Thank you, convener, and good morning to you and colleagues. I offer my apologies for the technical problems that we had at our end, which have held you up.
Thank you for continuing your scrutiny of the bill at what is a uniquely challenging time. The progress of the bill sends the important message that we are committed to improving the experience of victims of sexual crime in the health and justice systems.
I record my appreciation for all the staff who work in those services, notwithstanding the fact that they have also been addressing the challenge of the pandemic. I give my grateful thanks to Dr Gregor Smith, the interim chief medical officer for Scotland—who, as the convener said, has joined me this morning—for providing continued national leadership of the task force that is overseeing improvement of the relevant services across the country.
This is an important and focused bill that we, as a Government, have chosen to prioritise. It will underpin the work of the task force, which has firmly positioned forensic medical services first and foremost as a healthcare response. All health board chief executives have committed to delivery of sustainable trauma-informed services, in line with national Healthcare Improvement Scotland standards.
Transformation in the response to rape and sexual assault is already well under way through the work of the task force, and is supported by Government funding of £8.5 million over three years. Together, the work on the bill and the task force address recommendations in Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland’s report from 2017.
As I set out in my letter to the committee on 5 May, a comprehensive package of resources has been developed to ensure consistency in the approach to pathways of care, as well as to recording, collation and reporting of data in relation to services. Implementation of the clinical pathway, national documentation and national data sets for adults has been delayed due to Covid-19, but plans are now being developed to deliver virtual training for health boards to prepare them for implementation of a wider package of resources covering all age groups before the end of the calendar year.
Other important improvements are also being progressed over the next 12 months, including development of the role of nurse sexual offence examiners, implementation of a national clinical information technology system, and preparation of health boards for commencement of the bill.
I welcome the committee’s having spoken to survivors of rape and sexual assault; the Government shares the committee’s commitment to learning from people with lived experience. I was heartened that Sandy Brindley of Rape Crisis Scotland acknowledged in her oral evidence that improvements to victims’ experiences resulting from the work of the task force are beginning to bed in, particularly in recent months.
The bill will enshrine in law an holistic healthcare and recovery focused model, and will provide access to self-referral consistently across Scotland. That will mean that when a person who has experienced rape or sexual assault does not want to tell the police straight away, or is undecided, the health board will be able to obtain certain forensic evidence and keep it safe. If the person decides not to tell the police, the evidence will be destroyed after a period, or on request. That choice being available to people after a significant trauma is vital to giving them control over what happens to them at a time when control has been taken away.
I emphasise, however, that the principles of trauma-informed and person-centred care will apply whether or not a police report is made. The bill supports the delivery model of a co-ordinated multi-agency service to ensure a smooth pathway of care for the person. In that regard, I consider the bill to be barnahus ready.
A number of issues have been raised with the committee, and the committee will have a number of questions. I and my colleagues look forward to answering your questions.