Chamber and committees

Does Katy Clark want to come back in?

If that is all from Katy Clark, I will bring in Jamie Greene with a follow-up question, and we will then move on to licensing.

Good morning, and welcome to the 13th meeting in 2022 of the Criminal Justice Committee. We have received no apologies this morning.

Our main item of business is our final evidence session on the Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Bill. I refer members to papers 1 and 2.

I am very pleased to welcome Ash Regan, the Minister for Community Safety; Elinor Findlay, the bill team leader; David Bell, the pyrotechnics policy lead; and Natalie Stewart, a solicitor in the Scottish Government legal directorate. Ms Stewart joins us remotely. We appreciate the time that you are taking to join us this morning. I invite the minister to make some brief opening remarks.

I will bring in Katy Clark, who has some questions on prosecution. We will then move to questions on licensing.

I will bring in Katy Clark. I apologise, Katy, because I do not think that you had finished your line of questioning earlier.

That is helpful—thank you.

Pauline McNeill, do you have a follow-up question on licensing or are you happy for us to move on?

Collette Stevenson has a follow-up question, and then we will move on to restrictions on use and supply, on which I will bring in Fulton MacGregor.

I will bring in Jamie Greene with a follow-up question in a moment, but I want to briefly jump back to a question on licensing. Members have been looking for a bit more detail on the licensing proposals and one issue has come up repeatedly. Might this be an opportunity for us to ask a wee bit about the practicalities of the licensing scheme that is being put in place? For example, will there be an online option? Will people be required to produce identity documents? What sort of timescale will there be from the point at which somebody applies to the point that their application is completed and endorsed? I would like to hear a bit more practical detail about the process for people who apply for licences.

When we took evidence from previous witnesses, we asked about alternative options for the proposal in the bill on proxy purchases for under-18s. That is one of the key measures that the Government is keen to enact earlier than the other provisions. However, the section on alternative legislative solutions in the policy memorandum does not seem to mention how the proxy purchase scheme could have been achieved through a route other than the bill. Could a different legislative route be explored for that provision?

As the cabinet secretary has set out today, safety is the absolute priority in ensuring enhanced services in Moray. Will he outline how NHS Grampian will support staff training and development across the multidisciplinary team?