Chamber and committees

We will come back to questions about private prisons.

It hardly seems like a year since many of us attended our local remembrance Sunday events as newly elected constituency and regional MSPs to remember our armed services personnel. Who would have thought that, as we entered this year’s national period of remembrance, we would be watching the unfolding illegal invasion of Ukraine?

Reading the daily intelligence updates from the MOD has become part of my routine: narrative and images of the devastation caused, the humanitarian effort and the absolute resolve of the Ukrainian population to win back their territory. At this time of year, the daily updates appear against the backdrop of remembrance, when we pay tribute to the ultimate sacrifice of those individuals from Scotland, the UK, the Commonwealth and allied nations who gave their lives in order to ensure the freedom and peace that we enjoy today.

The imagery captured on social media is a far cry from the photos that I expect many of us have tucked away of family members who saw active service in conflict or in peacekeeping roles across the world—photos like the one that I recently found of my Uncle Adam, who endured the claustrophobic environment of a Royal Navy minesweeper during world war two. As my son described him, he seemed to be smiling in the face of fear. It is no surprise that he returned to civilian life traumatised and suffering from what we now recognise as post-traumatic stress disorder, which went unrecognised and untreated for the rest of his life.

Thankfully we are in a very different place today. Many veterans leave our armed forces with a positive experience and highly transferable skills. However, many experience a more difficult return to civilian life, and the work of veterans charities in Scotland—Erskine, Poppyscotland, Veterans Scotland and many others—is key to ensuring that there is practical support and help in the right place, at the right time.

I am pleased that the Scottish Government commitment to charities and other bodies continues. I particularly welcome the establishment of the Scottish Veterans Care Network, to ensure parity of access to specialist services, and the continued funding for Combat Stress, ensuring that support for veterans who are experiencing compromised mental health continues.

Over the years, the north-east has seen a cohort of veterans take their skill sets into the energy sector. However, it can be difficult for them to navigate into the sector. Therefore, I welcome the revamped veterans employability strategic group, which I hope will support employment opportunities for service leavers such as those seeking to move into our growing renewables sector.

I particularly welcome the commitment in the refreshed strategy for our veterans to support and better understand the veteran population coming into the criminal justice system—frequently a highly vulnerable group with enduring and complex needs.

The on-going cost of living crisis is hitting those who are least able to afford increased energy and food bills the hardest. I am very grateful to all the people working and volunteering in my constituency of Aberdeen South and North Kincardine for their work in supporting our veteran community, providing practical and emotional support across a range of projects, initiatives and services. The support that is provided by the Scottish veterans fund will be crucial in ensuring that many of those local projects can continue to provide vital community support to our veterans and their families during this period of uncertainty and worry for many.

To conclude, at this time of remembrance, I offer my deep gratitude to all our military personnel—those lost in conflict, those still serving and those now returned to our communities—for their sacrifice, commitment and selflessness.

The revised NPF4 uses tighter policy language than the draft, following the minister’s proactive response to recommendations that were made during the consultation period. Can he explain what effect that strengthened policy wording will have on the delivery of NPF4?

I thank Carol Mochan for bringing the debate to mark allied health professions day to the chamber. It is, sadly, slightly delayed but nonetheless highlights the vital role that our allied health professionals play in health, social care, education and the voluntary sector, their tireless commitment during the Covid-19 pandemic and the positive impact that they have on peoples’ lives—I think of my experience of the compassionate response of occupational therapists to my elderly father after he fell through a glass door and ended up completely losing his confidence, and I remember the radiographers who x-rayed my son’s broken arm, on three occasions, at the Royal Aberdeen children’s hospital and the physiotherapists who patiently supported my brother-in-law as he learned to walk again after a life-threatening stroke.

We know that people are emerging from the Covid-19 pandemic with increasingly complex health needs. The rehabilitation framework and the once-for-Scotland approach recognise the demand that is associated with pre-existing long-term health conditions and the needs of people living with those long-term effects of Covid-19. It is also important to acknowledge other pressures such as staffing and recruitment challenges, our ageing population, climate change and, of course, the health inequalities that were starkly brought into focus by the recent University of Glasgow report linking austerity measures with excess deaths in Great Britain. However, today is about recognition and appreciation of the contribution that is made by a skilled, experienced and committed allied healthcare workforce.

I welcome the additional funding for psychological therapies and interventions, the launch of the national conversation to improve support for people with dementia and their carers and this week’s announcement of £37 million of Scottish Government funding over the next four years to help future-proof our NHS against rising demand.

There is no doubt that we are experiencing radical changes in the delivery of healthcare, which mean that the knowledge and skills that are required by allied health professionals have changed, too. I will cite an example of a small-scale but innovative approach that supports students in their practice-based learning.

The school of health sciences at Robert Gordon University has been leading a contemporary, community-based education opportunity that brings tangible benefit to older people in the most deprived areas in my constituency of Aberdeen South and North Kincardine. The Thursday physio drop-in is a weekly, student led physiotherapy clinic, comprising an over-55s exercise class along with advice on mobility, posture and strength, all followed by a cup of tea in a familiar setting within walking distance of people’s homes.

Building on that, a new student-led law clinic, recently launched in a busy GP practice in my constituency, will offer law students the opportunity to gain experience through providing free legal advice to people on low incomes. Barriers to health and wellbeing are complex: housing, finance and negotiating consumer rights are all barriers to the basic requirements of a healthy life—our best life. A first in Scotland, the community law clinic connects justice and allied healthcare to tackle the root causes of issues that contribute to poor mental and physical health, which is particularly relevant during the on-going cost of living crisis. I commend Hannah Moneagle from Robert Gordon University, Dr Adrian Crofton, lead clinician at the Torry medical practice, and all those involved in establishing that truly multidisciplinary project.

I commend all our allied health professionals for their commitment and resilience and for their contribution to making life better for us all, and again thank Carol Mochan for bringing this important debate to the chamber.

Some members will ask specific questions about Lady Dorrian’s review later. On the back of Jamie Greene’s question, I will bring in Russell Findlay. Fulton, is there something that you would like to pick up, too?

You are very enthusiastic.

We are discussing correspondence that the committee has received. The first piece of correspondence relates to the update on the women’s estate. As there are no other queries, are we content to write back to the prison service to thank it for its correspondence and to take forward Jamie Greene’s suggestion in doing so? We will monitor developments around the benefits and evaluation of the unit.

Members indicated agreement.

I call Pauline McNeill, to be followed by Russell Findlay.

Last year, the committee visited a prison and saw for ourselves the challenges that exist around caring for the cohort of prisoners who have dementia and other physical medical conditions. From a capital budget perspective, what might be the implications for your ability to improve and reconfigure the prison estate to ensure that their needs are met?

We are discussing correspondence to the committee. If you do not mind, just park that thought and we will come back to it.

Good morning and welcome to the 27th meeting in 2022 of the Criminal Justice Committee. We have apologies from Katy Clark.

Our first item of business is pre-budget scrutiny of the Scottish Government’s forthcoming budget for 2023-24. I refer members to papers 1 and 2. We will hear from two panels of witnesses. I give a warm welcome to our first panel: Eric McQueen, chief executive of the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service; and John Logue, interim Crown Agent with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

We will move straight to questions and I will kick off with a general opening question. Before we get into more detailed questioning around the specific implications of the indicative flat cash settlement, I am interested to hear your initial reaction to the Scottish Government’s proposal that there may be a flat cash resource settlement for the next few financial years.