Meeting of the Parliament [Draft]

Meeting date: Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Official Report 1084KB pdf

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Portfolio Question Time

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Constitution, External Affairs and Culture

Good afternoon. The first item of business is portfolio question time, and the first portfolio is constitution, external affairs and culture. As ever, members who wish to ask a supplementary question should press their request-to-speak button during the relevant questions. There is quite a bit of interest in both sets of portfolios, and we have a busy programme over the course of the afternoon, so I make the usual appeal for brevity in questions and responses.

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Robert the Bruce (750th Anniversary)

To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting events to commemorate the 750th anniversary of the birth of Robert the Bruce, which takes place on 11 July this year. (S6O-03118)

I take the opportunity to welcome Kaukab Stewart to her ministerial position; I look forward to working with her to deliver the annual £100 million increase in the culture and arts budget to which the Government has committed.

Since we last held portfolio questions, we have had the very sad news of the death of Russia’s leading opposition figure, Alexei Navalny. I am sure that members on all sides of the chamber will join me in condemning the Russian Government for its culpability. The whole democratic world, including Scotland, should mark his bravery and inspirational leadership, and remind President Putin and his henchmen that the memory of Alexei Navalny will not be erased and that there will be real consequences.

In answer to Claire Baker’s question about the 750th anniversary of the birth of Robert the Bruce, the Scottish Government delivers support for the historic environment through our sponsorship of Historic Environment Scotland, our leading public body for heritage. Historic Environment Scotland is marking the 750th anniversary of the birth of Robert the Bruce, as one of the main sponsors of a programme of community-led activities in Dumfries and Galloway by the Medieval Bruce Heritage Trust, which began on 10 February and will run until 14 July. There will also be Bruce-themed activities at the Caerlaverock castle jousting event on 27 and 28 July, and I commend visits to both Stirling castle and the Bannockburn visitor centre as well.

There is no denying the notable part in Scotland’s history that was played by Robert the Bruce. As the cabinet secretary will know, Robert the Bruce’s final resting place is in Dunfermline abbey, in Scotland’s ancient capital and its newest city. The 750th anniversary is an opportunity for Dunfermline to maximise those links and to encourage visitors and engagement in cultural activities. How is the Scottish Government working with Fife Council, VisitScotland and others to ensure that the city of Dunfermline is best placed to capitalise on events such as that historic anniversary? How is the Government supporting Dunfermline in maximising its cultural appeal to visitors, given its new city status?

I commend Claire Baker for doing just that: she has used the opportunity of portfolio questions to highlight the importance of Dunfermline to Robert the Bruce. It adds to the list of the variety of places and events that will mark the life of Robert the Bruce in this important anniversary year.

I would very much like to come to Dunfermline and visit the abbey, and I commend everybody who is watching these questions to do likewise. The Scottish Government meets regularly with our agencies, whether that is Historic Environment Scotland or VisitScotland, and we have an on-going dialogue with local authorities. If there is anything of which Claire Baker would wish me and my colleagues to be aware, I look forward to hearing about that, and to underlining the importance of Dunfermline to the memory of the life of Robert the Bruce.

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Culture (Promotion)

To ask the Scottish Government how it is promoting culture outside of the central belt. (S6O-03119)

The Scottish Government works closely with partners to promote culture across the whole of Scotland. For example, the youth music initiative offers young people across the country access to music making. Creative Scotland’s funding reaches all 32 local authority areas. The regularly funded network includes organisations from the Scottish Borders to the Shetland Islands, while the Culture Collective includes the creative islands network and the Ayr Gaiety partnership’s Culture Collective programme. South of Scotland Enterprise recently published the “South of Scotland Creative Economy guide” to promote that region’s vibrant creative economy. Highlands and Islands Enterprise and its XpoNorth Digital programme provide innovative support, including their recent Highland heritage and film sector mixer event.

I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer and I, too, welcome the Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development to her new post.

College students around Ayrshire are frustrated about the lack of local jobs in the culture sector. A lack of opportunities forces people to either leave where they live, commute huge distances or accept that their careers may be held back. Between 2014 and 2023, however, Creative Scotland did not hire anyone beyond Edinburgh or Glasgow; the overwhelming majority of roles went to people in the capital city. Does the cabinet secretary agree that job opportunities across the public sector, including in culture, could be spread more fairly across Scotland?

I am very seized of, first, taking the opportunity to commend cultural venues and organisations across the country—including some in the area that Sharon Dowey highlighted. Those matters are being considered by Creative Scotland, which is an arm’s-length organisation, for reasons that I think all members agree with. It is currently going through a programme of regularly funded organisations, and there are most certainly organisations from the region that Sharon Dowey highlighted. Is there more that can be done to highlight the vibrant culture and arts scene throughout Scotland? No doubt. However—as I already said in a detailed answer to the member—there are projects and organisations, which are well funded, throughout the country, including in rural Scotland and the south-west of Scotland, and I look forward to that continuing.

At a meeting that took place earlier this month, Aberdeen City Council considered a report entitled “Culture Delivery and Funding Review”, which included analysis of Creative Scotland’s grant awards to Aberdeen in comparison to other Scottish cities. What is the cabinet secretary’s response to that report?

As the member is well aware, under the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010, the Scottish Government is unable to intervene in the artistic judgment of Creative Scotland, including in relation to the multiyear funding decisions that are under way.

The Scottish Government provides funding to Creative Scotland to distribute funds across the whole of Scotland. There are three organisations based in Aberdeen that are regularly funded by Creative Scotland and receive a total of £0.69 million per year. There are also other organisations that serve Aberdeen but have headquarters outside the city. If there is anything that Jackie Dunbar wishes to bring to the attention of me or Creative Scotland, I would be grateful if she could do that in the normal way.

I welcome the Scottish Government’s commitment to increase culture funding by £100 million per annum during the next five years. That additional investment represents a considerable vote of confidence in the culture sector and its role in creating a wellbeing economy. Can the cabinet secretary give further information about how that increased funding will reach rural communities across Scotland?

That commitment to additional funding despite the challenging budget situation signals our confidence in the Scottish culture sector. It is the starting point of a journey of three phases: the first phase is to sustain, the second is to develop and the third is to innovate. All of that is under discussion with our culture and arts sector colleagues to ensure that funding reaches all parts of the country and all parts of the Scottish culture and arts ecosystem.

If members from across the chamber have particular views about where that additional resource should bring additionality to the culture and arts sector, I am extremely keen to hear from them. We want to ensure that our organisations, venues and performers are properly funded, and we look forward to delivering the additional funding. We have already started the rise to an additional £100 million of annual funding for culture and the arts, which I hope is welcomed across the chamber.

Question 3 has been withdrawn.

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Cultural Organisations in Stirling (Funding)

To ask the Scottish Government what support it can offer to cultural organisations in Stirling that are facing funding challenges. (S6O-03121)

The Scottish Government, through Creative Scotland, provides support to a number of cultural organisations and individuals in Stirling. In 2022-23 alone, Creative Scotland awarded £1.76 million through funds—including its regular, open and targeted funding—to 46 successful applications from individuals and organisations that are based in the Stirling area.

I know that the Scottish Government understands the huge cultural significance of organisations such as the Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum and Creative Stirling, which are in my constituency. Given the forward focus on funding, are there avenues for any crisis funding to help in the meantime?

As I am sure the member will appreciate, ministers have no role in the decision making of Creative Scotland in its allocation of individual grants and support. However, the Scottish Government is engaging closely with Creative Scotland to provide support where possible for organisations such as Creative Stirling, which faces immediate challenges. The former minister for culture, Christina McKelvie, has already written to Creative Stirling with information on alternative routes of funding that it may wish to investigate.

We have a number of supplementary questions, which I hope will be brief.

Creative Scotland’s regular funding network consists of 121 organisations, but only 12 organisations located in the north-east received funding, compared with 81 in the central belt. Can the cabinet secretary highlight what measures are being considered—such as capacity building—to begin to rectify that disparity?

I reiterate this point, and I think that there is cross-party consensus about it: Creative Scotland operates as an arm’s-length organisation, so it is not for me, as culture secretary, to tell it which organisations, in which parts of the country, should be funded. The member will be aware that Creative Scotland is going through a new process to deliver multi-annual funding to regularly funded organisations. Creative Scotland has gone through stage 1 of that process but has not yet reached stage 2, so I cannot comment on the conclusions of that. Creative Scotland will no doubt have heard the point that the member has raised about ensuring impact and support right across Scotland. I support that. No doubt, the decisions that are made will be examined closely by the subject committee, and I know that the point that the member has raised will have been heard by Creative Scotland.

I associate myself and my party with the cabinet secretary’s remarks about the death of Alexei Navalny. All our thoughts are with his friends and his family and with those fighting against oppression in Russia. There is compelling evidence of Putin’s involvement in deaths on foreign soil, and he must be brought before the International Criminal Court for his war crimes.

I recently visited Stirling castle and the Old Town Jail with my family, and I commend the excellent cultural and heritage organisations in Stirling. The cabinet secretary has recently given clarity on funding for the culture budget in 2024-25. Further clarity is being sought on the Government’s five-year spending announcement, which is welcome. When can culture organisations in Stirling and elsewhere expect further clarity on the Government’s spending announcements for future years?

First, I commend Neil Bibby for his comments regarding Alexei Navalny.

Neil Bibby asks a very reasonable question about funding. He appreciates that there is an on-going standard budget process in the Scottish Government. We have already committed to the initial uplift in this financial year regarding this year’s financial commitments. Next year, an additional £25 million will take us to a net gain of £40 million. We then need to get into year 3 and year 4 to get towards the £100 million of additional support for culture and the arts. I appreciate that people want to know how quickly that money will be available, and I want to ensure that it is available as quickly as possible. As soon as I am able to give further clarity on that, Neil Bibby and colleagues will be the first to hear it. Everybody understands that we require the additional resources for the culture sector, and the Government is committed to that.

Creative Stirling has shown itself to be a highly innovative organisation. It has met the needs of communities, but it does not benefit from siloed funding. I wish to ask the cabinet secretary about the conversation with Creative Scotland, which I know he has engaged with, in particular about opportunities for multiyear funding and about innovation. Organisations such as Creative Stirling will go to the wall unless they get support, survive this period of vulnerability and continue to do what they do best as they seek long-term funding.

Mark Ruskell’s question is very timely. I know that Creative Scotland is very much seized of the need to introduce multi-annual funding, which I think everybody agrees will be hugely beneficial to the cultural sector. There is also an understanding about the issues of innovation, resilience and looking forward to the next year, given the significant change in public behaviour and so on, and that will be key for many cultural organisations. I have had those conversations with Creative Scotland, and I know that it is giving strong consideration to how it proceeds as we move from the current funding situation into the new multi-annual funding approach. No doubt it will be interested to hear Mark Ruskell’s views on ensuring that that can deliver for cultural and arts organisations, in Stirling and throughout the rest of Scotland, too.

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Screen Machine

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to protect the future of the Screen Machine mobile cinema. (S6O-03122)

I thank members for their warm words in welcoming me to my portfolio.

The Scottish Government will work closely with Screen Scotland, which has been exploring a number of options with Regional Screen Scotland in order to secure a sustainable future for the service both immediately and in the longer term.

The work is on-going and, as I am sure Rhoda Grant will appreciate, much of the detail is commercially sensitive. However, I welcome the funding that Screen Scotland previously provided to ensure that the service will remain active until April this year, and I expect to hear a further update from it on that work at our next regular meeting.

I thank the minister for that response, and I welcome her to her post.

The minister knows that the Screen Machine gives rural and island communities access to cinema that they would not otherwise have because there is no alternative. If funding is not found to replace the Screen Machine and to pay for its running costs, this much-loved facility will disappear. Such is the concern that young people in Barra enlisted the support of Dame Judi Dench to highlight the issue and its importance to them. Will the Scottish Government therefore undertake to investigate every possible avenue to ensure that funding is found to save this very valuable institution?

I understand the strength of feeling around the issue, and a number of MSPs have made representations about it. In 2023, Screen Scotland provided more than £176,000 for the specific purpose of leasing the cinemobile and securing the mobile cinema service until April 2024.

Following the Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture’s meeting with Regional Screen Scotland, which operates the service, Scottish Government officials in Screen Scotland have been leading work to explore all options for the immediate and long-term future of the service. I met officials just this morning, and I would be happy to write to the member with an update as soon as I have it.

We will have a couple of brief supplementary questions.

I, too, welcome the minister to her place.

The Screen Machine is very much loved in my island communities—Brodick is the busiest venue anywhere, averaging 63 seats out of a capacity of 78 per screening. It is also much missed in Cumbrae, which is one of seven islands that the currently on-loan French cinemobile is too large to visit.

The funding landscape has changed, and we have heard the cabinet secretary talk about the additional funding that is going into the culture sector. Given the immense cultural benefits that the Screen Machine brings and the expected working life of the new vehicle, is its cost not more than worth it?

I understand the costs as well as the value, which the member highlighted, and the significance of Screen Machine’s unique cultural, educational and wellbeing benefits for communities such as those in Kenneth Gibson’s constituency. I understand the point about people’s access to cinema being restricted, and I understand how important it is for communities to be able to come together to access a wide range of cultural resources, which are invaluable sources of expression and foster a sense of belonging. I agree with Kenneth Gibson that the Screen Machine has a positive environmental and cultural impact on all communities.

I call Alexander Stewart. More briefly, Mr Stewart.

I, too, welcome Kaukab Stewart to her post. On behalf of my party, I also echo the comments that have been made with reference to Alexei Navalny.

Since 1998, the Screen Machine has brought the newest films to more than 40 remote locations. However, in April, that service will expire. With the cost of a replacement vehicle being £1.4 million, Regional Screen Scotland is pleading with the Scottish Government to provide half of that amount. Will the minister pledge today to stop funding the Scottish Government’s obsession with independence and instead direct funds to replace a vehicle that is the cornerstone of communities across Scotland?

Again, that was not brief.

I refer the member to my earlier answers, and I assure him that the Scottish Government is doing everything that it can to support this very valuable service.

Question 6 was not lodged.

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Aberdeen Festivals (Support)

To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to Aberdeen’s festivals. (S6O-03124)

Since 2011, Creative Scotland has assisted 41 festivals and other cultural events in the Aberdeen City Council area, with total funding of £1,443,654. In the same period, EventScotland has supported 79 events, excluding business events, with a total funding of £2,107,607.

In addition, since 2018-19, Creative Scotland has funded Aberdeen Performing Arts with £333,333 every year, as a regular funded organisation, supporting its work in mounting the “Granite Noir” crime fiction festival, the “Delve” music festival, the Climate Week North East festival, the “Rise Up!” festival, and “Light the Blue”, which is a children’s festival. The Scottish Government also continues to fund Techfest, which is Aberdeen’s science festival, as part of our wider programme of support for science festivals, in line with our science, technology, engineering and mathematics education and training strategy. Techfest received a grant of £25,000 during 2023-24.

I thank the cabinet secretary for that comprehensive answer and welcome the support for festivals such as Techfest, but what more can the Scottish Government and Creative Scotland do to support Aberdeen’s other festivals, such as the Spectra light festival and Nuart Aberdeen, to help them to grow even more? Can we ensure that there is collaboration between Creative Scotland and VisitScotland, so that we get more visitors from abroad to come to those amazing festivals?

I thank Kevin Stewart for his welcome for the broad range of festivals that have been supported in Aberdeen already. The fact that additional events have not been supported is a matter best raised directly with Creative Scotland, although I would welcome being copied in to such interventions.

The encouragement for Creative Scotland and VisitScotland to work together is helpful—no doubt, they do that already. It is certainly something that I will raise at my next meetings with them, to ensure that important cultural centres such as Aberdeen have the greatest amount of exposure in order to maximise the number of visitors to the granite city.

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Culture and Arts (Equality, Opportunity and Community)

To ask the Scottish Government what role culture and the arts play in delivering its missions of equality, opportunity and community. (S6O-03125)

The Scottish Government’s missions align closely with the ambitions of the culture strategy of empowering through culture, strengthening culture and transforming through culture.

In our recently published refreshed cultural strategy action plan, we have committed to launching a creative and culture sector fair work task force to support implementation across the culture sector, supporting our opportunity ambition. Our culture collective programme also supports delivery around equality and community, developing initiatives in partnership with our communities across Scotland.

I congratulate the minister on her new role.

The Scottish Government recently announced £1.5 million of funding through the youth music initiative. Beneficiaries include the “Mobilize” music project at the Key youth centre in East Kilbride, which runs guitar, drum and vocal lessons for young people. I invite the minister to visit the centre to see the benefits of the funding at first hand.

Will the minister outline what other support the Scottish Government is providing to cultural initiatives such as that to benefit people in East Kilbride?

I thank Collette Stevenson for highlighting the youth music initiative. We are proud to support that programme, and the impact that it has on communities across Scotland cannot be overstated. I look forward to seeing the programme at first hand in due course.

On cultural initiatives, the Scottish Government provides support for An Comunn Gàidhealach, the body that organises both the Royal National Mòd and local mòds, including the East Kilbride local mòd, which takes place on 8 June.

I am sure that the minister will be aware that the Edinburgh Deaf Festival provides an accessible celebration of deaf culture, language and heritage alongside the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Unfortunately, the organisation has lost its funding from Creative Scotland, which is putting the whole festival at risk. Will the minister intervene to save a festival that works so hard towards the goals of equality, opportunity and community?

I absolutely agree with equality, inclusion and community. The member will appreciate that I have taken up my post only recently and that I need to take some time to familiarise myself with everything that is going on around that. I will be happy to engage with him in the very near future.

I, too, welcome Kaukab Stewart to her new post. Congratulations.

The Scottish Government’s programme for government in September 2023 made commitments to renew culture by focusing on empowering communities. What update can the minister give on actions that the Scottish Government has taken since the publication of the programme for government to improve opportunities for community asset transfers for arts and culture organisations in Scotland’s most deprived areas?

I have previously stated that I am a great advocate of community asset transfers. Once again, I ask respectfully for patience while I get to grips with my portfolio, so I can come back with a more detailed answer that is specific to his question.

That concludes portfolio questions on the constitution, external affairs and culture. There will be a brief pause to allow the front-bench teams to change positions before we move on to the next portfolio questions.

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Justice and Home Affairs

The next portfolio is justice and home affairs. Members who wish to ask a supplementary question should press their request-to-speak buttons during the relevant questions. There is, again, a lot of interest in asking supplementaries in this portfolio, so brevity in questions and responses would be appreciated.

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Proportionate Response to Crime

To ask the Scottish Government when the results from Police Scotland’s proportionate response to crime pilot in the north-east will be published. (S6O-03126)

As I stated in the chamber yesterday, Police Scotland’s north-east pilot is about ensuring a proportionate approach to policing. At a meeting of the Scottish Police Authority last week, Deputy Chief Constable Malcolm Graham outlined some preliminary findings and stated that a full evaluation would be presented to the SPA in the near future.

Any decision on publication—or, indeed, to extend the pilot more widely—is for Police Scotland to make, with oversight and scrutiny provided by the SPA. Public confidence will, of course, be key to that process. Officers in the north-east will continue to investigate all crimes that are reported. That means that all reports are recorded using the THRIVE model, with an assessment of threat, harm, risk, investigative opportunities, vulnerability and engagement.

Following a freedom of information request to Police Scotland, I have learned that Police Scotland is refusing to let the public know how many times a crime reference number was given but no further action was taken during the north-east pilot. Does the cabinet secretary think that it is right that the police withhold that information? Has seen that data? If so, can she share it with us today, so that the people of the north-east can have trust in the process?

The information that I am aware of is further to my meeting with the chief constable last week, on 8 February. I have had some oversight of the preliminary findings that the deputy chief constable, Malcolm Graham, outlined at the SPA meeting. The member will be aware that the chief constable emphasised to board members and board observers that the police in the north-east continue to assess every case and investigate all crimes.

According to the preliminary information that is available, where there are no proportionate lines of inquiry because there is no risk of threat or harm, cases are reported, filed and given crime reference numbers, and no further action is taken unless other evidence becomes apparent. Those are likely to be a very small proportion of cases; the preliminary summary says that they make up less than 5 per cent of calls. I hope that that response is helpful to the member.

Does the north-east pilot reflect the way that policing has always been carried out in England?

The pilot conducted by Police Scotland in the north-east operates broadly in the same way as forces operate elsewhere in the United Kingdom. On its website, the Gloucestershire Constabulary states that it will

“look at the information we’ve got and decide if we can investigate your report further. If we decide we can’t investigate your report, we’ll contact you to explain why”.

It goes on to say that its decisions are based on “vulnerability”, “seriousness”, the “likelihood of solving” the crime and the “best use of our resources”, which is broadly similar to Police Scotland’s THRIVE model. That approach is replicated across other English forces. Like the north-east pilot, it is about proportionate response and ensuring that individuals get a faster resolution from officers.

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Pathology Services (Accuracy and Reliability)

To ask the Scottish Government what action the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service takes to ensure that any information that it receives from pathology service providers is accurate and reliable. (S6O-03127)

The Lord Advocate has sole responsibility for deaths investigation in Scotland. During investigations, information is gathered from external agencies, including pathology services. The Crown requires to rely on information provided to it by professionals who are bound by their own standards of professionalism, codes of practice and governing bodies. Such information forms only a part of an investigation; it is considered in the context of other evidence, providing a cross-check for reliability, accuracy or the need for further interrogation.

I thank the Solicitor General for that response and for clarifying the roles and responsibilities of the Lord Advocate. Her office will be aware that my constituents Ann and Gerry Stark were told repeatedly by the Crown Office and health authorities that all tissue samples of their deceased son, Richard, had been returned to the family, but that was not true. Does the Crown Office accept that the failings in that case should never have happened? Will the law officers take the opportunity to apologise to the family? Can we have more information about the urgent action that was taken since the scandal came to light last year, so that all families, including the Stark family, can have full confidence in the Crown Office when it investigates the sudden and unexplained death of our loved ones?

I acknowledge that the issues surrounding retention of samples are of exquisite sensitivity. The importance of the accuracy of the information that is provided to relatives about that cannot be overstated. COPFS must necessarily rely on the information that is provided and has no role in policing pathology services. Nevertheless, important work is being carried out. There are data retention agreements in place with pathology and toxicology providers in relation to reports, instrument data and samples that are obtained for the purposes of the procurator fiscal’s investigation.

I understand the distress and anguish of families who suffer the loss of a loved one, and I extend my condolences to Ms Lennon’s constituents, Mr and Mrs Stark. There is a standing offer to the Starks, and to Ms Lennon, to come to the Crown Office and meet us. I am happy to reiterate that offer and, of course, it would be appropriate to go into the detail of that case at that meeting.

I recognise the sensitivity of these issues, but I require more brevity, particularly in the responses. I have a brief supplementary question from Russell Findlay.

Three months ago, I was grateful to meet the Lord Advocate and the Solicitor General, who told me about serious and worrying concerns about pathology services, specifically regarding a lack of paediatric pathologists. What work has since been done to improve that vital service and ensure that every death in Scotland is subject to proper full investigation?

COPFS has a series of contracts and service level agreements with universities, local authorities and the NHS for pathology, mortuary and toxicology services across Scotland. The current pathology contract extensions are, in the main, in place until March 2024, and work is on-going with all pathology providers on a service redesign to streamline the nature and number of the contracts, in order to ensure resilience and efficiency through negotiations and service co-design.

We also regularly meet pathology providers, and as Mr Findlay has indicated, those concerns were shared with them. I am mindful of my injunction to watch my time, so perhaps we could take up the issue further elsewhere.

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Mental Health-related Incidents

Presiding Officer, I draw your attention to the fact that we are having some technical issues with the consoles at the rear of the chamber.

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported comments by Police Scotland’s chief constable that the force deals with over 100,000 mental health-related incidents each year. (S6O-03128)

I am grateful to police officers for all that they do to support people who are in distress or are experiencing mental ill health. The Scottish Government and the Scottish Police Authority have established a multi-agency group to implement a comprehensive programme of work to improve pathways in order to support those in need to access the right service at the right time and to reduce demand on officers. We are ensuring that resources are targeted at specific programmes, such as the enhanced mental health pathway for people in distress or in need of mental health support who come into contact with Police Scotland.

The chief constable made it clear that that volume of incidents equates to about 600 full-time officers’ worth of work. An immense amount of resource is involved in dealing with such incidents, and we would be better served if that resource was used to deal with or prevent crime. The reality is that the police pick up the pieces when other public services are not available out of hours—for example, general practices, accident and emergency services, mental health services and social care services simply shut down at 5 pm on a Friday and are not available until Monday morning.

Everybody knows that the status quo cannot continue. What is the cabinet secretary doing right now to alleviate the pressure on police so that they do not become the first port of call for all health emergencies?

I agree that the status quo cannot continue. That is why, in my original answer, I was at pains to stress that we are implementing, in partnership with others, a comprehensive programme of work. I am happy to write to Mr Greene with the full details of that work.

All interested stakeholders and partners are facing in the same direction. We have a clear programme for government commitment, following the thematic review of policing mental health by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland. I am sure that the inspectorate and the Parliament’s Criminal Justice Committee and Public Audit Committee will hold the Government’s feet to the fire on the issue. There is immense will to resolve it, and a lot of energy is going into that. Police officers have a role in emergency situations in which further assessment is required, but we must be better at following best practice in facilitating a safe and appropriate handover to professionals who are better placed to support people in need.

A couple of members would like to ask supplementary questions. If the questions and responses are not brief, I will intervene.

Not only has research attributed declining trends in mental health to a decade of Tory austerity, but the United Kingdom Government continues to slash Scotland’s funding for public services, which massively undermines our ability to respond to people in crisis. In that deeply challenging context, what work is the Scottish Government undertaking with Police Scotland and other partners on the response to mental health incidents?

The Scottish Government’s significant investment in justice and mental health services is now all the more significant, given the UK Government’s new age of austerity. Yesterday, we passed a budget that includes £19.5 billion for the health and social care portfolio, and I am very pleased that the Scottish Police Authority’s resource budget has increased by nearly 6 per cent, which will protect front-line policing, and that we are increasing the available capital budget, too.

It is helpful that the Scottish Government has recognised the need for change in relation to police officers dealing with cases of people experiencing a mental health crisis. The Scottish Police Federation has said that we need a triage system that links up services to ensure that people get the help that they need quickly. Will the cabinet secretary consider, as part of the work that she mentioned, a collaboration between health and justice services to create a triage service so that people get the help that they need and we free up police time?

In short, that is exactly what we are doing as part of the comprehensive programme of work. We are considering the interface between justice and health services.

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Safe Consumption Room Pilot

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with Police Scotland regarding the policing strategy for the safe consumption room pilot in Glasgow. (S6O-03129)

The Scottish Government has had extensive engagement with Police Scotland, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and the Glasgow city health and social care partnership on the proposal for a safer drug consumption facility and its delivery. The success of the pilot will depend on further extensive partnership working and the building of trust between the facility, the people who use it, local residents and the police.

The discussions have included broader aspects of how the facility will operate, including its policing. However, Police Scotland has complete operational independence in how it polices the facility, and its approach will no doubt be informed by the Lord Advocate and what she chooses to says in her statement of prosecution policy.

I recently visited the H17 overdose prevention facility in Copenhagen. A discrete co-operative policing model in the Vesterbro district is key to the successful operation of the centre, even though a major police station is situated directly opposite.

What assessment has the cabinet secretary made of international examples of policing safe consumption rooms? How will the Government ensure that potential users of the Glasgow pilot facility are not deterred from engaging out of fear of contact with the police or the criminal justice system?

Our policy on the matter has been informed every step of the way by best practice and international practice. I again put on record my thanks to Police Scotland, which has been a partner in pursuing a public health approach to supporting people into treatment and recovery. It continues to have an independent role in policing, and it has signed off its own policy work in that regard. I am happy to speak to Paul Sweeney further about that. It is a balance between Police Scotland reassuring a community that it is not withdrawing from that community—it will continue to patrol the area in the same way as it does now—and not seeking to put up barriers to treatment for vulnerable people.

It is welcome that the Scottish Government and Police Scotland continue to engage while fully responding to drug-related deaths. However, limitations will remain due to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Will the cabinet secretary provide an update on the latest discussions with the United Kingdom Government to ensure that it does not block this life-saving proposal?

We continue to update UK Government colleagues on progress. In November, at the most recent UK drugs ministerial meeting, the UK Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire received a presentation on the work from the associate medical director of Glasgow alcohol and drug recovery services. Although the UK Government has previously made it clear that it does not intend to block the plans, any U-turn on that from the current Government or an incoming Government would do a great disservice to this life-saving proposal.

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Leith Police Station

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it is giving, in collaboration with Police Scotland, to the possibility of establishing a new Leith police station within the Scottish Government’s Victoria Quay building. (S6O-03130)

Police Scotland’s 2019 estate strategy outlined plans to dispose of outdated and underused properties and to develop a modern, fit-for-purpose estate through options including co-location with partner organisations.

In its current consultation, Police Scotland has proposed a number of changes to the estate and is in discussion with a range of potential partners and organisations to explore alternative and better-suited sites across Edinburgh that will be fit for the modern-day needs of staff and the public.

Management of the police estate is the responsibility of the Scottish Police Authority and the chief constable. Police Scotland will undertake a specific consultation on its plans for Leith police station in due course, which anyone with an interest will be able to respond to.

I am grateful to the cabinet secretary for that answer and for her letter of 20 February. I appreciate that the individual consultation on Leith police station has not yet gone live. The current Leith police station is effective with regard to police duties, but the building is not optimal for the 21st century and net zero considerations.

Whatever happens, Leith will need a police station, given its high population and population growth. Victoria Quay is currently underused by the Scottish Government and could be better utilised for a range of possibilities, as well as the civil service. I would be grateful if the cabinet secretary, along with Scottish Government colleagues and Police Scotland, keeps under consideration the potential for a new Leith police station at Victoria Quay.

As I said in my letter to Mr Macpherson, Police Scotland’s commitment to co-locating with other public bodies very much supports the single Scottish estate programme, which supports publicly funded bodies to co-locate.

Police Scotland is, of course, sensitive to community concerns about changes involving police buildings. I recognise the point that Mr Macpherson makes about the growing population. I am also aware that Leith police station dates from 1827.

The review of the police estate is driven by a desire to meet the needs of local communities, such as Mr Macpherson’s, and to ensure that officers and staff are located in areas where they are most needed and in an estate that is fit for 21st century policing.

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HMP Stirling (Noise Disturbance)

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the Scottish Prison Service’s work to address reported noise disturbance at HMP Stirling. (S6O-03131)

As Mark Ruskell will understand, that remains an operational issue for the Scottish Prison Service. However, I assure him that any noise reporting continues to be taken very seriously by both me and the SPS. I will continue to seek updates from the chief executive, Teresa Medhurst.

SPS senior leaders met local representatives on 6 February, when they discussed the welcome reduction in noise in the establishment over the festive period. The SPS has reaffirmed its commitment to identifying and implementing solutions, but substantial measures will require time and significant investment on its part.

I thank the cabinet secretary for that update. As I am sure that she is aware, the local community neighbouring HMP Stirling has been deeply affected by the disturbances over the past eight months. It has been a nightmare, particularly for families with children, with reported impacts on their mental health.

Will the cabinet secretary report on the progress that has been made towards implementing the SPS action plan to deal with the problems? Will she agree to meet the SPS, MSPs, councillors and local residents to assure them that the detail of the action plan is being implemented, so that people can see an end point to the misery that they have been facing over the past eight months?

Let me assure Mr Ruskell that the SPS remains committed to delivering meaningful improvements both for the women in its care and for the surrounding neighbours and neighbourhood.

I also reassure Mr Ruskell that the SPS remains in regular contact with residents and local elected representatives. I have met Mark Ruskell and others, along with the SPS. Members are more than welcome to keep in touch with me. In addition, I remind MSP colleagues and local residents that they are very welcome to visit HMP Stirling; that can be facilitated.

Question 7 has been withdrawn.

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Firefighting (Exposure to Carcinogens)

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its discussions with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service regarding the plans required to address the carcinogenic nature of firefighting. (S6O-03133)

The safety and wellbeing of firefighters remains a priority for the Scottish Government and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. The fire service continues to make progress on important issues through a specific contaminants implementation plan, which has been developed and delivered in partnership with the Fire Brigades Union. The plan includes the development of a recording system for staff to record exposure to contaminants, station zoning arrangements, progression of trials of health screening and changes to operating procedures.

We have provided the SFRS with an additional £10.3 million of capital funding in the draft budget for 2024-25. Although decisions on how the money is spent is a matter for the SFRS board, the extra funding will allow the SFRS to invest in better facilities for our firefighters.

The minister will be aware that, earlier this month, the European directive on exposure to carcinogens, mutagens or reprotoxic substances at work was updated to acknowledge the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer’s reports, which recognise the firefighter occupation as carcinogenic. The European Commission is also developing guidelines and mandatory decontamination procedures for firefighters.

What assurances can the minister provide Scottish firefighters that they, too, will have their health protected in law? Will she consider establishing a joint collaboration—including the Scottish Government, the national health service and SFRS’s leadership team, occupational health unit and statistics unit—to progress that and much-needed routine health monitoring for firefighters?

I commend Maggie Chapman for championing this important issue. The Scottish Fire Rescue Service has embraced the need for action. Although the health and safety of firefighters is primarily a matter for the SFRS as the employer, the Scottish Government is willing to listen and consider any proposals to help with the safety and wellbeing of firefighters in Scotland.

Legislating on the area is complex—as there is a mixture of reserved and devolved responsibilities—and cannot be taken lightly. However, I assure the chamber that I will continue to work with the service to investigate the suggested collaboration on the best course of action.

The Scottish Government’s commitment to the safety and wellbeing of all fire and rescue officers is welcome. More broadly, will the minister outline the steps that are being taken to ensure that the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service will take action across all areas of operation and working practices to reduce exposure to contaminants?

I regularly meet the fire service board chair and the chief officer. The safety and wellbeing of our firefighters is central to those meetings.

I have received assurances from the SFRS that it prioritises the issue of contaminants and is working in partnership with the FBU so that the appropriate actions can be taken across all SFRS operations, which I will set out. The SFRS is currently running a pilot in East, North and South Ayrshire to test the content of the contaminant standard operating procedure. The trial will run until 31 March and will help to finalise the standard operating procedure prior to its full roll-out across the service.

With apologies to the members whom I was not able to call, that concludes portfolio question time on justice and home affairs. There will be a brief pause to allow a change of front-bench members before we move to the next item of business.