Chamber and committees

The expansion to Glasgow of the domestic abuse courts will mean that many more victims and witnesses benefit from cases being resolved at an early stage, and from the reduction in unnecessary citations and hearings.

As Katy Clark knows, a pilot court has already demonstrated a significant reduction in the volume of witness citations being issued. It is an on-going pilot; I am happy to keep the member updated on progress.

Yes, I am confident about that. We have received expressions of interest from local authorities for funding for 11 firework control zones. I recognise that it was disappointing that no zones were in place for bonfire night in 2023, but firework control zones have been developed to support a long-term cultural change with regard to fireworks, and were never intended to be a quick fix.

A programme of work has been progressed at pace to commence firework control zone powers in line with the original timescales. Local authorities have been informed of the funding that is available to them, and of how to consult and how to implement the zones. I am positive that they will be in place this year.

Possible offences are investigated independently by Police Scotland and other enforcement agencies. Prosecutions are brought by the independent Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, and the courts are independently responsible for their disposal. Up to the end of February 2024, 40 charges had been reported to procurators fiscal under the Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022. Of those 40 charges, 20 have thus far been prosecuted. There have been four convictions, two charges did not result in a conviction and the other 14 charges are part of on-going prosecutions. Additionally, 77 charges in which there was an aggravation under section 44 of the 2022 act were reported. Of those charges, eight have been dealt with by way of prosecution and there has been one conviction.

I am aware of Pam Gosal’s proposed bill. I am happy to work with you. We have not seen the final stages of the proposal, but I am happy to have a meeting with you.

I note what you said about what is happening in England and Wales. At the moment, Scotland is leading with a £500,000 pilot of its fund to leave. The pilot is being supported across local authorities to help women to flee domestic abuse situations.

Yes. The legislation will take a while to bed in and to change societal behaviour. From meetings at the Criminal Justice Committee, I remember that Jamie Greene was interested in football banning orders. In February this year, I had a meeting with local football authorities, Police Scotland, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and supporters’ groups in order to take forward our joined-up multi-agency approach to the issue of pyrotechnics at football games. It was a really positive meeting, at which we shared our clear commitment to tackling the issue, and at which opportunities for future joint working were identified.

Following the meeting, I have asked for a short-life working group on football banning orders to be established to consider the current use of such orders, whether they continue to be fit for purpose and, if not, what changes are required to address problems that present under the current football banning order regime. I am happy to keep Jamie Greene updated on progress with the working group.

On 6 February, we published our strategy, “Scotland’s strategic approach to challenging and deterring men’s demand for prostitution and supporting the recovery and sustainable exit of those involved in prostitution”, which was informed through lived-experience research by those with experience of selling or exchanging sex. The lessons learned from the actions in the strategy will inform any future proposals, including legislation.

The actions in the strategy include establishing a national hub for support services to provide women with improved co-ordinated and person-centred support, with a pilot to begin this summer.

We will ensure that mainstream services have a wider awareness of commercial sexual exploitation and the impacts on those involved, and we have set up a new multi-agency group on commercial sexual exploitation, which will meet later this month.

I know how passionate the member is to challenge and deter men’s demand for prostitution and commercial sexual exploitation as a whole. I am more than happy to meet her and any organisation.

The cabinet secretary is currently taking through Parliament the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill, which will put victims and witnesses at the heart of the justice system, and will include their need for a trauma-informed approach. The victims task force has commissioned work to explore models of a victim-centred approach to justice, with the goal of providing a single point of contact for delivery of criminal justice services.

In relation to domestic abuse convictions, the disclosure scheme for domestic abuse Scotland enables individuals to obtain, from Police Scotland, information on previous convictions for offences related to domestic abuse, information that might not have led to a domestic abuse conviction, and information on any other convictions linked to coercive control or on patterns of potentially abusive behaviour being displayed.

The power to share or to disclose that information is considered case by case by Police Scotland, which uses a three-point test—whether disclosure is lawful, necessary and proportionate. That is about disclosure to the applicant being necessary to protect the individual from being the victim of domestic abuse.

We are investing record levels of funding to support victims through a range of front-line specialist services. Our victim centred approach fund will provide £48 million to 23 organisations between 2022 and 2025, including £18.5 million for specialist advocacy support for survivors of gender-based violence.

Of the annual £19 million in the delivering equally safe fund, £7,719,700 is provided to women’s aid groups, and we will help to fund the domestic abuse and forced marriage helpline to offer free confidential support.

Fourteen organisations, including Victim Support Scotland and women’s aid organisations, have also shared more than £1.3 million of grant funding from the victim surcharge fund to provide practical help to people who are impacted by domestic abuse.

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.