I bring in Sharon Dowey.

I welcome everyone to the first meeting in 2026 of the Criminal Justice Committee and wish you all a very happy new year. First, I apologise to everyone that I am having to attend and convene the meeting remotely; that is due in part to bad weather but also to illness. Under the current interpretation of our rules, if the convener is participating at all, even remotely, they are required to chair the meeting. In the event that we experience any difficulties or interruptions with my remote connection, the deputy convener will chair proceedings until I am able to rejoin the meeting; I am grateful to Liam Kerr for his assistance in that regard.

We have received no apologies this morning.

Our first item of business is an evidence-taking session on the Prevention of Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Bill. We have one panel of witnesses, and I intend to allow up to 90 minutes for this session. I refer members to papers 1 and 2.

I welcome Pam Gosal MSP, the member in charge of the bill; Roz Thomson, principal clerk of the non-Government bills unit; Ailidh Callander, senior solicitor in the legal services office at the Scottish Parliament; and Charlie Pound, head of policy and research for the Scottish Conservative MSP group.

Before we start, I remind you all to be as succinct as you can in your questions and answers. For ease of convening the session, I propose to take a chronological approach to questions on the bill—that is, we will go through parts 1 to 4 of the bill sequentially. I ask members to indicate to the clerks when they wish to come in, either with a question or a supplementary, at the relevant point.

I invite Pam Gosal to make a short opening statement.

I note that the report of the independent advisers on the ministerial code said that the two breaches of the ministerial code were unintentional and were

“inadvertence without any deliberation or intention to mislead.”

The sanction is a formal reprove and a statement “to clarify the words” for the official record. Does the cabinet secretary believe that her statement fulfils what is required of her now in relation to the advisers’ report on the issue?

Recent statistics on the uptake of early learning and childcare funded hours demonstrate the Scottish National Party Government’s investment in supporting children and families. What assessment has the minister made of those figures in relation to the evaluation of ELC expansion?

ScotWind is one of the most significant green investment opportunities of the just transition, with the potential to create thousands of high-quality jobs, strengthen our domestic supply chains and generate considerable public revenue. Will the First Minister further outline how the Scottish Government is ensuring that communities across Scotland, particularly in coastal and island areas, will see lasting economic and social benefits from ScotWind, while it also furthers our future energy security?

Good morning, and welcome to the 35th and final meeting of the Criminal Justice Committee in 2025. We have received no apologies. We expect to be joined later by Pam Gosal MSP.

Before we begin, I thank Kirsty Deacon from the Scottish Parliament information centre for all the help that she has offered to the committee over the past few years. Kirsty is moving on, so I want to say a big thank you to her for the support that she has given members throughout her time with the committee. We wish her well in her new role.

Our first item of business is an oral evidence session on a legislative consent memorandum, LCM-S6-67 on the United Kingdom Government’s Sentencing Bill. I welcome Angela Constance, Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs, and the Scottish Government officials: Kevin Fulton from the community justice division and Ruth Swanson, who is a solicitor from the legal directorate. I refer members to paper 1. I invite the cabinet secretary to make some opening remarks on the LCM.

That concludes our evidence session. I thank the minister and her officials for joining us. We appreciate you giving us your time.

I wish everyone a happy festive season when it comes and a peaceful recess.

That is a helpful clarification.

We have a bit of time in hand, so I would like to ask a question that relates to your letter to the committee at the end of July, in which you outlined that the process of providing information to the Parole Board for Scotland on rehabilitative measures and support programmes

“could be strengthened ... without the requirement for legislation.”

Would the Scottish Government be willing to commit to looking at that further? Could other elements of the provisions in part 2 of the bill also be achieved without recourse to legislation?

As no member wishes to comment, is the committee content to recommend to the Parliament that consent should be given for the relevant provisions that are covered by LCM-S6-67?

Members indicated agreement.