Chamber and committees

That brings us nicely to the end of our evidence session. We are grateful for your answers to our questions. Before you leave, would any of you like to make a final comment on what, specifically, we need to think about that has perhaps not already been articulated or reflected this morning, as we continue our post-legislative scrutiny of the 2018 act? Do you have any final points to raise?

We will have a brief suspension to allow the room to be set up for our next agenda item.

Good morning and welcome to the eighth meeting in 2023 of the Criminal Justice Committee. There are no apologies.

Our first item of business is a decision whether to take in private item 6, which is our review of the evidence that we will hear today. Do members agree to take that item in private?

Members indicated agreement.

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. It has been a long day.

I am very grateful to Rona Mackay for bringing to the chamber this debate on an issue about which I know that she is passionate, as demonstrated by her convenership of the cross-party group on women, families and justice and of the cross-party group on men’s violence against women and children.

As we have heard, Families Outside is for many a lifeline organisation that supports families to navigate the challenges that arise when a loved one is serving a prison sentence. I commend the detailed research and analysis set out in its report “Paying the Price: The Cost to Families of Imprisonment and Release”, which outlines the ripple effect of financial, emotional, mental and physical harm that is experienced by families and, in particular, single women on low incomes who are affected by imprisonment.

I would like to focus on release, which is an issue that Rona Mackay and Michael Marra referenced in their contributions and which has been considered recently by the Criminal Justice Committee in its work on the Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Bill, which seeks to give greater focus to rehabilitation and the reintegration of individuals leaving custody.

In its report, Families Outside narrated the challenges of the financial costs of someone leaving prison, which can be anything from £30 to £1,000 a month. Women who were interviewed for the study felt very much left to get on with it. They described the first two months following release as the most stressful and costly, as money was often short due to benefits not yet being in place. Meeting someone and taking them home from prison can incur significant cost. One woman had to travel the day before and reside in a hotel overnight before travelling home, which cost around a quarter of her monthly budget. Women spoke of the costs of basic items, such as a kettle, a television and curtains, when a family member moves into new accommodation after having lost their previous home.

Two interviewees were unaware of the grants available within the Scottish welfare fund. One interviewee spoke of the cost of protecting a friend returning to the area where she was likely to resume drug use, and of covering the costs of clothing, food and keeping on the heating during the day until her benefits were set up. One mother spoke of the pressure of having to take time off work to settle her son in his flat. That is by no means an unusual scenario.

During its scrutiny of the Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Bill, the Criminal Justice Committee heard from Professor Fergus McNeill, who referred to research that had been undertaken by the University of Glasgow on post-prison integration and the need to address key facets, including housing, employment, skills development, social integration and political participation. The conclusions that Families Outside set out in its report add to that analysis. They recognise the added impact of austerity, service cuts, the pandemic, and now the cost of living on families who are affected by prison.

The report sets out ideas for development around release, including reinstating throughcare, facilitating the making of benefits claims, and engagement with support services well in advance of release. Indeed, on our recent visit to HMP Grampian, the governor, Mike Hebden, reflected that planning for release should begin on the day on which someone enters prison.

The ideas that Families Outside set out align with much of the evidence that the Criminal Justice Committee heard. I very much hope that those will inform a robust and meaningful response from the Scottish Government, and that they will lead to positive change in policy and practice, so that release from prison is no longer a burden, but is a starting point for all families in Scotland.

Once again, I extend my thanks to Rona Mackay for bringing the motion to the chamber for debate.

Despite Westminster austerity, the Scottish Government has increased police funding year on year since 2016-17, and I welcome the fact that the Scottish Government has further increased the policing budget for the next financial year by £80 million. How will the budget help Police Scotland respond to the changing nature of crime?

When will the transfer under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations take place, what does this mean for employees and what engagement has taken place with rail unions?

In recent weeks, a close family member who is on a work placement in Norway has been sending me regular pictures and videos of the northern lights—the spectacular displays of colour in the skies, which graced many of our skies in Scotland earlier this week. However, the Arctic is a lot more than lights in the sky. Indeed, the Scottish-Arctic connections that have been forged through history continue to drive new and creative partnerships, exchanges and co-operation.

Scotland’s historical connections with the Arctic are extensive. Aberdeenshire-born polar explorer Thomas Abernethy was awarded five Arctic medals in the 1800s and was one of many Scottish explorers recognised for their pioneering polar research.

Recently, RAF Lossiemouth has been re-established as a key air base in the north of the UK, with a new fleet of maritime patrol aircraft monitoring the north Atlantic and the high north region at a time when tracking emerging military threats has never been so relevant. I note the comments of Sarah Boyack and other members on the issue of global security. I completely agree with them.

Of course, our Arctic connections are embedded in our cultural and social linkages, our shared climate change targets and the interchange of information and expertise, reinforced by shared policy ideas and initiatives. I commend the Arctic policy framework that was developed by my colleague Fiona Hyslop, which sets out the priorities around developing our Arctic connections in a modern Scotland.

An excellent example is the Scandinavian barnahus or bairns’ hoose approach, which ensures that children who are victims of violence or abuse have all their needs met in an integrated way, in one place, under one roof. I am delighted that the Scottish Government has committed to implementing that internationally renowned approach in the programme for government, and I was pleased to receive confirmation that the 2023-24 justice budget includes £2.5 million of additional funding for victims and witnesses, including support for the justice aspects of the next phase of the Scottish bairns’ hoose model.

On research and innovation, the Scottish Arctic connections fund continues to support academic collaborations with our Arctic partners, and it is testament to the strong linkages between the north-east and our Arctic friends that the University of Aberdeen and Robert Gordon University have successfully received funding to support a number of projects, including a just transition project that will identify the challenges and opportunities in optimising regulation to achieve a just transition; a project to explore ways in which Arctic region countries address the challenges of the out-migration of young people, which will inform interventions and good practice in Scotland; and a project exploring the sustainability of an Inuit community in the Canadian Arctic.

I must also mention the strong energy collaborations between Scotland and the Arctic. For decades, Scotland has been home to many people who have settled in the north-east from Arctic countries. They have brought their skills and knowledge into our oil and gas sector—and, now, into our developing renewables sector. I was dismayed by the political nuances and tone of Douglas Lumsden’s speech. Equinor’s development of the Kincardine project—the world’s largest floating wind farm, just off the Aberdeenshire coast—is but one of many examples of our solid energy relationship.

Scotland is rightly positioning itself as a key Arctic partner by embracing new friends, growing powerful links and strengthening our internationalist reputation. We have much to be proud of, but there is still much to do. As a constituency MSP for Aberdeen South and North Kincardine, I look forward to receiving my invitation to the forthcoming international Arctic exchange conference.

I concur with pretty much all the comments that have been made. Jamie Greene made a good suggestion that we look at some data in relation to the provisions on emergency workers and proxy purchases. I am happy to take that forward.

The letter is a bit light touch, so it would be helpful for us to have more detail, in particular on some of the key points that members have raised. Across the committee, there are various levels of concern about pretty much all the key updates that have been provided.

I am happy for us to write back to the minister to seek not only some data, as Jamie Greene outlined, but more detail on the key points that were outlined in the correspondence and a reassurance that every effort will be made to keep the timescales on track and minimise slippage. There is public interest in this issue. Pauline McNeill’s point about costs is well made, and we will incorporate that in our correspondence.

I think that Katy Clark agreed with the suggestion that we contact the minister by way of a follow-up letter. I see that she is nodding.

Okay. That is noted.

Thank you all very much. That concludes our public items of business.

The next questions will come from Colette Stevenson and Pauline McNeill.