Criminal Justice Committee
15th Meeting, 2025
The Committee agreed to take items 4 and 5 in private.
The Committee took evidence from—
Adam Stachura, Associate Director of Policy, Communications and External Affairs, Age Scotland;
David Keenan, Chief Information Officer, Arnold Clark;
Jude McCorry, Chief Executive, Cyber and Fraud Centre Scotland;
Nicola Taylor, Partnership Member, CyberScotland Partnership;
Miles Bonfield, Deputy Director, National Crime Agency;
Chris Ulliott, Head of Cyber Security, NatWest Bank;
Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Houston, Organised Crime and Counter Terrorism Intelligence, Police Scotland.
The Committee considered correspondence from the Scottish Government and noted the Minister’s promise that an update will be provided to the Committee prior to summer recess.
The Committee agreed to write to the Minister and ask to be keep advised, in writing, of further developments. This should include alerting the Committee if demand for secure care places outstrips current capacity. The Committee agreed to ask the Minister for the steps the Scottish Government would take to address the situation if demand for secure care places outstrips current capacity.
The Committee agreed to seek further information on what Scottish Ministers expect the dedicated policy and practice adviser post they are funding at Social Work Scotland to achieve, in terms of addressing capacity issues.
The Committee will also seek and update on the plans to reform the contractual model for the provision of secure places in Scotland.
The Committee considered the evidence it heard earlier under agenda item 2.
The Committee considered a draft annual report for the parliamentary year from 13 May 2024 to 12 May 2025. Various changes were agreed to and the Committee cleared the report for publication.