Last month, Scotland's top police officer has said tackling hate crime is an "absolute priority" for his force.

Speaking at the start of Hate Crime Awareness Week, Phil Gormley said he was determined to eradicate all forms of hatred in Scotland.

A new network of LGBTI liaison officers has been established in a bid to improve the reporting of hate crimes.

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About 90 officers have been trained to work with the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex community.

The chief constable's comments come after a recent report called for a stronger approach to tackling hate crime in Scotland.

It found the issue was far worse than official figures suggested.

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Do you want to know more about the way benefits in Scotland will be changing? We want your questions to put to the minister in charge, Angela Constance.

She will be in the hot seat next week for a BBC online webchat on Monday morning, with the page going live from 9.45am.

So, if you have a question on a welfare-related topic such as Universal Credit, Tax Credits or Child Benefit send it to newsonlinescotland@bbc.co.uk.

And please put "webchat question" in the message field.

• You will be able to view the webcast with Ms Constance, being hosted by our Holyrood Live team, via BBC Scotland's politics web page.

Scottish Liberal Democrat Alex Cole-Hamilton says yesterday he described Brexit as an act of vandalism but it is nothing compared to what our American cousins have voted for.

Mr Cole-Hamilton says he watched the US election last night as state after state turned their backs on inclusivity. 

The Lib Dem MSP says there are barriers to employment for disabled people in this country.

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Green MSP John Finnie says there has been a rise of abusive crime against homeless people.

He cites various groups who face a higher rate of hate crimes including against the disabled, drug users, Gypsy/Travellers and Muslims.

Mr Finnie says social media, like twitter, can lure people in to dangerous groups.

The Green MSP and former policeman ends by praising the work of Police Scotland in tackling hate crime.

He quotes from its website: "No two individuals are ever the same - embrace individuality and help put an end to Hate crime by reporting it."

Labour MSP Johann Lamont begins by praising the Purple Poncho Players for getting across the real difficulties disabled people face.

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Ms Lamont says all hate crime against any group is unacceptable.

"We must also guard against complacency."

SNP MSP Christina McKelvie says the rise of hatred up to and after Brexit makes her question Scotland's place in the UK.

"Those who come to our shores for a better life belong here," she says.

Ms McKelvie says in a healthy society, difference is celebrated.

In March Holyrood passed new legislation on abusive behaviour which makes so-called .

The Abusive Behaviour and Sexual Harm Bill introduces a range of new measures to protect victims of domestic and sexual abuse.

Justice Secretary Michael Matheson said the legislation would modernise the powers of courts to protect communities against sexual offenders.

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MSPs unanimously supported the bill, despite controversy over one measure.

Mr Matheson pointed out that Police Scotland deals with calls about domestic and sexual violence every nine minutes, saying the root cause was "inequality in our society".

Conservative MSP Margaret Mitchell says revenge porn has been described as one of the most insidious crimes and can have a devastating and humiliating impact on victims lives.

Ms Mitchell says once the new act comes into force it will help provide a deterrent to the use of modern technology for revenge porn.

The Tory MSP then condemns those who commit hate crimes against the disabled which she says goes under reported.

She says old ladies with a stick, veterans with a disability or those with learning disabilities 

SNP MSP Christina McKelvie asks if the member will sign her motion condemning the UK government's treatment of those with disabilities.

Ms Mitchell says she will look at the motion. 

Labour MSP Pauline McNeill says the crime statistics for disabled people are horrifying.

Ms McNeill says disabled children and young people are three to four times more likely to be abused or neglected.

She says Islamophobia has increased.

The Labour MSP says a lot of abuse of transgender people is not reported.

Here is the Scottish Labour amendment. 

Image source, Scottish Parliament

Other findings in the hate crime reports include:

• 1,020 charges were reported with an aggravation of prejudice relating to sexual orientation, up 20% on the previous year, and 201 relating to disability, an increase of 14%
• Roman Catholicism is the religion most often noted in religiously-aggravated charges (51% in 2015-16), followed by Protestantism (24%) and Islam (23%)
• The police were the victims in 41% of religiously aggravated charges in 2015-16.

Scottish Conservative MSP Annie Wells says hate crime should never be tolerated and that everyone should be respected including EU and non-EU nationals.

Ms Wells asks why the SNP are so keen to link hate crime to Brexit when there was no rise in hate crime following the vote, in fact incidents decreased, she says. 

She says voting to leave the EU and hate crime are not mutually exclusive and Alex Neil and others in Scotland voted to leave.

Ms Wells says the prime minister has already said that she fully expects that EU citizens place in the country will be protected but that other countries have not yet guaranteed UK citizens right to remain in EU countries. 

The Tory MSP says, whilst race hate crime has decreased, sexual orientation and disability hate crime incidents have risen. 

In June the Scottish government published hate crime statistics:

• the number of charges where Islam was noted almost doubled from 71 charges in 2014-15 to 134 charges in 2015-16.
• overall, there was a slight increase in the number of hate crimes reported, with racial crime the most common.
• there were a total of 3,712 racial charges reported in 2015-16. However, this was a decrease on last year and the lowest number reported since 2003-04.

Here is the Scottish Conservative amendment. 

Image source, Scottish Parliament

Equalities Secretary Angela Constance says promoting equality is key to tackling hate crime and prejudice.

Ms Constance says all teachers will get equality training and there is an anti-bullying strategy.The minister says non-British EU nationals living in Scotland are welcome here, they belong here and that their contribution is appreciated.

She commends the role of Police Scotland and third party reporting centres in responding to reports of hate crime.

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There have been concerns about an increase in hate crimes across the UK in the aftermath of the Brexit vote, although some reports have shown a reduction in such offences in Scotland.

However, the number of hate crime offences relating to football in Scotland have risen 49% in the past year.

Ms Constance says, in Scotland, we are fortunate that there has been no rise in hate crime following Brexit, unlike in other parts of the UK.

She says we must remain vigilant because the issue has caused anxiety among EU nationals living in Scotland.

"You are welcome here," she says.

The communities and equalities secretary again calls on the UK government to guarantee that EU citizens can remain in Scotland following Brexit. 

Communities and Equalities Secretary Angela Constance says there is never any excuse for hate crime or prejudice and the government are committed to tackling it.

"An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us," she says.

Ms Constance says Dr Morrow's report gives the personal insights of those who have experienced prejudice and hate crime.

"It needs to be tackled and it needs to be stopped," she says.

She says prejudice and poverty must be tackled and that Scotland is a diverse multicultural society.