Policy consultation responses

We submitted our response to the UK Government’s Family Returns Consultation.

We believe that the overall impact of Part 1 of these proposals, if implemented, will lead to an increase in the number of children, young people, and families experiencing poverty, destitution, and ultimately homelessness. This situation will, in turn, heighten the risks of physical and psychological harm, exploitation, and abuse for these already vulnerable groups.

We find that the proposals in Part 2 represent an unacceptable de-prioritisation of children’s welfare, which will have significant and long-lasting negative effects on their health. Ultimately, we believe that these proposals are cruel, inhumane, unnecessary, contradictory, not evidence-based, and potentially unlawful.

Read the full response here.

We submitted a response to the UK Government’s consultation on the reform of the current settlement system and the implementation of those reforms.

Our consultation response highlights the serious risks these changes pose. We emphasised that: 

• Refugees, survivors of trafficking, children, carers, and other vulnerable people will be disproportionately affected 

• Penalising people for how they arrived in the UK or for accessing benefits to recover from trauma is unfair and could breach human rights law 

• Linking settlement to volunteering, income thresholds, or other rigid requirements will exclude those already facing barriers and put a higher risk of exploitation more individuals  

We know the proposed changes will have a drastic impact on most people with permission to live in the UK. We are very concerned about how these proposals will affect the communities we work with, including refugees, survivors of trafficking, children, families and other vulnerable individuals. 

We responded to the consultation on Section 38 of the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015: Duty to Notify and Provide Information About Victims.

This document provides an overview of the consultation findings and key considerations regarding the implementation of a statutory Duty to Notify in Scotland, aimed at improving responses to human trafficking and exploitation.

The consultation questions are presented throughout the remainder of this document, along with our responses.

The Scottish Women’s Rights Centre (SWRC) is providing a response to this consultation into Strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs).

JustRight Scotland has responded to the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee’s Legal Aid Inquiry.

We set out:

• What is working and not working within the current civil legal aid system

• What changes could be made in the short and longer term to address access issue

Read the full response.

The Scottish Women’s Rights Centre (SWRC) has responded to the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee’s call for views as part of the inquiry into civil legal aid in Scotland.

Read the full response.

JustRight Scotland submitted a witness statement – provided by Lyndsay Fleming and Sabrina Galella on 17/09/2024.
We also took part in the hearing session on 20/02/2025. More details are available on Scottish COVID-19 Inquiry website.

The Scottish Women’s Rights Centre has submitted its response to the Scottish Law Commission Discussion Paper on Civil Remedies for Domestic Abuse.

Read the full response.

We submitted our written evidence to the Home Affairs Committee Inquiry into asylum accommodation.

Based on the evidence gathered as a result of our casework, outreach, and engagement with asylum seekers residing in Home Office accommodation, we welcome the UK Government commitment to the closure of asylum hotels.

We believe the current system of accommodating asylum seekers in remote institutional accommodation structures, away from specialised services and support, is costly, ineffective, and presents a threat to the human rights of asylum seekers throughout the country. It is putting a strain on already under-funded and stretched public services, while isolating and risking the re-traumatisation of an especially vulnerable population. We proposed a series of recommendations to address these issues.

Read more: 25.02.03-Written-Evidence-Asylum-Accommodation-JustRight-Scotland.pdf

Our Scottish Women’s Rights Centre (SWRC) has submitted a response to the consultation on Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Bill.

The response is available here.

Alongside Human Rights Consortium Scotland and Scottish Association of Law Centres, we submitted our response to the Scottish Government consultation on Scottish Court Fees 2024-2025.

Our submitted consultation is accessible here.

We submitted our response to the Standards, Procedures, and Public Appointments Committee’s consultation on the Scottish Elections (Representation and Reform) Bill.

Our response is available here.

Written response from the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre to the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee regarding petition PE2025: Improving support available to victims of violence who have been forced to flee their homes.

Our response is available here.

We submitted our response to the Scottish Legal Aid Board consultation on advice and assistance (A&A) and assistance by way of representation (ABWOR).

Our submitted consultation is accessible here.

JustCitizens submitted their views on the consultation in full in their joint submission with other lived experience groups of migrants in Scotland, with thanks to the Scottish Human Rights Consortium for facilitating this work, and for their dedicated time and effort. You can read the submission here. 

We submitted our response to the Scottish Government’s consultation on a Human Rights Bill for Scotland.

Our submitted consultation is accessible here.

We submitted our response to the Scottish Government’s consultation on a Human Rights Bill for Scotland.

Our submitted response is accessible here.

Our Scottish Women’s Rights Centre (SWRC) has submitted a response to the consultation on Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill.

JustRight Scotland has submitted a response to the Stage 1 call for views on the Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Bill.

JustRight Scotland and the Scottish Association of Law Centres (SALC) have submitted a joint response to the Stage 1 Call for Views on the Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Bill.

Our joint response is available here.

JustRight Scotland has submitted a response as part of the Call for Evidence commissioned by Public Health Scotland which aims to develop insights and recommendations to inform violence against women and girls (VAWG) policy and practice in Scotland, including the upcoming refresh of Equally Safe. It also investigates what the current challenges and barriers for services in meeting the needs of racially minoritised women affected by VAWG are and what challenges and barriers they face.

Read our response.

SWRC Response to Reforming the Criminal Law to Address Misogyny: A Scottish Government Consultation. The SWRC welcomes steps toward better protection for women experiencing misogynistic conduct.

We responded to the consultation on changes to residency criteria for access to financial support in Further and Higher Education. The Scottish Government run this consultation following a judicial review hearing at the Court of Session, in our case of Ola Jasim v Scottish Ministers (2022).

Our submitted response is available here.

JustRight Scotland submitted a response to the Home Affairs Committee on their call for evidence on trafficking. In this inquiry the Home Affairs Committee was seeking responses on the scale of human trafficking in the UK and the forms it takes. It was also investigating whether Government policy, legislation and the criminal justice system can be improved to prevent human trafficking, prosecute perpetrators and protect victims.

We responded to the Proposed Freedom of Information Reform (Scotland) Bill, by Katy Clark MSP. This consultation invited views on proposals to update and reform freedom of information legislation in Scotland.

Our submitted consultation is accessible here.

We responded to the Proposed Freedom of Information Reform (Scotland) Bill, by Katy Clark MSP. This consultation invited views on proposals to update and reform freedom of information legislation in Scotland.

Our submitted consultation is accessible here.

We submitted a response to the Scottish Government consultation on access to information rights in Scotland. This consultation follows the work of the Public Audit and Post-legislative Scrutiny Committee (PAPLS), to undertake post-legislative scrutiny of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA).

Our submitted statement is accessible here.

Together with other organisations across Scotland we have signed a joint statement to make clear our strong opposition to the UK Government’s intervention on the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill and to any suggestion that these reforms would have an adverse effect on the Equality Act or women’s rights.

Read the full statement.

We submitted our response to the call for evidence from the Joint Committee on Human Rights looking into the rights of asylum seekers in the UK.

Together with the Scottish Association of Law Centres (SALC), we submitted a joint response to the Administrative Justice Committee Law Society of Scotland’s consultation for a principles-based approach to administrative justice in Scotland.

Our Scottish Women’s Rights Centre (SWRC) has submitted a response to the Scottish Government’s Consultation on the Proposed Domestic Abuse (Prevention) (Scotland) Bill.

We have submitted our response to the Scottish Government for the Consultation on Witchcraft Convictions (Pardons) (Scotland) Bill.

Our Scottish Women’s Rights Centre are strongly in favour of the posthumous pardon of all those convicted of witchcraft in Scotland. We support efforts to name our common history and redress wrongs because only by sharing a wide public understanding of the roots of misogyny.

We have submitted our response to the Independent Strategic Review of Funding and Commissioning of violence against women and girls (VAWGS) by drawing from the experience of our staff, as well as people we represent within the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre (SWRC), the Scottish Refugee and Migrant Centre (SMRC) and the Scottish Anti-Trafficking and Exploitation Centre (SATEC).

We believe that challenging violence against women and girls (VAWG) requires a multi-faceted approach. This includes: a focus on prevention aimed at redressing the inequalities that lead to violence, on strengthening and improving our protection of survivors, and also ensuring and effective response leading to prosecution of perpetrators of violence.

We submitted the response from our Scottish Women’s Rights Centre to the Scottish Government’s Consultation on Proposed Abortion Services Safe Access Zones (Scotland) Bill.

Access the response here.

We have submitted our response to the Scottish Government for incorporating the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child into Scots law as part of planning for Parliamentary Reconsideration Stage.

Amnesty Scotland and JustRight Scotland joint written response to the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee submitted on 17 May 2022.

We’ve worked with over 20 organisations to highlight that the reforms will not go far enough to lead to real improvements in the lives of people who share protected characteristics. We call for a “fully-fledged collaborative process” with experts in equality and we urge the Scottish Government not to miss the opportunity to make robust changes to improve the lives of marginalised people.

Read our proposals.

The Human Rights Consortium Scotland (HRCS) and the Scottish Association of Law Centres (SALC) submitted their joint response to the Scottish Court Fees consultation on 9th March 2022.

Submitted response to the UK Government consultation on the national plans to reform the Human Rights Act to  by JustCitizens on 8th March 2022.

JustRight Scotland and the Human Rights Consortium Scotland joint response to the consultation to reform the Human Rights Act 1998 on 8th March 2022.

Read the full response.

JustRight Scotland has rejected the UK Government plans to replace the Human Rights Act (HRA) as announced last December.
We have submitted our response to the UK Government consultation on 8th March 2022.

The Scottish Association of Law Centres (SALC) has submitted their response to the consultation on the reform of the Human Rights Act and the introduction of a new Bill of Rights on 8th March 2022.

Ahead of the debate in the Scottish Parliament on the Nationality and Borders Bill, we’ve worked with Scottish Refugee Council, Together Scotland and Aberlour to highlight the harmful impact of the bill on children.

Read our statement.

Submitted response to the Scottish Government consultation on the draft national plan to end the need for food banks by JustCitizens on 25th January 2022.

Joint response to the call for views on draft aims and principles of the COVID-19 public inquiry.

JustRight Scotland and Scottish Refugee Council joint advocacy briefing to Legal Opinion and Cover Note, on the devolved impacts of the Nationality and Borders Bill.

JustRight Scotland and Scottish Refugee Council jointly commissioned a legal opinion from Christine O’Neill QC and her team at Brodies to better understand the devolved impacts of the UK Government’s Nationality and Borders Bill (the Bill) for Scotland and its public bodies and possible ways to mitigate its harms.
Access the cover note to the opinion here.

Written response to the call for evidence by the Scottish Parliament’s Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee on a petition to end the practice of ‘conversion therapy’ in Scotland, submitted by Amnesty International Scotland, the Human Rights Consortium Scotland and JustRight Scotland on 13 August 2021.

Read the full response.

Written response to the call for evidence by the Scottish Government on the regulation of child contact centres, submitted by the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre on 12 July 2021.

Written response to the call for evidence by the Scottish Government on the Children (Scotland) Act 2020 registers of child welfare reporters, curators ad litem and solicitors, submitted by the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre on 12 July 2021.

Written response to the call for evidence by the UK Government on its New Plan for Immigration, submitted by JustRight Scotland on 6 May 2021.

Written response to the call for evidence by the UK Government on its New Plan for Immigration, submitted by JustCitizens on 6 May 2021.

Written response to the call for evidence by the UK Government on reform of Judicial Review in the devolved jurisdictions, submitted by JustRight Scotland on 29 April 2021.

Briefing for civil society organisations and community groups responding to the UK Government call for evidence on the New Plan for Immigration, closing date 6 May 2021.

Written response to the call for evidence by the UK Independent Human Rights Act Review, submitted by JustRight Scotland on 3 March 2021.

A short guide for civil society organisations in Scotland on responding to the Independent Human Rights Act Review, deadline 3 March 2021, produced in partnership with the Human Rights Consortium Scotland.

Written response to call for evidence by the Equalities and Human Rights Committee Scottish Parliament on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on equalities and human rights in Scotland, submitted by JustRight Scotland on 23 December 2020.

Written response to call for evidence by the Equalities and Human Rights Committee Scottish Parliament on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on equalities and human rights in Scotland, submitted by JustCitizens at JustRight Scotland on 23 December 2020.

Written response to call for evidence by the Scottish Government Equally Safe consultation on approaches to challenge men’s demand for prostitution, submitted by JustRight Scotland on 16 December 2020.

Written response to call for evidence by the Scottish Government on the Domestic Abuse (Protection) (Scotland) Bill 2020, submitted by the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre on 9 December 2020.

Written response to call for evidence by the Local Government and Communities Committee of the Scottish Parliament on the impact of Covid-19 on individuals with no recourse to public funds in Scotland, submitted by JustCitizens at JustRight Scotland and the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre on 9 October 2020.

Written response to call for evidence by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme Review 2020 on proposed reforms of the CICA scheme, submitted by JustRight Scotland and the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre on 9 October 2020.

Written response to call for evidence by the Equalities and Human Rights Committee Scottish Parliament on the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill 2020, submitted by JustRight Scotland on 2 October 2020.

Written response to call for evidence by the Scottish Parliament consultation on the proposed Right to Food (Scotland) Bill, submitted by JustCitizens at JustRight Scotland on 15 September 2020.

Written response to call for evidence by the Scottish Parliament on the implementation of Section 11 of the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015 (independent child trafficking guardians), submitted by JustRight Scotland on 22 November 2019.

Briefing on potential amendments (Stage 2) to the Scottish Elections (Franchise & Representation) Bill 2019, submitted by Scottish Refugee Council and JustRight Scotland on 22 November 2019.

Written response to call for evidence by the Scottish Government Justice Directorate on approaches to reforming legal aid in Scotland, submitted by JustRight Scotland on 23 September 2019.

Written response to call for evidence by the Equalities and Human Rights Committee Scottish Parliament on the Female Genital Mutilation (Protection and Guidance) (Scotland) Bill 2019, submitted by JustRight Scotland on 12 September 2019.

Written response to call for evidence by the Scottish Parliament on Section 38 of the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015 (duty to notify and provide information about victims), submitted by JustRight Scotland on 5 September 2019.

Written response to call for evidence by the Scottish Government on the incorporation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into Scots law, submitted by JustRight Scotland on 28 August 2019.

Written response to call for evidence by Glasgow City Council on the licensing of sexual entertainment venues, submitted by JustRight Scotland on 26 August 2019.

Written response to call for evidence by the Scottish Government on the Stalking Protection (Scotland) Bill 2019, submitted by the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre on 21 July 2019.

Written response to call for evidence by the UK Government consultation on prevention of misuse of confidentiality clauses in workplace harassment or discrimination, submitted by the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre on 7 May 2019.

Written response to call for evidence by the Scottish Government on protective orders for people at risk of domestic abuse, submitted by the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre on 4 May 2019.

Written response to call for evidence by the Scottish Government on improving Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and interventions for victims of domestic abuse, submitted by the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre on 1 April 2019.

Written response to call for evidence by the Scottish Government on improving police complaints handling, investigations and misconduct issues, submitted by the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre on 13 March 2019.

Written response to call for evidence by the Scottish Government on proposed Female Genital Mutilation (Scotland) Bill, submitted by JustRight Scotland and the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre on 4 January 2019.

Written follow up to oral evidence session on 22 November 2018 on Scottish practice in relation to the Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, submitted by the Scottish Guardianship Service and JustRight Scotland on 1 December 2018.

Written response to call for evidence by the Scottish Government on reforming Part 1 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, submitted by the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre on 27 September 2018.

Written response to call for evidence by the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee of the Scottish Parliament on the protection of workers from sexual harassment and campaigns and initiatives that succeed in bringing about positive cultural change in the workplace, submitted by the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre on 12 February 2018.

Written response to call for evidence by the Scottish Government’s on on civil actions for damages in respect of rape or other serious crimes, submitted by the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre on 9 February 2018.

Written response to call for evidence by the Scottish Government on pre-recording of evidence of child and other vulnerable witnesses, submitted by JustRight Scotland on 30 September 2017.

Written response to call for evidence by the Scottish Government on the Equally Safe draft delivery plan, submitted by the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre on 29 June 2017.