Chamber and committees

I am going to bring in Pauline McNeill and then Fulton MacGregor, Sharon, but I will come back to you if there is time at the end.

Does what you have helpfully set out have a bearing on misconduct, performance and complaints, so that there is a direct link to the provisions of the bill?

In your submission, there is quite a lot of reference to the perspectives and reflections of the victims whom you support. Could you outline what their reflections were on the point about a code of ethics?

That is very interesting to hear. I will open questions up to members.

Good morning, and welcome to the 17th meeting in 2024 of the Criminal Justice Committee. We have apologies this morning from John Swinney.

Today, we continue our stage 1 evidence taking on the Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Bill. I welcome Stephanie Griffin, Scotland policy manager with the Equality and Human Rights Commission; Dr Genevieve Lennon from the Scottish Institute for Policing Research; and Kate Wallace, chief executive at Victim Support Scotland. Thank you all for taking the time to attend today’s meeting; it is greatly appreciated.

I refer members to papers 1 to 3. I intend to allow around an hour and 20 minutes for this evidence session. I will kick things off with a question on the code of ethics. Quite a bit of the evidence that has been submitted to the committee refers to not just the establishment of a code of ethics and support for that, but the need to make sure that compliance and the effectiveness of such a code is monitored.

I note that the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s original response to the Justice Sub-Committee on Policing’s call for views referenced the recommendations that were made in Elish Angiolini’s review around equality training for police officers and/or staff and that it should, at a minimum, include learning around protected characteristics, acceptable behaviour, the risk of ignoring inappropriate behaviour and so on. I know that training is not a specific provision within the bill, but nonetheless it relates to the provisions around the code of ethics and how Police Scotland ensures that officers and staff are equipped as much as they can be with the knowledge, understanding and skills that they need to comply with a code of ethics. That was teased out a little bit in the SIPR submission as well.

Stephanie Griffin, can you say a bit more about the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s views on the code of ethics and how it can be monitored to ensure it is working effectively?

I have a question for Stephanie Griffin. I am interested in the public sector equality duty in the context of the bill. Do you have any concerns about how the public sector equality duty is implemented, adhered to and complied with in the context of police conduct and complaints? I know that that is a very general question, but an example might be what happens in relation to protected characteristics. I am interested in knowing whether there is anything that you feel it would be appropriate to raise in the context of the provisions of the bill that we are discussing.

I would like to pick up on one point. Is Police Scotland able to comply with the 35-day timeframe for hearings? Is that manageable?

Will the minister provide any further update regarding the latest assessment of CAMHS waiting lists and how they compare with last year’s?

Will the minister outline how the new regulations that have come into force build on the existing protections that were in place for tenants prior to the emergency rent cap measures, and how they continue to ensure that the Scottish Government provides much greater protection for tenants than the protection that is provided anywhere else in the United Kingdom?

I note that, during the debate, it has been suggested that there should be a wider debate on this matter, and I would fully support that.

In my constituency, strategic infrastructure projects in the form of an energy-from-waste plant, a new harbour and, potentially, an industrialised former green space, all within line of sight of the Balnagask area of Torry, have left residents feeling disconnected and disenfranchised. Getting the balance right is essential. I am pleased that SSEN Transmission has, just this week, committed to considering proposed alignments to the Kintore to Tealing project, with consultations on proposed substations at Emmock and Hurlie taking place next month, as planned. Like other north-east MSP colleagues, I have regular, open and positive engagement with SSE on a range of energy issues.

There is a pressing need for pace in developing such projects from desktop ambitions to project delivery. Although some goals are still years away, there needs to be action now, given the scale of the upskilling that is required. Delays in consenting risk pushing back some ambitious projects by years, which would risk jobs and vital investment.

However, we must strike a balance between the voice of communities and the planning process. In that regard, I would welcome additional guidance from the chief planning officer on national planning framework 4 policies on transmission infrastructure. I also support wider reform of the current section 37 process to streamline consenting for critical infrastructure. Fixing a clear period for consenting is required and should be delivered through the UK and Scottish Governments working together to address existing legislative challenges while protecting democratic rights at a local level.

As Mark Ruskell noted, Lord Callanan, the Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green Finance, said:

“we need to build about four times as much transmission infrastructure by 2030 as we built in the previous 30 years.”—[Official Report, House of Lords, 29 February 2024; Vol 836, c 193GC.]

I agree.