 Mae'r oesodd y peidio ar y swyddefnyddiaeth yn mediad yn llai ar y cwmban honno fydd o'r holleryg argyrwyd ar gyfer hyn am yr hyn. Rydw i'n meddwl yn gwybraf ac yn gweithio ar gyfalu'r cwmban yn ganfodd. Rwy'n pleidio i chi wnaeth i gyfrifosu i gwybraf-wysidiaeth a fyddw y cwmban yn gweithio. Y ddechrau newid y bynnag yn ei swyddiadau i gyfarfai gydaeth yn awgaf i pyramwr ei ond the Historical Child Abusing Care Scotland Act 2021 update. The Deputy First Minister will take questions at the end of his statement, and so there should be no interventions or interruptions. I call on Deputy First Minister John Swinney. You have 10 minutes. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Following the successful passage of the Redress for Survivor's Historical Child Abusing Care Scotland Bill on 11 March, the bill received Royal Ascent on 23 April. I'm pleased today to provide an update on the development and delivery of the redress scheme, which will be established under this act. First and foremost, I want to confirm that the Scottish Government remains committed to opening the redress scheme as quickly as possible. I have previously stated that the scheme will be operational this year, opening in December at the latest, and I want to reiterate this commitment again today. To this end, last week, we laid the first set of commencement regulations to bring into force all the necessary provisions to prepare for that event. Just as the bill was developed through engagement with survivors, our approach to implementation will continue to put survivors' needs first. We know how important it is to survivors and their families that we open the scheme for applications as soon as we possibly can. There are a number of steps that we must take in order to make that possible, including setting up redress Scotland and working with survivors to make sure that the application process is as straightforward as it can be for them. Today, I will give the chamber and, importantly, survivors an update on the progress that has been made since March. Before I do that, I would like to give an update on the advance payment scheme. The advance payment scheme has been open and making payments to elderly and terminally ill survivors for over two years. I am pleased to share that, in the second year of the scheme, despite the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, a total of 219 applications were received and 166 payments were made. In total, we have now made over 600 payments to older and terminally ill survivors. We continue to take our learning from the scheme into the development of the statutory scheme to ensure that all applicants can expect the same level of service that has generated such positive feedback from survivors to date. I was asked during the committee stages of the bill to consider whether we might change the eligibility criteria for the advance payment scheme ahead of opening the new redress scheme later this year. As I set out then, any changes to the scheme must be compatible with the exceptional nature of the powers that were used to introduce it. Having carefully considered that issue, given the temporary and specific purpose of the advance payment scheme, we think that it is appropriate to leave the criteria as they are, particularly as we remain on course to open the statutory scheme on schedule. In the meantime, the temporary advance payment scheme will continue to allow elderly and terminally ill people to access financial redress up to the point that the statutory scheme opens. Moving on to the preparations for the statutory scheme, significant progress has been made since March. My officials are developing and drafting the secondary legislation that will set out some of the more technical detail on how the redress scheme and redress Scotland will work and function. That will be laid before Parliament following the summer recess for appropriate scrutiny. Work is also under way on the statutory guidance that will assist with the interpretation of the act and provide further information about the processes that will underpin the scheme. Targeted engagement is taking place with survivors and others for both the secondary legislation and guidance. Feedback received through this engagement will be taken into consideration in the development of those materials. The assessment framework is a key document that was of specific interest to members during the parliamentary passage of the bill. The framework is the document that will be used by redress Scotland to inform decision making on individually assessed payments in a fair and consistent way. We continue to develop the framework in consultation with clinical psychologists to ensure that we get this vital document correct. Similar to other redress schemes, the document will be published to provide applicants with an idea of how their individual circumstances may sit within the payment levels. We hope to publish the document in the autumn. As well as developing the secondary legislation, we have identified legislative provisions that are required for inclusion in a section 104 order under the Scotland Act 1998. Discussions with the relevant UK departments about those are well progressed. That includes legislative amendments to facilitate financial contributions from charities regulated under the law of England and Wales. Engagement also continues with the relevant UK government departments and devolved administrations to ensure that benefits, social care entitlement and tax disregards are in place for those receiving a redress payment under the scheme. It is of the utmost importance that survivors are not negatively impacted by receiving a redress payment. We are working to secure appropriate disregards before any redress payments are made under the scheme. It is also of importance to a great many survivors that redress payments include contributions from the organisations that were responsible for their care at the time of the abuse. The quality of redress for many survivors comes, at least in part, in seeing their provider make a fair and meaningful contribution. I have said before, and I will say again, that it is morally imperative that our nation collectively, including all those who played a part in the failures of the past, joins together in doing the right thing. The scheme encourages, facilitates and recognises those willing to make fair and meaningful financial contributions to redress payments to survivors. In seeking to achieve that, the Scottish Government has engaged extensively with a wide range of public and third sector organisations on the issue of participation in the scheme. A significant number of those bodies has shown real integrity in their approach to redress, and we hope to be able to reach agreements with a number of organisations in the near future. I will shortly be publishing the fair and meaningful principles that will underpin our approach to contributions. Draft heads of terms have already been provided to the principal potential contributors, and my officials are working closely with the Charities Regulator and others to draft comprehensive guidance for organisations considering being part of the scheme. We must ensure that survivors can have confidence in the agreements that will underpin the participation of care providers and other relevant bodies. In terms of the design and delivery of the scheme, the Scottish Government remains committed to ensuring that the scheme is trauma-informed, accessible and delivered with survivors' needs at its heart. Designing how the scheme will operate involves working with survivors and survivor organisations to develop, test and improve the service, including getting feedback on draft application forms and other materials. Service design specialists are working alongside officials who are responsible for recruiting staff to work in the redress scheme to make sure that the scheme looks and feels as it should and has embedded within it the principles of dignity, respect and compassion. The survivor forum will ensure that applicants have a mechanism through which to continue to provide feedback on how the scheme is operating and make recommendations for improvements. A programme of workshops has been put in place giving survivors the opportunity to help to design the survivor forum, which will be in place once the redress scheme opens. Work is also under way to have support services in place for survivors when the scheme opens, including support through the application process and access to elements of non-financial redress such as therapeutic support. The act establishes a new independent non-departmental public body called Redress Scotland to assess applications seeking redress. Work is under way to ensure that Redress Scotland has the right people, systems and processes to support its vital work. I am delighted to announce that, following an open and fair public appointments process in which survivors played a key role, I have agreed to appoint Johnnie Gwynn as chair of Redress Scotland. As many will know, Mr Gwynn is the former deputy chief constable of Police Scotland and a past director of the UK national crime agency with responsibility for tackling child exploitation. In leading the establishment of Redress Scotland, he is resolutely committed to building the type of independent and transparent organisation that is capable of delivering justice for survivors. To do so, he will work from the outset to instill a trauma-informed culture right across the organisation. I am in no doubt that he will bring the needed leadership and empathy to this key strategic role. Recruitment is also taking place for other key roles. A campaign seeking redress Scotland's chief executive attracted more than 40 applications and interviews are scheduled for next week. By the end of this month, we will have launched a campaign to recruit independent panel members. Those panel members will bring relevant expertise from a range of areas, for example, in the field of complex trauma. It will be those panel members who will make determinations on applications seeking redress. As I have stated many times in this chamber, some children in residential care were in Scotland, were failed by those entrusted to look after them often with catastrophic results. Scotland is taking steps to face up to those failings by establishing this financial redress scheme for survivors. It is the job of this generation to recognise and, as best we can, rectify and we are committed to doing so. I hope that this update gives the chamber and survivors reassurance that the redress scheme is on course to open as soon as possible. It will be a scheme that offers an alternative to court. It will be non-adversarial and more accessible to survivors than the existing routes that are available. The scheme will provide elements of justice, acknowledgement and some closure for those who have been wronged in the past. We have reached an important milestone in the appointment of the chair of redress Scotland. I look forward to making further progress on the delivery of the scheme and providing the chamber with further updates on this important matter in the very near future. Mr Swinney, the Deputy First Minister will now take questions on his statement. I intend to allow you around 20 minutes for questions after which we will need to move on to the next item of business. It would be helpful if members who intend to ask a question could press the request to speak buttons now or as soon as possible. I start by calling Jamie Greene. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I thank the Deputy First Minister for advance sight of a statement. I am very pleased to be filling old shoes today on the subject. Those benches are still committed to working constructively towards the success of the scheme, a scheme that survivors have been waiting for for a very long time. I also congratulate for the record Jamie Greene on his appointment as chair of redress Scotland. The expectations on him in this role are high and trust in it will indeed be key to his success. I cut to the chase, cabinet secretary. It is said today that extensive engagement has taken place with a wide range of organisations who would be participants in the scheme. I ask not necessarily who, but how many organisations have been in discussions with the Government on contributing financially towards redress. Roughly, how many of those potential organisations have indicated positively that they are willing or are likely to proceed to agreement stage on contributions? Of those who have chosen not to or who have refused to contribute, what reasons have been given for their lack of participation? I ask this because the retention of the waiver, so controversial in our debate on the issue, was a key argument for maximising participation in the scheme. Finally, I ask that there is little in the statement indeed nothing about plans for a wide-scale public awareness campaign when the scheme launches later this year. Can we be reassured today that there are such robust plans? I thank Mr Greene for his contribution and his on-going support to the work that is to be tackled here and for the appointment of Johnnie Gwyn. I have discussed the approach that will be required in redress Scotland with Johnnie Gwyn. As a long-serving public servant, he is aware of the importance of the characteristics of empathy, of justice, of fairness, of dignity, of compassion to be at the heart of the scheme. I am confident that he will ensure that those are instilled in redress Scotland. We have had extensive discussions with a range of organisations. I cannot give Mr Greene a precise number just now, but we are going through a number of what I would describe as positive conversations with contributors about their contributions to the scheme. We will, of course, on an on-going basis share information about the success of those conversations to reassure the chamber and survivors about the degree of engagement that is being made. Lastly, on the issue of public awareness, we will undoubtedly be running a public awareness campaign. We will be starting some of that later on this month to recruit individuals for the panels that will be required. That will be the first part of the public engagement work or the public awareness work, and maximising that applications will be a major priority. I am heartened by the fact that we have had so many applications in the advance payment scheme, that our communication has been effective in reaching individuals, and that has to be ever more so in relation to the full redress scheme. I thank the Deputy First Minister for his statement. We welcome that we are now on the road to a scheme for the most terrible of wrongs perpetrated against some of the most vulnerable members of our society. For so many, it has taken too long, and there could be no further delays. On my questions, when will there be details on the amount of financial redress that survivors will have access to through the scheme? I am sure that the Deputy First Minister will agree that, for many survivors, that will be a key moment. Can he give details in his timetable as to when that will take place? Also, around 25 per cent of applications to the advance payment scheme were unsuccessful. Can the Deputy First Minister give some insight as to why such a number were rejected? If that seems to be a relatively high number of unsuccessful applications, it shows that there is some need to widen the criteria until the full scheme is operational. I thank Mr Marr for his questions. In relation to the level of financial redress that will be available to individuals, some of that detail is already set out in the face of the bill. Obviously, the further detail will relate to individual circumstances and applications that are made within the framework that has been legislated for already by Parliament. Obviously, further information will be shared about the basis on which payments will be made in the course of the next few months before the establishment formally of the scheme. In relation to the advance payment scheme, the issues that have essentially affected the judgments around the scheme have principally been around ineligibility in relation to some of the fundamental criteria around age and about condition. Those have been the principal factors. There will be some others in relation to some of the quality of evidence, but the overwhelming majority of cases where there is any evidence available have been approved. There have been particular challenges in the past 12 months, which I think that members will understand, because of the need to physically access documents that, for some organisations, have quite literally been inaccessible for the past 12 months because of Covid restrictions. We have, by exception, allowed a certain number of civil servants to be in an office environment to scrutinise documents for the purposes of the advance payment scheme. We have not made that generally available to other civil servants, but we did for this particular scheme. We have taken measures to try to make sure that, despite Covid, there was no interruption to the ability to meet the requirements of the advance payment scheme. As to whether there is a need to broaden the eligibility, I am not persuaded by that argument, and the fact that we will have a scheme in place before the end of the year gives me reassurance that we can meet the expectations of survivors. Can the cabinet secretary outline what support survivors who struggle to find or access records will be given? We recognise the difficulties that some applicants will face in finding evidence and they will be provided with assistance from officials in sourcing or accessing records. Indeed, some of the challenges that we have been wrestling with in the course of the period of Covid have been about trying to assist individuals to access documentation held by third-party organisations as part of the process. Within the act, there is provision that creates a criminal offence for failing to comply with a request for information that would be relevant to such an application. There are strong aspects of legal enforcement that can be taken to make sure that that is the case. In exceptional circumstances, Redress Scotland has sufficient discretion to be able to disregard evidence requirements if they are satisfied that the case merits an award. Of course, that approach is similar to some of the characteristics of evidence-taking that have been adopted in the historic abuse inquiry, which has been chaired by Lady Smith and which takes a very considerate approach to the gathering of evidence in that respect. The cabinet secretary referred to a campaign that has been launched to recruit independent panel members. Although he mentions that they will have a range of expertise from different areas, will they have lived experience? That is very important when it comes to survivors and making sure that they have the best possible representation on the panel. Yes, that will be the case. It is critical that the work of Redress Scotland and all of that activity is informed by the experience and trauma of survivors. It has been a central requirement of the approach that we have taken. There was survivor input into the panel for the recruitment of the chair of Redress Scotland and the recommendation that came to me had survivor endorsement, which would have been critical in my judgment on that question. I reassure Megan Gallacher that those issues are very much at the heart of the approach that we are taking. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I thank the Deputy First Minister and his update on the issue and the considerable amount of progress that has already been made. I would like to also congratulate Johnny Gwynn on his appointment. I know that the expectation of survivors is palpable in that respect, and all of us will take that forward as we progress with it. What can Johnny Gwynn and the Scottish Government do to ensure that, as the procedures process and the people of Redress Scotland are recruited, that dignity, compassion and respect remain at the heart of all their interaction with survivors? The inclusion of the requirements for all the approaches in relation to the question to be founded on compassion, dignity and respect was a product of an amendment that was moved by Clare Adamson in the last Parliament during the parliamentary consideration of the bill, which I made clear in my closing speech to the bill proceedings, had in my view been the critical amendment in the whole bill process, because it had placed a requirement for those characteristics, those values to be embedded in the construction of this scheme. In my conversation with Johnny Gwynn, those were words that he used to me as being central to the way in which his leadership would be taken forward of Redress Scotland. I am confident that, given the significance of the inclusion of those words in the legislation and the leadership of Johnny Gwynn, we will see those embedded in the culture and the working practices of Redress Scotland, which is critical to meet the needs of survivors. Deputy First Minister, constituents that I have met are concerned to know what advice will be available and when so that they can apply to the scheme. They have fantastic support from Redress, future pathways and birth link and have been told that the path is threshold for minimum payment, but they are worried about where they will get the support for what will be an incredibly traumatic, complicated and challenging process. What financial support will be given to organisations such as those that I have mentioned and wellbeing Scotland, who have played an essential role thus far in supporting survivors and will be crucial in giving them independent advice going forward? All of the organisations that Sarah Boyack raised benefit from public funding to carry out the activity that they are doing. One of the points that is very clear to me is that there is a need for the constancy of support to survivors. Survivors need to be assured that they have that access to the constancy of support in whom they trust. There will obviously be specific assistance available through the channels of Redress Scotland to provide assistance as well, but I think that it is important that survivors are supported by individuals that they trust and have confidence in. I suspect that over the course of the next few months, as staff are recruited to Redress Scotland and the staff will have to be recruited to fit in with values of compassion, dignity and respect, there will be a lot of working collaboratively with organisations that are supporting survivors to ensure that individuals are assisted to to bring forward their applications and to be successful in those applications. That has been very much the working ethos of the advanced payment scheme already. The bill enabling the establishment of Redress Scotland was amended with the support of the Government to include a review provision, looking specifically at the impact that the waiver might have on the participation of both survivors and contributing organisations in the scheme. Could the Deputy First Minister perhaps expand on how the review will operate, given it has to happen across the first 18 months of the scheme being in operation? That will be one of the requirements that we will build into the operating processes of Redress Scotland. We will clearly be gathering evidence from the extent of contributions that are made by organisations that will also be supplemented by the experience of individuals and applicants and will be gathering data and evidence and perspectives on the significance of the waiver and the judgment that individuals are making. There will be a need to, on an on-going basis over that 18-month period, gather the evidence of the effect of the waiver and to formulate that into a review that will be published in Parliament. If any action is required in the light of that review, Parliament will be able to take that necessary action. Can I ask the Deputy First Minister what support will be available to survivors of historical sexual abuse and care to access the redress scheme, particularly where it may be difficult for them to access or use digital technology to do so? We will make sure that digital considerations are not in any way a barrier to individuals applying to the scheme, so there will be hard paper copies of all application forms available. As I indicated in my answer to Sarah Boyack, there will also be support available to individuals to assist them in that process, in the gathering of information and the gathering of detail. We will make sure that we have relevant discussion with organisations that can support us and ensure that all of those requirements are fulfilled. I welcome the update from the Cabinet Secretary, which shows that real progress is being made. I also welcome the appointment of Johnnie Gwynn. It is so important that we get this right in ensuring that survivors have their voices heard is something that we all care deeply about. I must convey the disappointment that will be felt by some survivors as a result of the decision not to lower the age limit for the advanced payment scheme. However, while financial redress will be an important part, does the cabinet secretary agree that a meaningful apology will carry much more weight for many? I acknowledge the point that the business worship makes in relation to the age threshold, but I come back to the fact that there is a requirement for us to justify using the provisions that we have used for exceptional circumstances and the fact that the scheme will be available in most about six months' time. It is a reasonable conclusion for us to arrive at. In relation to the points in connection with the implementation of the scheme, the Government will be engaging constructively with survivors on all questions. In relation to an apology, I have tried on a number of occasions to give on behalf of the Government and the state an apology to individuals. The Government has also established the historic abuse inquiry with the purpose of ensuring that the experience and trauma of individuals who are survivors can be properly and fully acknowledged by the country. It is a very important contribution. I accept that there are probably no words that will properly address the suffering of individuals, but the combination of very public apologies that I have given, that the former First Minister, Jack McConnell, gave and which the abuse inquiry will demonstrate by its powerful capture of the testimony of individuals, I hope will help to address the very legitimate sentiments that Beatrice Wishart raises today. Let me take the first opportunity that I have had to welcome you to your new role. I would also like to thank the Deputy First Minister for the statement on what is an extremely important issue. As the Deputy First Minister touched on in the statement, it is really important that those who apply to the scheme do not then find themselves in a position where receiving a redress payment has a negative impact on their benefits or social care entitlements. Can the Deputy First Minister provide more detail on the discussions that the Scottish Government has had with the UK Government to ensure that that is not the case? I am happy to do so. We have had extensive discussions with the UK Government with the Department for Work and Pensions, the Department for Health and Social Care, the Ministry of Housing, communities and local government about the relevant disregards that are required. We have also had discussions with HMRC and we have the required disregards from HMRC in relation to tax entitlements and tax questions. We are continuing our discussions with the UK Government. I am confident that we will secure the necessary agreements to be in place, but we are giving the utmost priority to taking forward all of that dialogue. Alexander Stewart will be followed by Christine Grahame. I am delighted to see that the report states that, through the survivors forum, work is under way to have support services in place for survivors when the scheme opens, including support through the application process and access to elements of non-financial redress, such as therapeutic support. Can the Deputy First Minister give a timescale for when that will commence and that that will include emotional and psychological support for those who require it? A number of those types of services are already in place through a number of the organisations that Sarah Boyack referred to earlier or facilitated by those organisations such as Future Pathways, where we try to put in place interventions that will meet the needs of individuals who are trying to address trauma and to have the necessary support. The services will essentially be continued under the umbrella of redress Scotland so that there is continuity provision for individuals. As we know from the gathering of evidence for the passage of the bill, it often takes survivors a long time and many obstacles to begin to even think about that suffering. There will be new individuals who will come forward who need to be supported and that support will be available to them. I noted your response to Mr Marra on eligibility criteria, but I want to press on with that. I have a constituent abused when he attended school as a weekday border. Because he returned at weekends to his home, he does not meet the eligibility criteria, yet during those weekdays the institution, in my view, took to paraphrase from the legislation decisions about his care and upbringing and were morally responsible for his physical, social and emotional needs in the place of the parents in which they totally failed. Is the eligibility criteria completely closed to extension of the definition of residential care? I do not want to give Christine Grahame a definitive answer because it is probably not appropriate for me to give a definitive answer. I think that what I would say is that it would be appropriate for Christine Grahame's constituent to make necessary applications to redress Scotland in due course and to set out the circumstances that she has recounted. There will be every effort taken to try to address the suffering of individuals. There may well be cases of the type that Christine Grahame raises, which might stretch the margins of legislation and criteria, and I assure Christine Grahame that all of those will be considered carefully and sensitively by redress Scotland. I very much welcome the statement because the sooner we get redress Scotland up and running, the better. With that in mind, I am concerned that the secondary legislation will not be passed until after recess and that the chief executive is not yet in place. Is the December date safe? Can the Deputy First Minister explain what will be open from December? Will that be simply applications? Can he clarify when he expects the first payments to be made by redress Scotland? I would put Mr Johnson's mind at rest about the timescale in relation to the chief executive appointment and the legislation. The chief executive interviews are on Monday, and a fabulous range of candidates have come forward. I am very confident that an appointment will be able to be made. I think that the panel will have a difficult choice in front of it. That is very encouraging. The statutory instruments—I am confident that we have enough time to do so after the summer recess, as Mr Johnson will perhaps be aware. We have some criticism of the amount of time that we have taken to consider instruments before the summer recess, so I would not want to add to that in any other sphere. The organisation will be up and running and receiving applications as quickly as possible. December will be the latest. I would hope that we could do it earlier. In relation to when the first applications will be processed and approved, I cannot give a definitive answer other than to reassure Mr Johnson that, looking at the transactional history of the advance payment scheme, it has been pretty swift in taking decisions, some of them taken in a matter of days. I think that we can be confident that, provided that we put the necessary foundations in place, that work can be taken forward in a fashion that will provide swift responses to individual supply. Thank you very much indeed, Deputy First Minister. We have overrun time slightly, but, given the nature of the issues raised by the statement, I thought that it was important to allow all questioners an opportunity to put their questions to the cabinet secretary. We now move to the next item on business. I allow a second for the ministerial team to change positions. I take the opportunity again to remind members that social distancing measures are in place in the chamber and around the campus. I ask members to adhere to those measures, including when entering and exiting the chamber. Please only use the aisles and walkways for accessing your seat or for moving around the chamber.