Chamber and committees

I have nothing further to add. The issues have been well aired and I am grateful for the indication of multiparty support for the motion.

I note my thanks and appreciation to the Parliament for expediting consideration of this legislative consent motion. It is regrettable that we are having to expedite scrutiny on an LCM, which is due to the UK Government’s timetabling for the National Security (State Threats) Bill. However, I want to make progress this evening to facilitate the passage of that bill.

Although I appreciate that the UK Government is of the view that the bill is reserved in its entirety, the UK Parliament’s accelerated timetable has put us in the unfortunate position of having to suspend standing orders to ensure that this Parliament is able to give its view on the bill before our recess. It is the UK Government’s intention to pass the National Security (State Threats) Bill before the UK Parliament begins its recess in July. Given that fact, the motion will be the Scottish Parliament’s only opportunity to express its view on whether to consent to certain provisions in the bill, as set out in my legislative consent memorandum.

I recommend that the Parliament agrees to the motion to provide legislative consent to those aspects of the UK Government’s National Security (State Threats) Bill that amend Scottish legislation—specifically, the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995. The bill makes provision for the designation of bodies that are involved in threat activity that has been linked to a foreign power, within a framework that is modelled on proscription under the Terrorism Act 2000. That means that the UK Home Secretary may designate a body if they believe that it may be linked with foreign-power threat activity and they consider that designating the body is necessary to protect the safety or interests of the UK. New criminal offences will apply in relation to those designated bodies, including proxies being used by states to carry out hostile activities in the UK.

The areas of law that are covered by the bill are largely reserved, or else the provisions extend to England and Wales only. However, the provisions that create offences that relate to designated bodies subsequently expand the class of prisoners to whom specific provisions will apply on release. The schedule to the bill amends the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 to apply those measures in Scotland. That means that the sentencing and release regime for individuals who are convicted of the new state threat offences will be brought into line with the existing release process for some national security and terrorist prisoners. They would be referred to the Parole Board for Scotland after serving two thirds of their sentence. If not granted parole at that time, they would be reviewed for parole again up to 12 months following.

As a result, the Scottish ministers will be required to take on responsibilities for referring any such prisoners to the Parole Board for Scotland. That will extend ministers’ executive functions over the release of those types of prisoner. The Scottish Government therefore considers that the legislative consent of the Scottish Parliament is required in relation to the amendments, as the proposed changes would alter the executive competence of the Scottish ministers. The reasoning behind that view has been set out to the UK Government, but my officials have not received a response at this time.

The changes are expected to have little to no operational impact on the Scottish Prison Service, the Parole Board for Scotland or justice social work services in Scotland, given that few prisoners are expected to be sentenced under the new offences—just as, currently, no national security prisoners are held in Scottish prisons. However, although the operational impact that will result from the changes is expected to be minimal, I still advise the Parliament to give legislative consent to the relevant sections of the bill. It is important to maintain alignment with England and Wales in relation to the sentencing of individuals who are convicted of national security offences. Such offences are addressed on a UK-wide basis, which makes consistency essential in how offenders are treated in both sentencing and release arrangements. Consenting to the arrangements will ensure that Scotland is aligned with the rest of the UK on the sentencing and release of individuals who have been convicted of the new state threat offences that are set out in the bill, and on the introduction of the new powers that aim to disrupt and deter the activities of state-linked entities. That will strengthen the Scottish Government’s response to state threats and, ultimately, help to keep the people of Scotland safe.

In light of those points, I urge the Parliament to support the legislative consent motion.

I move,

That the Parliament, noting that the National Security (State Threats) Bill, introduced to the House of Commons on 9 June 2026, makes provision that alters the executive competence of the Scottish Ministers, agrees to give consent to such provision as made by paragraph 5 to the Schedule to the Bill.

17:34

I reiterate that those decisions are operational matters for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. The day shift duty system is not a new concept; it is already being operated in Livingston and at multiple other locations across the United Kingdom. There are challenges with on-call firefighter recruitment and retention that are caused by demographic changes, particularly in rural and island areas. The SFRS has concluded that availability at night and at weekends is much better and that there tend to be particular difficulties during the day, which is because people no longer live and work in the same location. That is why having whole-time firefighters working during the day, which is also when the majority of incidents occur, is a viable and sensible solution.

Decisions on how resources are deployed, including the operation of contact, command and control—C3—services, are rightly matters for the chief constable, which reflects the operational independence of policing. Police Scotland has been very clear that 101 is a non-emergency number, and callers are advised of other means by which they can contact the service while they are on hold.

The Scottish Government is providing record funding of more than £1.7 billion for policing in 2026-27, giving Police Scotland the resources that it needs to maintain a resilient and responsive service, including the 101 service. We expect that investment to support effective, accessible services for the public and to ensure that communities continue to receive the prompt and reliable policing response that they deserve.

The Scottish Government is investing record funding of more than £1.7 billion in 2026-27, and the chief constable confirmed at the Criminal Justice Committee that the budget allocation will allow her to maintain officer numbers at around 16,500.

Police Scotland maintains that it has a healthy recruitment pipeline, with around 175 new officers recruited last month and further recruitment planned throughout the year. The chief constable confirmed to the Scottish Police Authority board last month that recruitment will have a particular focus on rural and island communities.

The location of resources, along with shift patterns, is an operational matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. The review does not propose any reduction in fire and rescue cover in Hawick. Indeed, two fire appliances will continue to be located in Hawick. The SFRS has assured me that the proposed move to a day shift duty system is based on a thorough examination of the risks and historic deployment data across the Borders area and that it will not compromise the safety of the public or firefighters.

The SFRS is continuing to recruit whole-time and on-call firefighters to ensure that full crews can meet demand and that the right resources are in the right place at the right time.

Currently, the SFRS has 70 trainee firefighters going through initial training and is recruiting for a further 156 posts, which will be filled in 2026-27. The process has recently closed with some 1,400 applications having been received, which shows that working for the SFRS remains an attractive option for many.

The SFRS continues with its on-call improvement strategy to attract more recruits through targeted help with the application process and fitness criteria, along with introducing flexible on-call periods to make the role accessible to a larger number of people.

Colm Merrick is absolutely right that we have an exciting opportunity for Scotland to lead the way in investing upstream to deliver better outcomes downstream. We are providing the £200,000 kickstarter fund this year to develop a new £10 million social impact investment fund, which marks a real step change in how we support prevention and early intervention. Our model will draw on the Government outcomes lab’s world-class research so that we get the approach right from the outset. By embedding that evidence, learning from best practice and fostering collaboration, we will build a strong and trusted model that maximises impact and value. With the right foundations, that innovative approach will unlock new resources to provide safe spaces for young people and diversion from antisocial behaviour and criminality.

The data that I have before me, from March 2026, shows that the average wait time was 7 minutes, 52 seconds. While they are on hold for non-emergency calls, people are given alternative routes through which they can report issues. Katy Clark suggests that people are giving up but, in actual fact, they may be taking up those options and finding other ways to get in touch with the police.

As I said in response to Ms Haughey, I say to Ms Clark that we expect the resources that we are putting in place for Police Scotland to ensure the resilient and responsive service that meets people’s needs. That is an expectation that we will carry, with Police Scotland.

The Scottish Government fully recognises the impact of rural crime and supports action to tackle it through the work of the Scottish Partnership Against Rural Crime, which is a multi-agency partnership led by Police Scotland that aims to prevent, reduce and tackle rural crime.

The partnership’s strategy includes actions around how perpetrators will be brought to justice, how rural communities can safeguard against such crimes and how individuals can be diverted from being involved in them.

There is also a series of local partnerships that has expanded across the country, strengthening the focus on prevention activity, particularly as criminality recognises no borders. Together, those efforts ensure a co-ordinated, intelligence-led response to rural crime and help to protect our communities.