To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to revise the terms of reference that it has set for the Scottish child abuse inquiry. (S6O-03544)

Currently, there are no plans to amend the remit of the Scottish child abuse inquiry. Questions about the scope of the inquiry in relation to non-residential settings have been raised previously and ministers have made clear the need for the inquiry to focus on its current and wide-ranging terms of reference, which are centred on the abuse of children within institutions that had legal responsibility for the long-term care of children. Widening the remit of the inquiry to include abuse in non-residential settings would result in it taking much longer to respond to the survivors of abuse in care.

There are two classes of child abuse victims in Scotland—those who are heard by the inquiry and those who are not. That includes victims such as Susie Henderson, whose childhood was destroyed by a legal establishment paedophile ring, and Peter Haynes and Stuart McMillan, whose childhoods were destroyed by industrial-scale abuse in Scottish football. They and many others simply do not understand why the inquiry is closed to them.

They have also been fed misinformation from the Government. Last year, Nicola Sturgeon told me that the inquiry’s remit is a matter for the inquiry. That is not true. I have asked ministers to widen the inquiry’s remit, but they have continually refused. I again urge the minister to do the right thing by those victims. Will her Government please think again?

I want to make it very clear that our sympathies are with all victims of historical abuse. However, as Russell Findlay knows and as I have reiterated, the Scottish child abuse inquiry was set up under the Inquiries Act 2005 to investigate abuse of children in care in Scotland following a call, over many years, from survivors of in-care abuse.

Ministers have made clear the need for the inquiry to focus on its current and wide-ranging terms. Although Scottish ministers set the terms of reference for the inquiry, it is the responsibility of Lady Smith, the chair of the inquiry, to decide what is considered as part of the inquiry. We are fully committed to maintaining the inquiry’s independence from the Government, while the investigation into and prosecution of those who are guilty of abuse remains a matter for Police Scotland and the courts.