Chamber and committees

—to tell women about how important it is to stay active throughout their life, and about how important the impact of that on their child will be.

No—that is fine.

The Scottish Government annual progress update back in October said that “significant progress” in delivering on the ambitions of the recovery plan had been made. Do you agree or disagree with that? That question is for all three witnesses, starting with Pamela Dudek.

What are the most important improvements and changes that we could make to community facilities, infrastructure and spaces to meet the needs of women and improve safety? I put that question to Dr Stark first.

Thank you, convener. Yes, I do.

I have been listening carefully to everything that has been said. There is a clear focus on welfare, values and providing continual support. I was looking through things earlier, and I note that

“where the accused and/or the victim or witness is a child, the best interests of the child are required to be treated as a primary consideration and to be given appropriate weight”.

Are those interests given enough weight, noting other relevant considerations, or is the balance right?

We should keep in mind the fact that children who cause harm are often children who have been harmed—they are often the same children. Given what Megan Farr said, I wonder whether part of the problem is the fact that people are either on one side or the other side, and that there is not enough cross-working. For example, on one side, we have things such as the bairns’ hoose, which will be coming through to support children who have been harmed. On the other side, there is the reporter, who looks at the causes of harm.

I have an additional question. What part do accountability and responsibility play in the developing wellbeing of those children who are causing harm? How important is that as part of their wellbeing and development?

Megan Farr has just picked up my further question, convener. Thank you.

Sorry. I am asking about the best interests of the child being

“treated as a primary consideration”—

you referred to that as being the paramount consideration—

“and ... given appropriate weight”.

There are also other relevant considerations in assessing the public interest. Is that aspect right or does it need to be looked at? Is the point about those best interests being paramount strong enough?

Thank you—I could not find the right button. I will pick up on what Cathie Cowan said about community pathways and teams. The committee often hears about the importance of early intervention and preventative care. Should we be doing things in key performance standards to ensure that early intervention and preventative care are better reflected as a higher priority? Does that fit in at all?

I had thought that someone was going to add this point to their question, so I apologise.

Are there specific recommendations that you would like the committee to make on early intervention, in order to ensure that it is a priority for the future?