Chamber and committees

That is a fair comment. I am happy to do that.

If there is nothing else on that letter, we will move on to the letter from Police Scotland on cyberkiosk training. Do members have any comments on that? Did you want to come in on that, Collette?

I have a quick update on the point that Jamie Greene raised about the correspondence that was sent to the UK Government from the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee in relation to the bill. I can confirm that, to date, there has been no reply to that letter, which was dated 10 November.

In view of the questions that were raised in response to the update given by the cabinet secretary and some of the comments made by his officials, and also in view of the Scottish Government’s position on the LCM, I propose—I am happy to discuss this further with members—that we do not put the question of consent today and that we consider the matter as a committee, so that we can obtain more information for further consideration. That is my proposal, and I am interested in hearing members’ views on it.

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

No worries. Thank you.

We will ask the clerks to support that follow-up work and to keep on top of that piece of work into the new year.

My ever-helpful clerks have just confirmed that that appears to be connected to a freedom of information request that was submitted by our Liberal Democrat colleagues. It should be in the public domain, but we will see whether we can find it, circulate it to members and incorporate it in our on-going correspondence.

I have jotted down some of the points that members have made. It is clear that concerns still exist about the response that we received from Police Scotland. In relation to that correspondence, I still have questions about training, which I am very interested in, and, in particular, supporting operational supervisors to recognise and respond to changes in a member of their staff, and to instigate the appropriate support before things escalate for them.

In the correspondence from the SPA, I noticed that some of the timescales for processing retirements seem exceedingly long. That raises a concern, particularly where there is a health and wellbeing issue connected to that. For me, the other question that remains is around access to, and referral to, specialist support in circumstances in which the mental wellbeing of an officer or a member of support staff has declined to a point at which referral and access to more specialist support is appropriate. The timescales around that are difficult. Those are some of the issues that I am interested in continuing to scrutinise.

We have covered a number of issues: obtaining data on suicides; establishing whether there is a link with officers’ work roles and the collection of data on that; and the possibility of FAIs. It is important to acknowledge that HMICS, the SPA, Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Federation are committed to addressing the issue, but the view that there is a lot more work to be done is loud and clear. Fulton MacGregor spoke about widening access to the police treatment centres, which is a good point, and the situation with regard to vaccinations, which Pauline McNeill raised, is an issue that has attracted scrutiny and criticism in the past.

Going forward—to pick up on Jamie Greene’s point—it is important that the SPA and Police Scotland have an opportunity to respond. I am happy to propose that we give them some time to respond on the notes of meetings with officers and the suggested follow-up. We could also invite the federation and even the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents to comment, perhaps in 2023. In the meantime, I am keen that we write again to Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority to request a full and detailed response to the correspondence that we have sent them.

I also propose that we engage with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, perhaps on cases around FAIs, which Russell Findlay raised, and suicides, and raise those issues with it. As I said, we can certainly track down the information around the FOI that was referred to earlier.

Are members happy with that proposal? There is still a wee bit of work to do, but it is all important stuff.

Okay. Perhaps what you were referring to was in relation to the previous agenda item, but we picked up the key points that you were making on that.

As the cabinet secretary has outlined in several replies—which the Tories do not seem to want to hear—police officer numbers in Scotland remain well above officer numbers in England, where the Tories are in charge. Would he agree that the fact that Scotland has the most officers per capita, significantly higher pay ranges for officers, and high levels of investment shows that policing is a clear priority for the Government?

I apologise for my late arrival in the chamber.

I thank Jackie Dunbar for lodging the motion recognising #iwill week 2022, which is an opportunity to recognise the important role of youth volunteering, campaigning and mentoring in communities, neighbourhoods, towns and families.

As she has outlined, #iwill has grown over the years and #iwill Scotland, supported by YouthLink Scotland, brings together more than 100 youth organisations from across the country and supports a wide range of work and initiatives that enable young people to drive social change. They include celebration of international volunteers day, the work of the Scottish Youth Parliament on a variety of issues to ensure that young people’s rights are upheld, and work to support young carers and young adult carers by ensuring that they can participate in a survey to find out about the pressures that they face and the support that they need.

I am delighted to see that there is a focus on disability. I have been working closely with an inspiring young constituent who is passionate about driving forward disability rights through important issues such as relaxed theatre performances and quiet times in shopping centres for young people who are living with autism. I thank her very much for her commitment and drive on that issue.

I am old enough—sadly—to have had the privilege of doing my own bit with young people, and I spent many years as a volunteer with the Aberdeen open awards centre supporting the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme and as a child protection officer for Aberdeen Grammar Rugby. Those were very different roles with one thing in common: they helped children and young people to reach their potential, to step out of their comfort zones, to build confidence and resilience and just to have fun in a safe space.

My son was a scout for many years, and now, as an adult, he looks back on the experiences and opportunities that the scouts gave him in team building, problem solving, being pushed out of his comfort zone, cooking and even dealing with homesickness. I have absolutely no doubt that all that made him the person he is today.

Not all children and young people are given the opportunities that they deserve. Many find themselves facing circumstances, experiences or environments that are difficult and challenging to navigate. It is therefore imperative that barriers and obstacles be removed so that they can achieve their potential and have good and fulfilling lives.

The focus and support that #iwill provides in that effort is pivotal. I was pleased to note that the key themes that were explored in #iwill week 2022 included working together on what we need to learn about working across sectors, how young people can shape a place, how we can create genuinely enabling environments for young people, and the role of funders in all of that. Those are important themes and questions, and they are ones that all of us, collectively, must be invested in answering in our respective roles. I very much hope that the outcomes of that week of celebration of and focus on young people provide the #iwill movement with a platform to take forward its work right across Scotland.

I again thank Jackie Dunbar for bringing the debate to Parliament. I want to end with a few words that I often used to remind my family of how valued they were: “What you are looking for is already in you. You are already everything you need to be.” Let us never forget that.

That is a discussion for a different day—I am concentrating on COP27.

At home, our ambitious net zero targets mean that we all face hard choices in relation to how we travel, heat our homes and source our food. It is right that our focus is now on renewable energy and emerging green technologies. Wind power is already the cheapest form of power in our energy mix. Our expertise in oil and gas is an opportunity to deliver our just transition, not just because that is an environmental imperative but because it offers a significant economic opportunity.

In my constituency, the just transition is everywhere—it is a pivotal part of our local economy, landscape and future prosperity. Frustratingly for the north-east, however, the UK Government’s questionable decision making and woeful political instability is hugely detrimental to the north-east. Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce recently reported that half of the companies surveyed for its latest energy transition report said that

“the current political and regulatory environment is a barrier to diversification”.

The uncertainty over the Acorn carbon capture, usage and storage project and the lack of commitment shown to such a vital project by the UK Government is just one example of those barriers.

The member raises a hugely important point. I have read a little bit about CCUS because of its relevance to my constituency, so I know that the only body that is dragging its feet on the issue is the UK Government, which is essentially dimming the lights on our local energy industry.

Given the £400 billion or so of tax revenue that has flowed from Scotland to the UK Treasury over many decades, I urge the Scottish Government to press the UK Government to honour its commitment to Scotland’s just transition and to tackling global climate change.

I am immensely proud of Scotland’s ambition, leadership and commitment to COP27, the global south and tackling global climate change. I look forward to monitoring progress and to playing my part, in my constituency and beyond, to ensure that Scotland becomes greener, cleaner and net zero.