Chamber and committees

Thank you—that was helpful. We have some outstanding questions on support for victims. Jamie Greene, would you like to come in on that issue?

Does Rona Mackay have any further questions in that area?

On the point that the domestic abuse court would be neither the High Court nor a sheriff court, you talked about sentencing powers. In the High Court, sentencing powers are unlimited, but what sort of sentencing approach would fit with a specialist domestic abuse court?

On that note, I bring this part of the meeting to a close. Thank you both very much for your participation today.

Next week, we will be joined by a senior representative of Police Scotland and the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans.

Thank you. I am interested in your comments about taking evidence by commission, which we know is under way already, albeit on a limited basis.

It was helpful to receive that update. In my introductory remarks, I mentioned the evidence sessions that we have had. I think that it is safe to say that some of the witnesses we have spoken to were less than complimentary about a range of aspects of their court experiences. I would like to pick up on your comments about some changes that could be made in early course, such as expanding the taking of evidence by commission. In light of the evidence that we have been given, it seems pressing to us to deal with many aspects of the court system. What could be done soon to begin addressing some of those challenges?

What steps has the Scottish Government taken to ensure that the waiver scheme is fair?

I thank Paul McLennan for lodging the motion and I acknowledge the resilience of women and girls who are experiencing, or have survived, gender-based violence in Scotland and beyond.

Last week, during our second debate on the topic, the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans made a valid point that the experiences of female veterans had not been mentioned. He alluded to the experience of women in the armed forces and made reference to his recent visit to a veterans’ facility in Fife that was supporting a survivor of gender-based violence.

I will pick up on that issue today, but, first, I pay tribute to all women serving in, and veterans of, our military, for their commitment, bravery and sacrifice in safeguarding our national security.

There are more than 20,000 servicewomen in our armed forces. Women can now apply for all the same roles as men, and there is no doubt that the armed forces provide women with fulfilling careers and vast opportunities. However, for many women in the military, their experience is very different.

Earlier this year, the United Kingdom Parliament’s Defence Committee, following its inquiry into the situation of and challenges facing women in the armed forces today, published its report, “Protecting those who protect us: Women in the Armed Forces from Recruitment to Civilian Life”. The report found:

“There is too much bullying, harassment and discrimination, and criminal behaviour—such as sexual assault and rape—affecting Service personnel”,

and there is no doubt

“that female Service personnel suffer disproportionately.”

It goes on:

“The stories that we heard are truly shocking and they gravely concern us. They are also disappointing given the MOD’s commitment to ending unacceptable behaviours”.

The report continues:

“this behaviour is harming the health, careers and operational effectiveness of our Service personnel and has no place in the military. ... The Forces and the MOD must root out these behaviours and must respond better when they occur.”

The report also explored the experiences of female veterans and concluded that, although many reported positive experiences transitioning to civilian life, many reported challenges relating to physical or mental health issues, relationship problems, debt and unemployment.

Dr Beverly Bergman of the Scottish veterans health research group highlighted that there are very few female-specific veterans services in the UK, noting that many women prefer gender-specific services,

“especially if they have been the victim of sexual or domestic abuse or harassment.”

Work is now under way to address many of the issues addressed in the report.

The findings in the report are stark and they must offer an opportunity for change. The Scottish Government strategy, “Support for the Veterans and Armed Forces Community”, outlines our approach to supporting veterans across issues including mental health, homelessness and substance misuse, and sets out the vital role of the Scottish veterans fund, the unforgotten forces consortium, and third-sector partners and charities—all under the watchful eye of our Scottish veterans commissioner.

However, support for women remains limited. Although there are programmes such as the women returners programme, which supports women back into work, there is so much more to do to address the specific challenges that women face as a result of the impact of gender-based violence.

I recognise that defence is a reserved matter, but nonetheless I urge the Scottish Government to use the powers that it has to ensure that women are front and centre in our continuing efforts in tackling the issue. I look forward to working with the cabinet secretary and the minister on that important work.

What is the Scottish Government doing to strengthen the process for the handling of complaints and misconduct allegations against police officers?

During the pandemic, we have seen the benefits that services such as Near Me, which the cabinet secretary mentioned a short time ago, can deliver to reduce the need for in-person appointments. Will he outline what role he envisages such technology might have in the delivery of services in Moray?

It is a privilege to speak in today’s important debate as the convener of the Criminal Justice Committee. I thank the convener and members of the COVID-19 Recovery Committee for securing the debate. It is especially valuable that we will have an opportunity to hear so many contributions from a range of committees—it reminds us all that Covid is not just a health issue, but one that has impacted on almost every part of our lives. To echo the words of the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans when he last spoke to us about Covid, it has certainly not gone away; the pandemic is far from over.

Like many other sectors, the criminal justice sector has been significantly impacted by the virus. As a committee, we have tried to ensure that the sector has been able to cope and continue to function to the greatest extent possible during the lockdowns.

As we slowly start to recover, we have tried to ensure that we retain some of the incredibly innovative changes to practice that the pandemic has brought about, while carefully studying Government plans to make some of them permanent. As the committee said recently in its pre-budget report, any proposals

“must enjoy the support of the sector and any fundamental changes to the ways we currently conduct business must be carefully studied and the impact on rights considered. The balance of justice must also not be undermined by any changes.”

I thank everyone who works and volunteers in the sector for their incredible efforts to keep the criminal justice system functioning. Their professionalism and commitment have been second to none. However, I also acknowledge that the pandemic has left the sector with massive challenges. One of the largest of those challenges is the backlog of cases in our courts—in particular, our sheriff courts and High Courts.

As we heard recently, before the pandemic there were approximately 1,330 trials outstanding in our sheriff and jury courts and there are now in excess of 3,500. Every one of those cases represents not only a victim who is awaiting justice, but an accused who is waiting to come to trial. With those figures, it is not surprising that the Cabinet Secretary for Justice recently told the Parliament that remand numbers have jumped to nearly 30 per cent of the prison population.

A growth of nearly 2,000 extra trials is challenging enough, but we also know that a significant proportion of those are for serious offences such as rape and crimes of sexual violence. That means that many of the 3,500 trials will result in a conviction and imprisonment, which will put yet more pressure on the prison system, healthcare sector and voluntary groups that work in prisons supporting education and training and responding to drug misuse and mental health issues.

We also know that it is likely to take years to tackle that backlog. Can members imagine the strain on a survivor of rape of having to wait another three or four years for their case even to come to court? We were privileged recently to hear from a group of such survivors. I can honestly tell members that their stories and journeys were some of the most powerful evidence that I have ever heard. We simply must take action to address the situation.

The committee will publish further reports, including on Covid recovery, in the coming weeks to set out our suggestions for improvement. We look forward to helping in any scrutiny of a Covid recovery bill and will play our part, working with the Scottish Government and others, to do all that we can to recover from this brutal pandemic.