Chamber and committees

I think that this question is for James Gray. Last year, the Scottish Government provided a cash injection to eliminate a structural deficit in the policing budget. I understand that the budget has now been balanced. Given all the challenges, what steps will you take to maintain a balanced budget?

Would that include extra training for officers in any of the areas?

How much have your staff numbers come down?

My second question was going to be about efficiency savings, but you explained all that in your first answer. I will move on to the action that you are planning to take in response to your work with the Equality and Human Rights Commission on impact assessments. Does that have budgetary implications for SLAB?

That leads me to open up the question to some of the legal experts on the panel.

My question is for Gillian Fyfe. Your submission states that the demand for advice on legal aid has risen by 32 per cent during the pandemic. It also points out that

“legal aid is not currently available for many simple procedure cases”

and that the majority of cases that Citizens Advice Scotland deals with are in the civil legal area.

What impact does that have on your ability to help people to gain access to justice? What changes, if any, do you want to propose in that regard?

Will you repeat the part about provision not being national? Is it a kind of postcode lottery, and has that always been the case?

I have a very brief question. As we know—and as the cabinet secretary confirmed in his letter to us—virtual visits have been really successful. Will they be retained and, if necessary, escalated? If so, will governors take that general approach throughout the estate?

Thank you.

I want to follow up on the line of questioning of my colleague Collette Stevenson. Dr Scott, you highlight in your submission some of the barriers that women and children who are experiencing domestic abuse face. They include

“Scarcity of lawyers ... prepared to take on legal aid cases”,

“Lack of ... quality and skill”

in immigration cases in particular, and issues with

“Child contact cases”.

How acute is the problem? Those issues have been around for a while, but are they getting worse? Will you comment on the scale of the issue?