Chamber and committees

I am conscious of time, so I will be quick.

Thank you.

I am finding this a very encouraging session. Thanks for the efficiencies that you have made in the reorganisation. Eric McQueen, you talked at the start about how the pay increase has been a bit higher than you had thought it would be. Is that helping you with recruitment and retention?

I am sorry to interrupt—where are we with that, then? Ten years seems like a long time.

I know that I am running out of time, but I will go back to James Gray, very briefly. You mentioned the closure of maybe 30 police stations. Would you put that money back into the capital budget, as the fire service is doing?

Thank you, convener. I will come to James Gray first.

In your opening statement, you acknowledged that you received £80 million extra in your budget. You said that half of that was spent on pay rises. Sorry if this is a bit simplistic, but can you say how the other £40 million was absorbed?

I turn to body-worn cameras. In the previous session of Parliament, I was on the Justice Sub-Committee on Policing and we were talking about cameras then, which was seven years ago. Why has that not been a priority for you? Whose decision is it? Is it operational, or is it a decision for you? You could not give a guarantee that it would happen, so I am wondering who actually decides that.

Again just briefly, I have a question for DCC Connors. You talked about THRIVE assessments, and said that it would be up to individual officers to do that. How is training going for that? Also, you will know that we did quite a large inquiry into the mental health and wellbeing of police officers; how is work on that progressing?

Incidentally, you mentioned virtual trials. I am very pleased about your plans for virtual domestic abuse trials. It is a huge step forward.

That is great. Do you have problems with RAAC—the reinforced concrete—in your buildings?