I agree. The information that we have in relation to the blue-light collaboration is light. That is possibly because it is at an early stage and work is still under way to really focus on which projects and work the collaboration will support. I might come to that under the next agenda item, but your comments are noted.

In relation to your point, Jamie, I agree that SPICe is probably our first port of call in order to get more clarity on the accounting side of the police budget with regard to the slippage that you reference. I am happy to take that away.

Would anybody else like to come in?

That is a good suggestion. Our challenge might be around fitting in that discussion but, given that we have taken a lot of time to explore the issue, I am sure that we could fit it into our work programme along the way.

Thanks for that, Fulton.

That concludes our business in public. Next week, I expect the committee to consider several statutory instruments relating to the Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022. We will also consider a draft report on the Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Bill and have an initial discussion about our approach to the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill, which has just been introduced.

The next agenda item is consideration of correspondence that we have received in relation to policing and mental health. I refer members to paper 2.

Before I open the discussion to members, I thank the Scottish Police Authority and all the attendees at last week’s conference on workforce trauma. It was a worthwhile event that included contributions from a range of stakeholders. There were some very powerful lived experience contributions. It was reassuring to hear about the level of commitment to make positive and lasting change for officers and staff. We heard about what is already in place and a bit about the work that is under way to effect the change that is needed. There was quite a lot of honesty in the room, particularly around the role of supervisors and leaders, which led to a constructive session.

We have received correspondence from Police Scotland, the SPA and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland. Members will find a summary of each of the responses at the beginning of paper 2. I will open the discussion to members.

There are a couple of things there. You may recall the correspondence that we received from the Lord Advocate back in January. She said that every death by suicide of a police officer or staff member is fully investigated by the Crown as a matter of course. Obviously, issues around a person’s employment or duties may come into that investigation.

It is also worth noting that we expect to be looking at those issues, when we look at the forthcoming police complaints and misconduct bill, probably in the autumn. That might be the opportunity for us to further probe the issue.

Your points are noted, Mr Greene, and I absolutely agree with them.

Okay—thank you.

To pull together members’ comments, I probably agree with everything that has been said. There is a very challenging financial climate for Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. It has been helpful to hear your comments, in particular on the information that we have received about body-worn cameras, and I will come back to that.

I have just a couple of points. I noted with interest the discussion that took place at the 23 March meeting of the Scottish Police Authority, where it discussed its budget. I have to say it was a comprehensive discussion, with a lot of probing questions for the chief constable and a helpful overview of the approach that Police Scotland will take in extremely challenging circumstances. It certainly acknowledged the hard choices and the prioritisation of resources that will be required.

Obviously, there is the issue of the pressure of pay awards. Jamie Greene is right to point out the additional funding that was provided by the Scottish Government, around 50 per cent of which has gone to pay awards.

The budget was approved. Police Scotland presented a balanced budget, which was approved by the resources committee at that meeting. I was interested in a comment by the chief constable that, to a certain extent, the difficulties and the challenges that the budget presented this year led to the budget almost never having been so informed. I am not at all saying that it is a bed of roses; nonetheless, it is obvious that a lot of work has been undertaken.

As members have pointed out, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is facing very challenging circumstances in relation to property assets, such as vehicles, and pay awards. It is a very difficult environment. I took time to look at the Audit Scotland report that the service referenced in its response and at the challenge that is posed by the legacy of the financial circumstances that the individual fire services faced at the time of their amalgamation. If anything, I would be keen to observe and monitor developments around the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service budget.

As Rona Mackay said, the budget process is now complete, and I am sure that organisations are now thinking about next year’s budget. I am pleased that we have had some helpful contributions on the budget issue, and I am happy to keep budgetary issues under review.

Finally, on body-worn cameras, I always try to strike a balance in progressing work and not getting into ping-pong correspondence. Nonetheless, on this issue, maybe we can do some follow-up work to get a bit more clarity around the context of where we are with timescales and funding. I am happy to take that away and correspond with members on how we can take forward that work, given that we have quite a busy work programme coming down the track.

Jamie, do you want to come back in?

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to the 12th meeting of the Criminal Justice Committee in 2023. We have received no apologies.

Our first item of business is to consider the responses that we have received relating to our scrutiny of the Scottish Government’s budget for 2023-24. I refer members to paper 1. We have had replies from the Scottish Government, Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

Would members like to raise any issues or points? I am happy for you to come in on any of the pieces of correspondence. I will not take them in any particular order.

Russell and others have certainly raised the issue in the past, but more in relation to the follow-up that is in place in the aftermath of an officer or a member of staff taking their own life than to probing the issue.