Fairer Scotland

  • Ending homelessness together and protecting vulnerable people

    13th March 2020 by

    Earlier this week I was joined by Public Health Minister Joe FitzPatrick at a meeting of the Homelessness Prevention and Strategy Group, which is tasked with taking forward the Scottish Government’s Ending Homelessness Together Action Plan. Our main focus at the meeting was Covid-19 and how it will impact those who are experiencing, or at...

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  • The women who inspire me

    9th March 2020 by

    To mark International Women’s Day, Cabinet Secretary for Social Security Shirley-Anne Somerville blogs about some of the women who inspire her, past and present. International Women’s Day is about celebrating women’s achievements and the impact women have on society – which so often goes unrecognised. I think of women like Jocelyn Bell Burnell, the astrophysicist...

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  • Why we are providing period products and removing the stigma

    14th February 2020 by

    The Scottish Government has taken world-leading action to ensure that, for the first time, people have access to free sanitary products. It is our mission too to remove any stigma associated with periods, which are experienced by half of the population. Our action is backed up with £15 million of investment and it has ensured...

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  • Investing in Scotland’s social security system

    13th February 2020 by

    We are creating the infrastructure for a new public service for Scotland. Our new social security system, is an important investment in the people of Scotland now and for generations to come. Yesterday I outlined how we are taking this new programme further. We have met and surpassed our commitments to date, having already established...

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  • Progress made on tackling homelessness

    14th January 2020 by

    CEO of Crisis and Chair of the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group Jon Sparkes welcomes progress made since the launch of the Ending Homelessness Together Action Plan. The Scottish Government asked some big questions of the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group (HARSAG) reflecting a serious commitment to addressing homelessness in Scotland. The ambition...

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  • There is room for everyone in Scotland

    5th January 2020 by

    Throughout last year, I had the pleasure of meeting many of Scotland’s faith communities and have enjoyed learning more about their traditions and hearing about their experiences. There exists a remarkably strong working relationship between the faith communities in Scotland and this is invaluable. As I look back on last year, there have been so...

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  • Gender Recognition Act consultation

    17th December 2019 by

    In a statement to the Scottish Parliament in June, I announced that the Scottish Government would consult on a draft Bill to reform the process by which trans people obtain legal recognition of their lived gender through a Gender Recognition Certificate – a right they have had for 15 years. We first consulted on these...

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  • Challenging racism in Scotland – Guest blog from Danny Boyle, BEMIS Scotland

    18th October 2019 by

    “Tackling racism and building connected communities is not a side issue. This is one of the most important things in society. We need the science of data – but we need the science of stories too” BEMIS Scotland held a thematic conference on prejudice motivated by racial and religious hatred earlier this week. Our intention...

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  • No one in Scotland should have to rely on charitable food donations

    16th October 2019 by

    Today is World Food Day and an important opportunity to reflect. No one in Scotland should be left hungry and have to rely on charitable food donations. The theme that the UN have set for this year’s World Food Day is healthy diets for a zero hunger world. This speaks to many aspects of what...

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  • Small Steps, Big Changes – Guest blog from Sarah Robinson Galloway, YouthLink Scotland

    16th October 2019 by

    When I graduated from university our Chancellor told me to ‘go change the world’ which she probably also said to the hundreds of other students graduating that day. I took it as sentimentality at the time but now I have found myself in a job where I am trying to do just that. I am...

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