Chamber and committees

I support amendments 2, 3 and 5 in the name of the cabinet secretary, as they improve clarity around who will receive a pardon as well as widen the scope of the pardon appropriately, even if that is likely to affect only a small number of people.

The bill, as introduced, contains some ambiguities around qualifying conduct. As a result, I have lodged amendment 15, which, alongside amendments 9, 10 and 11 in the name of my colleague Alexander Stewart, seeks to remove some of the potential for the bill to be misinterpreted and for an individual to mistakenly believe that they have received a pardon. As the improved drafting in amendment 3, in the name of the cabinet secretary, will also achieve that goal, I am happy to support that amendment, regardless of the fact that it pre-empts other amendments in the group.

Thank you for your opening statements. I want to put to you a question that I put to the previous panel. A common theme in the discussion with the previous panel, which emerged in relation to the pandemic, was that of whether a child should have the autonomy to decide for themselves the manner in which they wish to be heard, including whether that is online or in person, and also how they wish to be represented. The implementation of article 12 of the UNCRC would strengthen a child’s right to have their views heard. Do you think that being more flexible and adaptable to what the child is comfortable with is key to the court making the best decision in the interests of the child?

May Dunsmuir, I put that question to you first, because it is about how children feel and how relaxed they are, and you mentioned things that might help with that, such as straws, round tables and suits.

Alistair Hogg, you spoke about being on that journey and having the right foundations in place. You talked about children being prepared, informed and supported before and after meetings. What are your views on attendance online or in person?

I have one more question. Earlier, you mentioned that, when things went online during the pandemic, children felt that they were not heard. We heard from witnesses in earlier evidence sessions that many people found online sessions better, but some people did not, as you have said. Do you have any views on that?

I mean in relation to the pandemic, children’s hearings and all the systems. We spoke about that earlier, and Sarah Axford mentioned that children’s views were not heard when things moved online and so on. Does the 2020 act need to be changed or amended in any way to take into account where we are today and the fact that a pandemic can happen?

Thank you. Jordan Croan, you mentioned that, in the last year, more than 1,600 people came to your service. Do you have any views from them to give us on whether they would like to be online or present in the room?

My colleague Pam Duncan-Glancy spoke about the 2020 act, and Dr Barnes Macfarlane talked about putting comments in to make sure that certain things are covered, such as making sure that the views of children under the age of 12 are heard.

My colleague Karen Adam talked about the pandemic. With the 1995 act being there and now the 2020 act coming into force, I hope, but not in force yet, is there anything that you now feel should be in the 2020 act that you did not feel should be in it at the time? Dr Barnes Macfarlane, you talked about reviewing that. Is there anything that you would bring into that act now that was not there before?

I thank the panel members for their opening statements. My question is about judicial specialisation. Some legal systems around the world and in the UK make greater use of specialised family courts or family judges. In the larger urban areas of Scotland, some young people have access to specialist sheriffs, but others do not have that access. What impact would a wider roll-out of judicial specialisation have on children and young people’s participation in decision making?

Good morning, minister. My question is a supplementary to Fulton MacGregor’s question. We have heard from witnesses that, during the pandemic, black and ethnic minority women felt misunderstood by mainstream services due to those services not understanding their culture, so they were left disinclined to use those services after suffering domestic abuse. There was increasing reliance on the third sector as a result. What has been done to tackle that flaw in the system and to achieve the capabilities and capacities that are set out in the race equality framework?

I thank the minister for those comments, which sound very promising. The women raised the issue that, because they had no representation on the boards, they could not understand the culture. It is therefore good to hear that you have Mariam on the joint strategic board.

With regard to FGM, which you have mentioned, the fact is that most of the Female Genital Mutilation (Protection and Guidance) (Scotland) Act 2020 is not yet in force. In 2019, a Scottish Government publication revealed that there was no available data on the occurrence of FGM in Scotland. Has there been more of a focus on collecting that data to accurately identify communities and spaces where this horrific practice might be taking place?