Chamber and committees

What sort of data do you keep? Is it just personal stuff?

This is an incredibly important amendment, and I am delighted that the minister and the Scottish Government are taking the matter so seriously and emphasising prevention and culture change. That is a really positive way forward.

Is the UK Government planning to evaluate how the legislation is working? I am sorry if I have missed that in the notes.

I just want to say that it is inconceivable that we would support the bill. The cabinet secretary laid out the reasons for that very clearly at the start of the meeting, and I will not repeat all of them, but the standout for me is that it would deny justice to people in Scotland and Northern Ireland who have been affected by the troubles. The fact that all the parties in Northern Ireland did not support it says it all. I do not even think that we should consider supporting the bill.

With respect to my colleagues, they are making the matter more complicated than it needs to be. The cabinet secretary and her officials have clearly stated that the SSI is about providing continuity and a fair process for police officers in Scotland. We have gone down a rabbit hole a bit with all the questions. I am content for the SSI to go ahead.

That is helpful.

Stuart Allardyce, how do you evaluate your success? I know that that is a very bland question, but how can you evaluate the outcomes from the work that you do?

That is interesting.

Does there need to be a larger public awareness campaign directed at this subject? Is that an on-going need? Do we need to increase the public’s awareness of the subject?

Thank you.

I agree with Jamie Greene about the Rape Crisis Scotland communication. I do not think that there is an issue about anybody thinking that court transcripts should not be available. I do not take such a gloomy view of the letter, to be honest. The cabinet secretary says:

“I look forward to working with the committee ... also as we progress the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill”

I think Jamie Greene was perhaps conflating the two. The cabinet secretary is saying that she is looking forward to working with the committee on the issue of court transcripts but also that that huge bill is coming down the line. She just mentioned that. I am not sure that the two should be conflated. In a couple of paragraphs she stated her commitment to doing this.

We could follow this up by asking if we could get a timescale so that we are clearer on that. However, on the whole, the letter is just stating what we had thought was happening—I know that this has gone on for a long time. For me, the issue is when the pilot is starting. More detail on that would be fine. However, I do not think that it is as gloomy as Jamie Greene is making out.

It is quite a wide range.