Chamber and committees

That was a helpful discussion and a lot of legitimate points were raised. Without diminishing what is happening, because this is an exceptional departure of police officers in terms of the numbers that are involved, Police Scotland ordinarily has an exodus of officers year on year, as members know. The numbers of officers leaving is to a certain extent dictated by 30 years ago. In the 1970s, a high number of officers were recruited, courtesy of pay and conditions improving. To a certain extent, divisional forces before Police Scotland and now Police Scotland have experience of managing that changing staff profile, but I agree that this is an unusual set of circumstances, which arises out of the change in pension provisions and arrangements.

It is important that we have been able to put our views on the record. We have published the letters that we received from Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Federation, which were helpful. It is also important to note that the Scottish Police Authority has an important role in managing and responding to the issue.

Given that we are a couple of weeks away from recess, if members agree, I propose to follow up by asking Police Scotland for its initial response to the correspondence from Scottish Police Federation and to comment on the concerns that it raises. We can consider the potential underpinning budget issues in our forthcoming budget scrutiny process. At this point in the year, if members agree, as a starting point, we should ask Police Scotland for its response to the SPF’s comments, keep the situation under review and revisit it when we feel that that is required. Do members agree with that?

Thank you. Jamie Greene wants to come back in.

Thanks. My proposal is that, in the first instance, we write back to Police Scotland and to the Scottish Police Authority. I will park the idea of writing back to the federation for the moment, because we have a clear idea of its position on the matter. We can review that in due course. Are members agreed?

Members indicated agreement.

As the cabinet secretary and other members have said, it goes without saying that one life lost in custody is one life too many. Therefore, I ask the cabinet secretary to reaffirm that it is the Scottish Government’s intention to treat this serious issue with all the sensitivity and priority that it deserves.

Will the member give way one final time?

It is welcome that the Scottish Government introduced drug driving limits and roadside testing in October 2019. However, we have heard that the demand for forensic testing has exceeded supply. Despite the budget constraints that the cabinet secretary alluded to earlier, what funding has the Scottish Government provided to the Scottish Police Authority to build testing and analysis capacity since the introduction of the new offence in 2019?

I thank Christine Grahame for lodging an important motion, which eloquently describes the commitment behind creating the “Men Don’t Talk” one-act play. The storyline development, the issues that the play explores and the funding support have all helped to create an opportunity to raise awareness of mental health and the vital role of men’s sheds in many of Scotland’s communities. What struck me about the motion is the really creative and positive relationship between the Peebles men’s shed, the playwright Clare Prenton, the Inspiring Life—Evie Douglas Memorial Fund, and the Eastgate theatre in Peebles, which clearly brought significant positive benefits to everyone involved in the project.

Age Scotland has described a men’s shed as

“a safe social space for all men with time on their hands, to come together to socialise”

and undertake

“purposeful activities ... for themselves or for their ... community.”

It continued:

“sheds aim to provide positive views of aging and later life, tackle loneliness and isolation and help older”

men

“to be as well as they can be.”

I am sure that most—if not all—MSPs who have supported Christine Grahame’s motion will have a special relationship with men’s sheds in their constituencies and regions. My Aberdeen South and North Kincardine constituency hosts three sheds, which I will drop into over the summer.

Earlier this year, I spoke about the Portlethen and District men’s shed in a speech about veterans and mental health and wellbeing. Cliff and John, who are both shedders and veterans, are testimony to the role that the shed plays in helping men to access their social network of friends.

Recently, my colleague Jackie Dunbar lodged a motion to celebrate global intergenerational week. In that debate, I spoke about the work of one shedder who has created doodle boards for a local primary school, putting his practical skills to very good use, recycling materials such as wood and supporting children to learn while developing their sensory practice.

However, the reach of that particular shed is much wider, as evidenced by the dementia-friendly garden that they maintain, the planters that they have made for their local railway station and the benches that they are currently making—out of mahogany, no less—to be placed outside the local chemist for older people to sit on when they are waiting for their prescriptions. Those are all activities that enable men to come together with their peers, neighbours and even strangers, and talk.

Of course, the context of today’s debate addresses the scenario not so much of “Men don’t talk” as maybe also “Men don’t want to talk or don’t feel able to talk.”

A recent American study on the role of men’s sheds in health promotion for older men highlighted the importance of an informal, male-friendly and safe shed environment that helps them to open up and talk about health issues in a comfortable and secure way.

By sharing their individual health and illness experiences with their peer group, men gain social support, which helps them to deal with their health issues, and in particular their mental health issues. I have it on good authority that my friends at the Portlethen men’s shed are more than happy to talk quite frequently about their waterworks, including the number of times they go to the loo in the evening and which treatment works best—wonderful stuff.

The study also suggests that a successful men’s shed must be supported by the availability of good shed facilities and, as Christine Grahame highlighted, sufficient funding and a management arrangement driven by shedders that enables them to make their own decisions—for example, which projects they want to work on.

I thank Christine Grahame for lodging the motion and I look forward to visiting Portlethen men’s shed, Cove and Altens men’s shed and Culter and District men’s shed during recess for a bit of summer talk.

As the minister will know, an energy from waste facility is being constructed in my Aberdeen South and North Kincardine constituency, and will become a neighbour both to the Torry community and local businesses—some of which have significant energy costs associated with their nature and operation. The facility potentially offers an opportunity to provide cheaper heating to businesses, as well as to residents, via a grid network.

Can I ask the minister for her support in ensuring that that kind of opportunity is fully utilised by project stakeholders, given the impact that energy price hikes have had on businesses and Scotland’s hardest-hit families, including many of my constituents—

I call Katy Clark.

Thank you, Dr Plastow. That was a very helpful overview of and introduction to the code of practice in its current form.

You said that the meat of the draft code of practice is structured around 12 guiding principles and ethical considerations to which Police Scotland, the PIRC and the SPA must adhere when they acquire, retain, use or destroy biometric data. Will you expand on how those principles and considerations were developed and how they were identified as being appropriate to the code of practice?