledge the support of those benches in its execution. We do well to listen to organisations such as the Commission for Racial Equality who point out the gaps in the plan and in our existing provision for people from ethnic minorities, particularly in areas such as mental health. As such, it is important that the plan remains a living, breathing document, open to continuous improvement from all quarters. In the time that I have left to me, I want to pick up the words of John Finnie and address indeed the particular aspects of the Government motion that are not necessarily fully addressed in the plan itself in respect of gypsy travellers. We often forget that they too are afforded protections in the Equalities Act under the protected characteristic of race and ethnicity. As vice convener of the Equalities and Human Rights Committee, it was my privilege to take evidence last week from a range of representatives from the Scottish Gypsy Traveller community. John Finnie was very welcome to join us on that occasion. I am not overstating things, Deputy Presiding Officer, when I say that it amounted to two of the most informative hours of my career in this place, that gypsies and travellers can trace their origins in Scotland before the time of the Vikings gives them an indigenous status here that is nearly unparalleled, but yet they still experience what amounts to, in the words of David Donaldson, who was their fiercely articulate representative at the meeting, the last acceptable form of racism in this country. David is 19 and, as a nomadic traveller, has seen the rights and interests of his people and other communities of gypsies and travellers in this community steadily eroded over that short period of time. He is currently studying for an undergraduate degree in social anthropology at the University of Aberdeen, but prior to that he held a youth council representative role. On one occasion, he attended a meeting around planning in the city, and he asked about the needs of the traveller community. Not knowing that he himself was a traveller, the senior city figure chairing that meeting replied to him by saying, and I quote, son, the first rule of planning that you need to understand is that nobody cares about the tanks. That was just two years ago. It is almost unimaginable that a city leader would use such a pejorative or derisory turn about any other race or ethnicity, yet that attitude has manifest in the number of sites that have been closed to travellers in the last two decades, and we have heard something of that this afternoon. The open abuse and name calling, the normalisation of name calling that they are subjected to in schools and communities, and in the prejudice that they still experience in trying to obtain full-time employment. It struck me that, while our society is, to my mind, very much enriched by these communities, we persistently failed them in the formulation of public policy. The cabinet secretary, in her opening remarks, talked of the disenfranchisement of that community. I would ask this chamber, if you are nomadic in Scotland, for example, who represents your interests in this place? Who is your MSP? Who do you go to for support? Those are issues that I look forward to addressing as we deliver the action plan. I thank the Government again for raising this important issue today, and I once again ensure the Government's support for its motion and both of the amendments before us tonight. I would like to welcome the publication of the race equality plan, and, as many of the speakers before me have said, in particular, the focus on the inequality and discrimination experienced by gypsy travellers. Presently in Scotland, gypsy travellers experience particular disadvantage in many areas that are not only limited to housing, health, employment and education, and it is saddening and frustrating to see how many of the problems they experience are cyclical in nature. As reported by Shelter Scotland, there are currently no official transit sites where travellers can stop over, while many council run sites are situated in bad locations, and have inadequate facilities and limited access to services. That means, as John Finnie has already said, that they often have to stop in unauthorised areas, which leads to problems in confrontation with local communities, making the initial problem harder to resolve. It is encouraging to see the action already taken and the progress made here in Scotland, the recognition of gypsy travellers as an ethnic minority, recognising their individual culture, traditions and ethnicity, as well as ensuring that they are receiving the equality law protection that they are entitled to due to that protected characteristic. The guidance that was published to local authorities in May this year, the establishment of the Scottish Traveller Education Review Group and the incorporation of minimum-site standards into the Scottish social housing charter. That being said, it must be pointed out that so much of the work carried out on the gypsy traveller strategy was subject to numerous delays, and that must be avoided in the future. We still have a long way to go in this area, and we must tackle the false and damaging prejudice that exists around gypsy travellers. It must be shown that common and insidious assumptions about this group of people cannot and must not be tolerated. I would like to invite those in the chamber to imagine themselves in this position. You notice that your son's homework is repeatedly not being marked by his teacher, so you express your concerns. As you leave the school, you are the same teacher at the gate, saying, I do not know why she is complaining, I know he is a gypsy, he is not going to do anything with it anyway. And Alec Cole-Hamilton told this story, but I am going to tell it again because it is worthwhile repeating it. That young boy grows up. He is at a community planning executive meeting as vice chair of the local youth council. He is 16. It was his first time there, and nobody knew he was a traveller. They were discussing national health service provision in rural and marginalised communities, so he decides to ask a question. What about the gypsy traveller community? The whole table went silent and then the line. Here is your son. Here is your first lesson. No one cares about the tinks. And these are just two examples that were relayed to the Qualities and Human Rights Committee last week. It is still happening, and in some sectors it is getting worse. Lack of access to healthcare education, social services, jobs, sometimes even sanitary services and running water. It is acknowledged in the report that discrimination against gypsy travellers is far more accepted and normalised than that directed at other minority ethnic groups. Those given evidence last week told us that the treatment that they face is the last acceptable form of racism. Mary Fee. Thank you. I am grateful to the member for taking the intervention. I absolutely agree with the comment that Gail Ross has just made and others have made about the discrimination that gypsy travellers face. Many members in the chamber will know that I have a particular interest in the plight of gypsy travellers. The chamber has a strong record when it works together to tackle discrimination and to tackle inequality. Does the member agree that it is now time for the whole chamber to unite to tackle the discrimination that gypsy travellers face? Quickly, please, Ms Ross. I could not agree more. The Scottish Government prides itself on its inclusive values and has repeatedly acted in demonstrating that, such as the reassurance offer to EU nationals living in Scotland after Brexit and our apology and pardon to gay men with historical convictions, among other things. I welcome the measures in the action plan to move to achieving real, tangible progress that we can all be proud of and promote tolerance amongst everyone in our society, including and particularly towards the gypsy traveller community. The last of the open debate contributions from Alexander Stewart. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I am delighted to be taking part in today's important debate on race equality. It is absolutely vital that Scotland should be a tolerant, welcoming society and that nobody should be discriminated against because of their race or their background. That is why it is vitally important that we engage with people and ask them to come forward and speak honestly about what is happening and the topic that we are discussing today. Race inequality can affect every aspect of a person's life. People from ethnic minorities can face discrimination and challenges when attempting to secure housing, enter the workplace or even access transport. Those are basic functions that we would expect to have in a normal society. If we are putting barriers up against individuals for that, that is totally unacceptable. It is important for us all to look at the wide range of issues that affect ethnic minorities when we address that issue. The introduction of a joint ministerial working group is very much welcome and recognises that those issues cannot be viewed in isolation. Race inequality cuts across ministerial portfolios and the fact must be borne that we must bear that in mind when we are talking about policy decisions. The new working group should help to ensure that that happens and that the tackling of race inequality is a top priority for this Government and for this Parliament as we go forward. Over the past few decades, we have come a long way in terms of tackling race inequality, but there is still some way to go. Recent events over recent months have been very worrying and members this afternoon have alluded to some of the situations and circumstances that have taken place that cause us real concern. Addressing race inequality in Scotland the way forward by the independent race equality adviser is a comprehensive publication and gives real direction to where we should be focusing our efforts, focusing our efforts on working together, focusing our efforts on making communities feel safe and focusing our efforts in supporting individuals. The Scottish Conservative amendment today asks for members to recognise the importance of continually improving the data that we have, and that is vitally important, because that shows exactly what we can do if we take the information and use it to our advantage. The report cites previous examples of data collection with the equalities at evidence strategy and calls for the Scottish Government to act. Tackle the gaps that we have and identify the strategy. I very much welcome the new funding that is there, and it will be transforming, but we have to work together to make sure that that becomes a reality. Moreover, the report talks about the Scottish Government showing leadership across the public sector to improve the collection of the data, and that has to be looked at to ensure that we have that. The gathering of that type of data is incredibly important to both identifying and then, more importantly, tackling such inequalities. I hope that all members across the chamber can support our amendment today, and I see the opportunities that it brings. In conclusion, it has been very encouraging to hear many of the comments here in the chamber today, because people understand the real issues that are being faced by some individuals in our communities. I am pleased to see the Scottish Government doing so, and the Scottish Conservatives will be supporting the entirety of the Scottish Government's motion here today with our small addition. We must do all that we can, and I support the amendment in Annie Wells's name, but we must focus on the action plan, making things better, improving the lives of individuals, improving the lives of groups that feel disenfranchised, that feel that they have got barriers put in front of them. Therefore, it is up to us to make a difference and, working together, we can achieve that. I welcome the debate and the publication of the race equality action plan, which now provides a framework for how we improve the lives and experiences of minority ethnic communities in Scotland. Like the cabinet secretary, I want to pay particular thanks to Calianne Lyle and the coalition for racial equality and rights for their contributions to the report and to the debate. Given that the debate follows what has been a momentous day in the chamber, it would be frustrating if today's budget overshadows some of the important contributions that we have heard particularly from Annas Sarwar and a range of excellent speakers about the discrimination that is faced by the Gypsy Traveller community. The Government can count on the support of Labour members in the chamber when it takes concrete actions to advance in racial equality, which is precisely why we have called on the Government to confirm on the record that it will review and evaluate its progress in delivering on those actions. Equally, I hope that, as work progresses, the Government takes actions on Ms Lyle's fifth recommendation, which is that directors of service review previous initiatives that would help us all to learn valuable lessons and to build improvements into its work. For instance, why employment targets in the 2008 Scottish Government race equality statement were not met? What is clear from the report is that many of those actions are embedded with an existing project. That shows that the important work that the Government is already doing to act on its equality duties is to be welcomed. We look forward to the detail of how the plan will be funded and supported and also how that work can be optimised or made to stand alone. I think that that will be crucial. Headline statistics in the plans section on employment housing, community cohesion and poverty, that isolates starkly where minority ethnic communities face the greatest disadvantage, a 15 per cent gap in the employment rate, more insecure and overcrowded housing, 50 per cent higher poverty, while experiencing hate crimes on average 10 a day, highlighted by Annie Wells, Pauline McNeill and others. With next week's stage 1 debate on the social security bill just around the corner, I wanted to quickly concentrate on some of the actions under section 5. Particularly welcome is the commitment that the experience panels will be fully representative. When I asked earlier in the autumn, monitoring work hadn't begun, so I would be grateful if ministers were able to confirm it if that's now under way. I would also consider racial equality alongside social security. It's alarming that minority ethnic groups are on one hand more likely to be in poverty as their white peers, but on the other hand have a lower rate of benefit uptake. We've worked with the Government to call for a legal duty to increase awareness and uptake. That call builds on a key recommendation of the Scottish Government's poverty adviser. One of the areas that has achieved broad agreement on the social security committee is that legislation should include a right to independent advocacy. We back that call for all users and recognise just how important it will be. The social security system is just about to get a lot more complex. For communities who already face barriers to access, if they can be aided by support to help them in any way at all to get the most out of the new Scottish social security system, that would be most welcome. I hope that, alongside our support, the Government will take on board what Labour members have said about strengthening and measuring the action plan and improving progress through regular reporting to Parliament and asking members to support the amendment in the name of Pauline McNeill. The press gallery is long since empty and the Rabiland Theatre of this chamber has somewhat died down. Discussing race equality does not fill the newspapers the way that our gibardgy over income tax does, but to the people to whom this debate matters, this debate is more important. We like to think that here in Scotland we are a progressive and tolerant society in many ways. However, today's debate demonstrates that we cannot take our eye off the ball. As the size of the ethnic minority communities in Scotland grows, the issue of inequality and equality becomes more and more apparent. In 2011, the BME population accounted for 4 per cent of Scotland's population, but that was six years ago. The most of the BME population is as diverse as any other part of society. There are distinct problems facing each community within it. As Annie Wells highlighted, by identifying specific issues facing specific groups, this Parliament has the ability to make a real difference by prioritising resources and targeting them at areas that need them most in the hope of tackling inequalities. The cabinet secretary opened today's debate by pointing out some of the disparities in equality in minority groups. For example, they are twice as likely to be unemployed in Scotland, despite the high prevalence of attainment in education. The cabinet secretary rightly points out that teachers do not feel that they are adequately equipped to deal with and tackle some of the existential racism that students face as they progress from study into their careers. Pauline McNeill pointed out that BME people are twice as likely to be in poverty and have a lower rate of social security take-up. That is an interesting point. There is no doubt complex and often cultural reasons for this, but clearly there is still work that we can do in outreach and increasing awareness of what support is available to people. Graham Simpson raised an interesting point about housing and why accurate date is needed. He made a point about whether or not the affordable investment fund housing will tackle the specific needs of extended families. Fulton MacGregor shared a story with us about how an educated and very suitably qualified young lady from an ethnic background struggled to find work in her field. He mentioned that if you have an ethnic name on a CV or a cover letter, you have to write to twice as more employers before getting an interview. I find that quite shocking. What do we do as politicians to change that when we are not in those rooms or in the heads of recruiters in the private sector? Does he believe that the one thing that we can do as elected members is to watch the content of what we are saying especially against minority communities? Jamie Greene I agree with that. We have a duty to call out inequality, racism and all forms of homophobia where we see it in the workplace and the streets, even in our own homes or family environments, but especially on social media as well. I would like to point out today an outstanding mention to Anasawa, who gave us a very personal take on things. We have had five parliamentary elections in Scotland and only elected four members from ethnic backgrounds. I did not know that. I did not know that we have zero and Westminster at the moment. That shows, given the percentage of the population that I mentioned earlier, how little progress we have made in that respect. He said that there is nervousness about talking about race in Scotland. I think that therein lies the problem. Are we blinded by talking about how open-minded we think we are? We talk about sexism, we talk about homophobia, we talk about inequality on an almost daily basis in Hollywood. Do we do so at the peril of failing to discuss race? The things are not all doom and gloom. It is good news that hate crime fell 10 per cent between 2015 and 2016-17, and that is to be welcome. Perhaps in closing I could make a plea to my fellow MSPs that working groups, reports, strategies, advisers and so on are always very welcome and positive. What are we doing to change attitudes? To tackle stigma? To call out racism inequality when we see it or when we hear it? Or when we come across it in everyday life? Saying nothing is just as bad as doing nothing, in my view. I hope that we can find more time in the chamber to discuss this important issue, because I want us to look back collectively, putting our political differences aside, at the end of this parliamentary session, and to be very proud of the work that we have done collectively in delivering race equality in Scotland. I thank all members for their very considered and thoughtful contributions to the debate this afternoon. I welcome and I am very grateful that there is an appetite for continued debate, because it is fair to say that, when you look at race equality or race inequality, you could legitimately have a whole afternoon's debate about race equality and employment, race equality and housing, race equality and the planning system, race equality and health inequalities and so forth. I very much look forward to further debates, and the invitation from the cross-party working group from Fulton MacGregor. I have to say that Jamie Greene's contribution was excellent, and he is absolutely right. It is imperative that we measure our action plans against the reality of lived experience, because I, for one, never for a minute came into politics to produce action plans or Government strategies. We need them, but it is how they are implemented and how they are monitored to ensure that they are implemented and that that leads to real action and change on the ground. It is imperative that we encapsulate the real lived experience of people from all walks of life and from all backgrounds. I concur with the sentiment that has been expressed across the chamber that there is absolutely no room for complacency. While race hate crime has indeed reduced by 10 per cent, there can be some legitimate concerns about whether there has been a displacement of that on to Islamophobic or religious hate crime for instance. I was very pleased a month or so ago to launch that the hate has no home in Scotland campaign, and a very important message in that campaign is that nobody should be a by-stander. On the point about Islamophobic hate crimes, she will have seen the report by Tell Mama that shows that Police Scotland has the fourth highest rate of Islamophobic hate crimes reported to it, received through freedom of information requests, because it does not have at the moment a data sharing agreement with Tell Mama, such as other police authorities, to request the rest of the UK. In 2017, there were 17 hate crimes, only beneath the British Transport Police, Greater Manchester Police and Metropolitan Police, Police Scotland reporting higher than every other police force across the rest of the United Kingdom. Angela Constance It is very important that we look at that test, whether the appropriate arrangements and data sharing are in place, because I am conscious that hate crime in all its forms tends to be under-reported, and that often the biggest challenge is to get people to report hate crime again in all its forms. However, I am happy to pick up the specifics of that with justice colleagues and Police Scotland. The facts of the matter are very harsh. We have heard repeatedly that our minority ethnic communities are twice as likely to be unemployed. There is a huge gap of nearly 15 per cent in the employment rate. Pauline McNeill's point about having a far closer look at the experience of women in our minority ethnic communities is important. When you look at the gap between male and female employment in the minority ethnic community, it is 24 per cent in comparison to an employment gap that does not indeed already exist within the rest of the population, but that is much exacerbated. Kezia Dugdale The Cabinet Secretary for Giving Way I wonder whether she would accept that one of the most marginalised groups in Scotland are Sikh women, and I wonder whether she has had the opportunity to visit the work of Sikh Sanjog and Edinburgh, whether she is aware that they constantly face funding problems, whether she might visit them, recognising that if this organisation closes, there will not be a single agency in Scotland to support Sikh women in particular. Angela Constance I certainly have a look at that. I know that the member has corresponded with me in the past on that specific organisation, and I have certainly structured my officers to go and engage with the organisations to see how we could be in the sphere of taking a can-do approach and how we could help. I will have another look at that if the situation has re-emerged. The facts are indeed stark. A third of our ethnic minority communities are in poverty. After housing costs, that compares to 18 per cent of the white British population. We know that ethnic minority women are hit the hardest by austerity also, and by 2020, they will have lost double the amount of money in comparison to poor white men. Of course, time and time again, members have spoken eloquently about the underrepresentation in public life and in civic life. In terms of Police Scotland, I know that in terms of their latest recruitment in September 2017, 10 per cent of the new recruits were from an ethnic minority background. Of course, we need to continue that progress. I also had the opportunity recently to engage with the fair future young persons project, who had been looking at the race equality framework and how we could work with young people, particularly in the year of young people, to address race inequality again in its many forms. Actually, I am not some really short for time, and I apologise. It is important that I say that I am accepting both amendments from the Labour Party and the Conservative Party, because I accept that there is a need for robust evidence. That is why we have got an equality evidence strategy. That equality evidence strategy is a shared responsibility between the Scottish Government's third sector, public sector and academia. It is moving to have far more concrete projects to fill those identified evidence gaps. There will indeed be an annual race equality summit and a progress report to Parliament in early 2021, because I accept the point that we need to monitor activity to ensure that we are having an impact. The final point that I want to end on, Presiding Officer, is indeed with regard to Gyps Travellers, or indeed Scottish Travellers, as John Finnie pointed out. I know that John Finnie's amendment was not selected, but I have to tell the chamber that if his amendment had been selected, I would have been back in it today. Although his amendment says that successive administrations have not effectively changed the long-standing inequalities, I accept that. I can talk about the progress that we have made working together with the Gypsy Traveller community, but we have to accept that we have not done enough or that we have not been successful in addressing the long-standing inequalities that, as somebody says, indigenous Scottish community, continue to experience. They are indeed the last bastion of acceptable racism. I believe that if you want to change something, you have got to accept it, you have got to own it, you have got to face up to it and say that that is our problem and we are determined to address it. I am determined to address it and I can assure you that every member of the ministerial working group is determined to address it. I know that Mary Fees is determined to address it and I know that John Finnie is determined to address it. Certainly the members who have participated in the debate today are determined to address it. I will remember that because we will indeed have to come back to some of the brave, to some of the courageous and some of the hard decisions that we will have to take to challenge attitudes and to make change forever for the most disenfranchised community that exists in Scotland today. Thank you.