Chamber and committees

Jamie, do you want to come in? I will then bring in Collette Stevenson.

Our final letter, which is again from Police Scotland, is a response on tackling online child abuse, grooming and exploitation.

I am happy to take forward that suggestion. The update was helpful. This is a growing and serious area of police work and it is right that we maintain a watching brief over how things progress when it comes to the policing response and the resource around that.

On a related issue, an invitation was extended to us to visit the Stop It Now! Scotland offices. We can certainly take that forward. I am not sure whether that is in the diary.

Thanks very much, Stephen.

Yes.

Okay. Thanks very much.

That is our final piece of correspondence. I thank members for their forbearance, as there was quite a bit to get through.

That concludes the public part of our meeting but, before we move into private session, I give a reminder that our next meeting will be a joint meeting with the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee and the Social Justice and Social Security Committee, next Thursday, 15 September, when we will hear evidence from Angela Constance on tackling drug deaths and problem drug use. That will be in place of our scheduled meeting of Wednesday 14 September.

On that note, Stephen Imrie has reminded me that we have already started to seek some of that information. You have raised a good point. Another option is to have a follow-up to the session on policing and mental health, in order to consider that session and other issues that have been raised. Do members agree to that?

Good morning, and welcome to the 22nd meeting in 2022 of the Criminal Justice Committee. We have received apologies from Collette Stevenson.

Our first item of business is a decision on whether to take in private item 3, which is consideration of our approach to the Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Bill. Do we agree to take that item in private?

Members indicated agreement.

Our next item of business is consideration of a negative instrument. I refer members to paper 1. Do members have any questions on the content of the instrument?

I, too, associate myself with the comments that Fulton MacGregor and Katy Clark have made. It is a welcome step forward, and the spirit of it seems to be perfectly sound.

On that basis, members are content not to make any specific recommendations to the Parliament on the instrument. I thank members for their views.

That concludes the public part of the meeting. We move into private session.