Chamber and committees

How will the trauma-informed approach that is set out in the newly launched document “The Vision for Justice in Scotland” be embedded within Police Scotland? For example, are there any plans for training in that area?

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. Similarly, my app would not work. I would have voted no as well.

l thank Jim Fairlie for lodging his important motion.

Having spent much of my childhood growing up in Stanley, just north of Perth, I still feel a strong connection to the city and the wider area. This must be an extremely worrying time for OVO’s workforce across Scotland, and I would like to express my deep disappointment about the situation to everyone who is affected. We know that for every job loss, many others are affected, including our families, communities, businesses and, of course, the supply chain. The jobs in Perth and Dunfermline are invaluable to the local economy.

As we also know, the plans for redundancy were explicitly denied by the company when it took over SSE’s retail arm in January 2020, at which time it stated that “nothing will change”. Despite the promises, four months later, the company offered voluntary redundancy to 2,500 employees, and 18 months later its new plans were announced. The original promises have now been forgotten as the damaging plans to close offices across Scotland have come to light.

It is extremely disappointing that OVO’s chief executive officer, Stephen Fitzpatrick, was unwilling to respond to questions from my colleagues about his plans. That reflected a clear lack of compassion on his part for the workers who made the company so successful in the first place. OVO’s decision comes at the worst possible time, as we try to recover from the perfect storm of the pandemic, Brexit and poor management of the economy by the UK Government.

I commend the work that my colleagues in Fife and Perthshire have done to press the company on its plans and to seek assurances on the future of the workforce. In that regard, it may offer a ray of light to look at Dundee, where, not so long ago, a similar issue emerged when Michelin closed its doors after half a century, which cost more than 500 jobs in the city. In Dundee, the SNP administration worked collaboratively with Michelin to develop a proposal that has come to fruition. Work is now under way to transition the site to become a new innovation park that will employ around 100 highly skilled staff. I would be delighted if a similarly creative approach could be considered in advance of the second meeting with OVO, which is planned to take place over the coming weeks.

At this point, it is important to note that such events make it clear why Scotland should have more powers over corporate governance and employment law. It is an unfortunate fact that decisions such as OVO’s are indicative of a UK economy in which takeovers, major restructuring and, sadly and regrettably, redundancies are becoming too common. It is an economy in which companies can make promises and then break them, with nothing much being done to hold them to account. The result is that the UK has among the lowest average wages and lowest gross domestic product per capita of comparable nations in north-west Europe. As well as working long hours, we have among the lowest levels of job protection, the poorest sick pay and the lowest pensions, while productivity remains modest, at best. Those facts provide clear evidence of why we need full economic powers to sit north of the border.

I know that Jim Fairlie and other colleagues will do all that they can to support all OVO staff who are impacted by the company’s announcement, and I will do all that I can to support them in their efforts.

The statistics that Mr Greene referred to show only half a picture. There are other forms of crime that are now at lower levels than they were in January 2020. According to the national statistics “Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2020-21” bulletin, recorded crime

“remains at one of the lowest levels seen since 1974.”

How is the Scottish Government ensuring the continued reduction in crimes of dishonesty, fire raising and vandalism, which have seen overall reductions since January 2020?

Good morning and welcome to the sixth meeting in 2022 of the Criminal Justice Committee. There are no apologies. Pauline McNeill and Fulton MacGregor will join us virtually via Microsoft Teams once we move into private session.

The first agenda item is to agree whether to take in private items 2, 3 and 4, which are consideration of our approach to two Scottish Government bills, and consideration of the evidence that we heard during previous evidence sessions on tackling violence against women and girls. Do we agree to take those agenda items in private?

Members indicated agreement.

That concludes the public part of the meeting. We move into private session for the other items on our agenda.

I congratulate Stephen Kerr on his motion celebrating the 70th anniversary of the accession to the throne of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of England—the first Queen Elizabeth of Scotland.

Regardless of our differing views on the monarchy in modern-day Scotland, the debate is, rightly, a moment to celebrate a unique achievement by a woman who has given her life to serving others, which is reflected in the fact that she is the longest-reigning queen and the longest-reigning monarch currently living.

Last week, the platinum jubilee celebrations got under way across the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, and around the world, as communities came together to celebrate the Queen’s 70-year reign. I am sure that many loyal fans and royal watchers will be hopeful that the pandemic will not inhibit the celebrations.

Having anticipated the popularity of the debate and the likely references by many members to the number of countries that the Queen has visited, miles that she has travelled, trees that she has planted, hands that she has shaken and hats and handbags that she owns, I shall instead take a brief walk back in time.

My first memory of the Queen is from a Sunday drive in our family Austin A40 from my home in Aberdeen to see the Queen’s holiday home, Balmoral castle. Although my sister and I could see only the roof of the castle from the road, that was enough for us—we were in awe. During the 70s, 80s and 90s, my family were true royal fans, following every wedding, birth, christening, divorce, death and scandal.

The Queen’s connection to the north-east is lifelong. It is not unusual to encounter her walking, riding or driving around Deeside, clearly at home and always wearing her headscarf. My husband, who was then a serving police officer, returned from Deeside security duties one evening, advising me that, earlier that day, he had had to apologise to the Queen after blocking her in on an estate road as he and his colleague assisted a royal watcher in changing her flat tyre. Graciously, the Queen had offered to help.

Throughout my working life, I, too, spent many hours undertaking security duties when royals were in residence. Many royal watchers arrived at numerous venues where the Queen was undertaking public engagements and official visits, and at Balmoral, too. Some were in full military uniform, with many claiming to be the Queen’s long-lost second cousin—some were the genuine thing. That is a light-hearted moment of reminiscing, but it reflects a life of military precision, with every public engagement planned, co-ordinated, rehearsed, tweaked and diligently undertaken.

Although the debate on the cost to the public purse continues, there is absolutely no question as to the contribution that the Queen has made to the lives of many people who hold a special space in their life for her, as well as her contribution to local groups, charities, organisations, businesses and others that have benefited from her popularity and presence.

Members will all have their own memories of the Queen visiting their constituency or region. That is no less the case for Aberdeen, which she visited in the 60s, during an outbreak of typhoid; in the 70s, when she pressed the button to start oil flowing from the North Sea to Grangemouth; in 2012, to open the University of Aberdeen’s Sir Duncan Rice library; and in 2017, to open the Robertson family roof garden at Aberdeen royal infirmary. In my constituency, she visited the Sue Ryder Dee View Court neurological centre, and her many local patronages include Voluntary Service Aberdeen and the Royal Horticultural Society of Aberdeen.

I wish Her Majesty the Queen well as she celebrates such a milestone. The 70th jubilee celebrations are a fitting acknowledgement of a life of service to others. I look forward to an extra bank holiday in June and to hearing more about the platinum pudding competition.

In the short time since the new parliamentary session began, the challenges that the justice system faces have featured prominently in chamber business, and rightly so. Justice touches absolutely everyone, and in the words of Martin Luther King,

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

The motion that is being debated today is timely and welcome. It sets out a vision for a justice system that is fair, transparent and meets the needs of modern and contemporary Scotland. However, it recognises the magnitude of the task and the work that will be required to sustain the downward trend in recorded crime and improve the experiences of victims, while breaking the cycle of offending for those who are caught in the revolving door of crime, and holding those who offend to account, whether through custodial or community justice options.

Last year, the Criminal Justice Committee took evidence from experts, and those working in and coming into contact with the sector. Although we heard evidence on a wide range of subjects, a unifying theme was the urgent need for reform in many areas. Some of that linked to the pandemic, but many of the issues that were raised significantly predated the pandemic and are complex and multifaceted.

As a critical friend to the justice sector and the Scottish Government, our report asks the Government and key partners to grasp the nettle and take bold action to improve outcomes in the sector. Therefore, I am pleased that the motion outlines the new vision for justice, which will support the Government in continuing to transform our justice system. The motion is, by necessity, comprehensive, and rightly reflects the commitment that is required to improve the experience of victims, putting trauma-informed approaches front and centre.

I will pick up a point to which Pauline McNeill alluded and of which I have an example from just last weekend. I spoke to a survivor of high-tariff domestic abuse, who had been referred by her local women’s aid service to a solicitor who had undergone domestic abuse training, only to find that the firm did not offer a legal aid option. That is a frustrating example of an unintended barrier to services that exist but are not joined up.

From a personal perspective, I am pleased that the motion includes the need for a safe and secure environment for those in custody and for those working in prisons, no matter how counterintuitive that seems to many who believe in the notion of tough justice. Scotland’s prison population is among the highest in western Europe and, although society rightly demands that offenders be held to account and, where appropriate, imprisoned, it is incumbent on us to reconsider the role of custody in a much broader context.

I recall a conversation that I had with a highly vulnerable young man whom I had just arrested, and not for the first time. He compared his cycle of offending to having fallen off a cliff only to find an ambulance at the bottom. For young men like him, I want us to drive the ambulance back up to the top of the cliff.

Of course, the budgetary landscape across all areas of Government is extremely challenging. In our recent budget scrutiny report, the Criminal Justice Committee outlined what we feel is a strong case for an overall increase in the budget for the criminal justice sector.

I am pleased that the justice sector will see a total investment of more than £3.1 billion in 2022-23 to strengthen and reform services. Within the new strategy, I hope that the cabinet secretary will look at whether there is scope to use existing expenditure as effectively as possible through, for example, alternatives to custody, extending or introducing innovative practices, and recycling underspend for use elsewhere in the system.

I thank each and every person working across our justice sector, for whom life has not been easy over the past couple of years. They have worked so hard to make life a bit better for others. We need them more than ever.

Like other colleagues, I welcome Jenny Gilruth to her new role.

Rail connectivity is a lifeline for the north-east, ensuring travel to and from education, employment, leisure activities, specialist medical treatment and so on. Members know that the north-east hosts an energy sector that has contributed more than £330 billion and counting to UK tax coffers. Railways have been pivotal in that achievement.

The causal factors impacting our railways over the years are complex. The pandemic hit services hard and made the financial climate extremely difficult.

The return of rail services to public ownership is welcome and an opportunity to get serious about addressing many of the challenges.

The SNP amendment outlines the record £4.85 billion investment by the Scottish Government to decarbonise and expand Scotland’s railways, including on-going electrification and decarbonisation.

I will move on, if the member does not mind.

That investment is also vital to getting people back on trains and making rail a travel option of choice.

Circling back to the north-east, progress is already being made at Aberdeen railway station where an £8 million refurbishment is under way. Last year, Kintore railway station reopened, and the North East of Scotland Transport Partnership is scoping the reopening of two small stations in my constituency. The Aberdeen hydrogen hub is an innovative opportunity that could, in time, expand production to connect to larger volume use of hydrogen for rail transport.

Recent Friends of the Earth research on nitrogen dioxide levels put Wellington Road in my constituency as the 11th most polluted road in Scotland, so the need to decarbonise our railways and get folk out of cars is pressing.