Chamber and committees

We got there in the end.

Our first main item of business is an oral evidence session on an affirmative instrument and a negative instrument. We are joined by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs; I also welcome Patrick Down and Vallath Kavitha Krishnan, from the criminal justice division, and Nicola Guild, from the legal directorate, in the Scottish Government.

I refer members to papers 1 to 3, and I intend to allow up to 30 minutes for the evidence session. I invite the cabinet secretary to make some opening remarks on the Scottish statutory instruments.

Karyn McCluskey, in your opening remarks, you spoke about targets. We all know the value of targets and why we need them. I am interested in a wee bit more detail on whether we should be looking at different targets and why we should be doing that. How do we make those targets meaningful? Again, I am thinking about the budgetary context.

I will bring in members now. Sharon Dowey will be followed by Rona Mackay.

Good morning and welcome to the 31st meeting in 2024 of the Criminal Justice Committee. There are no apologies. Our first agenda item is to decide whether to take item 6 in private. Do members agree to take the item in private?

Members indicated agreement.

We have to move on. The next item of business is consideration of the motion to approve the affirmative SSI on which we have taken oral evidence. I invite the cabinet secretary to make any brief additional comments that she would like to make and move motion S6M-14590.

As no other member wants to speak, I invite the cabinet secretary to wind up and press or withdraw the motion.

The result of the division is: For 4, Against 4, Abstentions 0. As there is are equal numbers of votes for and against, I use my casting vote as convener to vote for the motion.

Motion agreed to,

That the Criminal Justice Committee recommends that the Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Act 2022 (Extension of Temporary Justice Measures) Regulations 2024 [draft] be approved.

Are members content to delegate responsibility to me and the clerks to approve a short factual report to Parliament on the affirmative instrument?

Members indicated agreement.

We are just about out of time, but I have a couple of quick final questions. My first one picks up on Fulton MacGregor’s question about case management and the time constraint around recording information. Community Justice Scotland’s submission states:

“The Committee may wish to consider whether funding should be provided to facilitate or require more national multi-agency working arrangements in areas such as data and information sharing.”

That comes back to the recording and sharing of information and being a bit smarter in how we work together. Will you expand on what you have said? I am quite interested in how efficient that part of the system is.