Chamber and committees

That is helpful. NatureScot has reviewed capercaillie conservation and it has said that lethal predator control is not its primary recommendation for a range of reasons, including that

“widespread removal of a suite of species is not compatible with the overall biodiversity goals as set out in Scottish Biodiversity Strategy.”

What are your thoughts on that? How can we protect biodiversity? What might be the primary methods of doing that?

I respect what the member says but, particularly given the make-up of this committee, I wonder whether we should keep the petition open and write to the British Menopause Society seeking its views on the issues that are raised by the petition, including whether it has engaged with NHS Education for Scotland in the development of the online learning package that is being provided to GPs and medical practitioners in Scotland.

That is fair enough.

My final question is about the role of schools in prevention. We have discussed the role of social media, but I imagine that a lot of the violence emanates from the school environment, even if it does not take place there. In your assessment, how effective are schools at intervening early and at working with the police to get community officers out? Anecdotally, I have heard that primary schools, in particular, are very effective in combating social media abuse, for example. I am keen to hear your views on the role of schools and the education system.

Yes, I am, in the context of the petition. However, the petitioner might want to consider looking at another issue in the same area—the effectiveness of home reports. In respect of the specific ask of the petition, I agree with Mr Ewing’s points.

I am interested in the justice system response in the widest possible sense. I welcomed the comments from Mr Watters about the three tiers. I was interested in the statistic that he provided that, when the police take children home, 75 per cent do not reoffend, which is amazing.

However, I am interested in the more extreme end of the three-tier approach. What are the likely consequences of multiple assaults, particularly where an individual moves from the children’s hearings system into the criminal justice system? Is the children’s hearings system adequate? I know anecdotally from my experience in Dundee that individuals can sometimes rack up dozens of convictions, if you like, in that system and then have a big shock when they enter the criminal justice system. What are the likely steps in those cases, which I hope are the more extreme ones?

You have articulated what the system should be. To pick up on some of Mr Watters’s evidence, is there any evidence that putting a child into local authority care or a secure unit has beneficial outcomes for the individual? What is the panel’s assessment of the effectiveness of the justice system response?

Jonathan, do you want to comment?

I think that we should write to the Scottish Government to ask when its analysis of the responses to its consultation on the licensing of activities involving animals will be published and whether it will give specific consideration to fire safety in the forthcoming animal boarding regulations. In that letter, it would be worth while highlighting rehoming centres, which are not boarding kennels but are similar facilities, with the caveat that the dogs in them do not have owners. Otherwise, they are essentially similar facilities and, I presume, the requirements would be the same.

I also wonder—I am relaxed about whether we should do this once we get a response to that letter—whether we should write to the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities about licensing requirements and whether local authorities would have the resources to check on the matter, as well as to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to find out how prevalent the issue is. It is clear that there is one case, but how often does that happen? For context, it is important to differentiate between rehoming centres and boarding kennels. That approach might provide us with an indication of how prevalent the activity is.

I do not know about boarding kennels. There is one at Happas, near Forfar. Edinburgh Cat and Dog Home deals with rehoming, and it might even have made an assessment. Dogs Trust has two places in Scotland.

I will follow up on Mr Ewing’s line of questioning. Transport Scotland officials have told the committee that it became clear only in late 2022 that the 2025 completion date would be missed, but the committee has heard that it was common knowledge among experts that the date would be missed several years before that. Cabinet secretary, are you concerned about the apparent discrepancy between the views of officials and those of external engineering experts?