Chamber and committees

I am aware that applications for funding opened last week. I was not aware of that criterion, but I will write to Paul O’Kane, because I am sure that the Scottish Government supports other funding streams for such groups.

We are committed to implementing “Equally Safe: Scotland’s Strategy for Preventing and Eradicating Violence Against Women and Girls”. This includes work to prevent violence from occurring in the first place, build the capacity of support services and strengthen the justice response to victims and perpetrators.

Through our delivering equally safe fund, this year we will invest £21.6 million to support 115 projects from 107 organisations throughout every local authority in Scotland. Their activity covers a range of areas, including tackling domestic abuse, sexual abuse, honour-based violence, intimate image abuse and commercial sexual exploitation.

I met Ash Regan last week. As I said to the member, I think only a couple of weeks ago, the Scottish Government is not opposed to the intent behind the bill. As with all members’ bills, we will give the bill full and careful consideration and take into account the Parliament’s scrutiny of it. When I met Ms Regan last week, I raised some of the Scottish Government’s concerns. My officials will engage with stakeholders on the bill, and I look forward to the committee evidence sessions.

I am aware that the Scottish Government is funding several initiatives. I will write to Katy Clark about that in detail. However, I want to highlight the proceeds of the crime cashback for communities programme, which specifically targets youth groups across all Scotland and does great work.

Scottish Government safer communities and transport officials have not received any concerns from North Lanarkshire Council on the issue to date. However, I recognise that members who represent North Lanarkshire are concerned about it.

The Government remains committed to working collaboratively with all local authorities, and it has engaged with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities as part of its work on off-road vehicle misuse. COSLA, along with Police Scotland, is represented on the road safety strategic partnership board. We continue to welcome input from local government in helping to inform the Government’s work in that area, which includes supporting a summer safety campaign.

I completely agree. Without a stand-alone court that embeds specialist approaches to the management of cases, our efforts to embed a trauma-informed system for victims of sexual violence in the justice system would be at risk. As the member knows, the Criminal Justice Committee has heard from senior members of the judiciary, the Lord Advocate, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, Rape Crisis Scotland and Victim Support Scotland, who all gave the view that the sexual offences court has the potential to be transformative. I suggest that those expert voices are listened to.

I totally agree with the member. I have heard directly from young people and their families about how that has impacted them. In addition to experiencing physical assault, the filming and sharing of their attack online causes additional suffering. The quit fighting for likes campaign, which was developed by our violence reduction partner organisations, provides practitioners with resources to have conversations with young people and get them thinking about and discussing the impact of filming and sharing violent incidents.

The initial quit fighting for likes campaign last September attracted an average of 80,000 impressions a day through its four-week run, and 6,000 visitors accessed further information. I encourage everyone working with young people to engage with the quit fighting for likes campaign. The more young people who get the opportunity to think about and discuss this important issue the better.

First, I have to correct Ms Dowey. There are consequences for children over the age of 12 and those over the age of 18 who commit offences. Significant action, including the potential to restrict or deprive a child’s liberty, can be taken. Action is not necessarily always visible to victims because of confidentiality or data protection reasons.

I know that the member has attended some of the youth violence summits that were hosted by the First Minister. We had a group of leading experts there who explained to us all that the evidence shows that it is more about prevention. I hope that Ms Dowey would accept that.

Police Scotland has advised that the powers under the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Antisocial Behaviour etc (Scotland) Act 2004 are sufficient to respond to the misuse of off-road vehicles. However, the Government remains committed to doing all that we can to support enforcement and is open to further legislative action.

Ministers have written to the United Kingdom Government seeking to work jointly to improve powers, including on reserved matters of vehicle registration. Work is also under way to review police vehicle seizure and disposal powers, including the retention period, and we are working closely with key stakeholders to understand the current landscape.

I can confirm that we will launch two national campaigns this summer to promote responsible and safe off-road vehicle use. The fearless service, which is part of Crimestoppers, has rolled out its be a legend, do it right campaign as part of a broader summer safety campaign that is aimed at young people, and Crimestoppers in Scotland will follow with a public awareness campaign about reporting illegal off-road vehicle use.

I encourage all members to share that material widely. I also pay tribute to Councillor Allan Gow for all his valuable work on the issue.