Chamber and committees

My other question was about Wales and that has been covered, so I am happy to hand back to you, convener.

Good morning. I am keen to follow up on some of the earlier discussions about international examples—or, indeed, examples elsewhere in the UK. Ireland is currently having a general election. I appreciate that that is a slightly different context, given that Ireland’s political parties have state funding, but this will be the first election in Ireland in which 40 per cent of candidates have to be female or parties will not receive their state funding.

I am keen to get a context. Obviously, we have some state funding mechanisms in the UK, such as Short money. Have people given consideration to how that could be used as a device to ensure that quotas are put in place?

Talat, do you want to come in first?

I asked the earlier witnesses about legislative interventions for quotas, in particular. Ireland is having a general election in which, for the first time, 40 per cent of candidates will be required to be women or the political parties will not receive their state funding. Obviously, Ireland has a different system in that the state funds political parties. We have mechanisms in Scotland and the UK to fund political parties, whether it be short money or money for leaders’ allowances and that kind of thing. Do the political parties believe that such a measure merits exploration or would people shy away from that wider conversation?

Don’t all rush at once to answer.

Thank you for those answers and, indeed, for the candour. That is helpful to the committee.

The cabinet secretary outlined some of the progress that is being made and some of the interventions and directions that have been made by his predecessors, but I have a concern. The Scottish Drugs Forum recently evaluated current practice with medication-assisted treatment, and its findings suggested that only 15 per cent of the participants in the evaluation were aware of the MAT standards. That has to be concerning, because it goes to the heart of how professionals and others in the partnerships that we require, as well as those who are in receipt of the services, are aware of those standards.

Some of the other themes that have been discussed this morning—including stigma, waiting times, delays and being able to access the support that is needed in the right setting—are things that users felt were difficult. I am keen to understand how the cabinet secretary is drilling into those issues and what sort of approach he is taking to them, because those figures are worrying.

Good morning to the cabinet secretary and his officials. The committee has been very interested in the progress of medication-assisted treatment standards and the cross-cutting nature of implementing those in healthcare settings and beyond.

In the latest data from Public Health Scotland, we have seen improved progress, which is welcome, but I am keen to get the cabinet secretary’s view on the targets for the MAT standards—that is, their full implementation in community and justice settings by April 2025, and their sustainability across all settings by April 2026. To what extent are those targets on track, and what work is being done to make sure that they are?

Does anyone have a view?

On the wider piece of work that you mentioned regarding environmental governance and the continuity act, am I correct in thinking that the minister intends to make an oral statement to Parliament?

Good morning. I will elaborate on some of the questions that we have explored in terms of the potential for reform of legal aid. In response to a parliamentary question, the minister said:

“Discussions on legal aid reform will commence this year and will include environmental stakeholders.”—[Written Answers, 3 October 2024; S6W-30377.]

Given that we are now 18 months from the end of this session of Parliament and that it has been stated that a number of other significant pieces of legislation, not least the human rights bill, will not be complete by the end of the session, is there a view about whether it is likely that legal aid reform will take place during this session, or is it likely to extend beyond that? Jamie Whittle, do you have a view?

Would you be keen to at least see some work started on that? I am sure that people have already started to discuss some views and ideas about what could change, particularly with environmental stakeholders. I assume that there is a wealth of experience and work that is ready to be put forward.

Good morning. In the previous evidence session, there was discussion about the possibility of dedicated environmental courts. We heard about some international evidence from New South Wales in particular, and the operation of its environmental court. Can the minister expand on why the Scottish Government thinks that a dedicated environmental court is not necessary in Scotland?