Chamber and committees

In the interests of time, please keep questions and answers succinct. Katy Clark has some questions about misogyny in policing and then I will bring in Russell Findlay.

Katy Clark will be followed by Fulton MacGregor, who has questions about the use of recorded police interviews.

I am afraid not. The cabinet secretary is waiting, and we have already overrun. As I said to Katy Clark, I am very happy for any additional questions to be sent to DCC Graham for a response.

I thank DCC Graham and DCS Faulds for appearing today. I am sorry that things were rather rushed at the end, but there will likely be a number of questions that we will follow up with you in writing.

There will be a very short suspension while we have a changeover of witnesses.

Katy, I wonder whether I could come in here.

I am sorry to cut you off, but there a couple of other areas for questioning that I would like to get to before we close the session at 10 minutes to 12. I want to ask a couple of questions about independent legal representation, which I think that you covered in your opening statement, cabinet secretary. In the testimony that we took in private from survivors, many of them said that they felt that their voice was not heard in court, whereas they felt that the voice of the accused was heard. Of course, section 275 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 means that particularly intimate and sensitive information about a complainer can be used in the court. What are your views on access to legal representation for victims of sexual assault? Could that be extended to domestic abuse victims?

Our next item of business is consideration of legislative consent memoranda on the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill and the Judicial Review and Courts Bill. I am pleased to welcome back the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans. He is joined by the Scottish Government officials Phil Lamont, who is from the criminal justice division, and Ms Alison Morris, who is head of serious organised crime policy—divert and deter. I refer members to papers 3 and 4.

I invite the cabinet secretary to make some brief opening remarks on the LCM on the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, after which we will move to questions on that LCM.

I ask for succinct questions and answers. We have until just before 10.30, and I know that members would like to get through quite a lot of questions.

I will bring in Russell Findlay to kick off with questions on reporting and recording.

I would like to move on to some questions about the introduction of a specialist court.

Thank you very much for that, DCC Graham. I also thank Katy Clark for her forbearance.

I think that Russell Findlay has a couple of questions on the gender recognition legislation.