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Good morning. My question is one that I also put to the previous panel. The vast majority of domestic abuse survivors are women and, as the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre has said, survivors of domestic abuse often struggle to access civil legal aid and many of them need to pay privately. A witness on the previous panel told us that the fact that women cannot access civil legal aid makes them even more vulnerable.

As part of my work on my Domestic Abuse (Prevention) (Scotland) Bill, I have spoken to many survivors of domestic abuse, whose abusive partners often control the household finances. They might not be eligible for legal aid anyway as their household income may be too high, and sometimes they do not even have the information to hand. What is being done to prevent those women from becoming even more vulnerable?

Andy Sirel, you mentioned information from your helpline and said that some women have to go through 30 to 50 solicitors by the time that they get advice.

Good morning. Respondents to the committee’s call for views highlighted many issues with administering legal aid. Do you have any proposals that could help tackle such issues in the short term? Pat, do you want to go first?

Thank you. In response to an earlier question, you spoke about not having the time to look at cultural or community differences and how to adapt to them. Could you expand a bit more on that?

Another issue is that black, Asian and minority ethnic women face additional barriers, as sometimes the relevant authorities find it difficult to understand the cultural context of their cases. What is being done to ensure that those women, many of whom are extremely vulnerable, are looked after and receive the support that they deserve?

You mentioned the requirement for financial information, which could be a big issue. In many BAME communities, it is often the male—the husband—not the female who holds all the financial information. That affects the issue of the eligibility requirements, too. Also, when somebody from a BAME background goes through this process, the setting is different. You have to consider the cultural aspect and also the person’s community—you are dealing not just with the person’s partner or family but with their wider community. Can you shed some light on what could be done there?

Thank you for that. I have a couple of supplementary questions. The Scottish Women’s Rights Centre has highlighted the issue of access to civil protection orders for survivors of domestic abuse. It says that, often, the burden of accessing legal protection falls on survivors, who must access civil legal assistance or pay privately to do so. What is being done to ensure that those women, many of whom are extremely vulnerable, receive the support that they deserve?

In the past, you have spoken to the committee about ensuring that, when we implement something, every department understands what the budget is for, whether that is for women and girls, for people in poverty or for disability, and that they make sure that it is aligned throughout every department. At that time, it was said that there were gaps for some issues. I want to ensure that we do not face the same situation when the EHRC guidance comes and that we make sure that it is implemented right through each department.

Minister, when you have been in the committee in the past, we have spoken about budgeting across all the departments and asked how we ensure that, throughout its work, each department adheres to women’s rights and other rights. Can you guarantee that every department will implement, for example, the EHRC guidance? As Cat McMeeken said, the policy might sit in different areas, such as education, or it might sit in your area. We have not yet got the budgeting right to implement a lot of this. What guarantees can you give that every department will implement the EHRC guidance and that everybody soaks it up in relation to single-sex spaces, places and services?

Thank you—that would be really helpful.

Minister, to follow on from Tess White’s question on engagement, women’s rights groups, including For Women Scotland, feel neglected by the Scottish Government. That was especially true during the debate on the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill, when the Scottish Government spent more time engaging with groups that supported the bill.

What is the Scottish Government doing to ensure that, going forward, all sides are heard equally? Will you, in your ministerial role, personally guarantee that women’s groups such as For Women Scotland, and groups such as Sex Matters and LGB Alliance, will be called for evidence?

Thank you, Cat—if you could write to me on that, that would be great.

You mentioned that information will come forward from the Sullivan review and that there is a lot in it to unpack. Parts of that review are for the UK Government to act on, but there are also implications for the Scottish Government. Do you have a date for the information coming forward?

It was in relation to children’s gender markers.