Chamber and committees

I will arrange for a short, factual report to be published on our deliberations.

That concludes the public part of the meeting. We move into private session and on to MS Teams.

Good morning, everybody, and welcome to the third meeting in 2022 of the Criminal Justice? Committee. There are no apologies. I ask that members ensure that their mobile phones are switched to silent and that they wait for the sound engineer to switch on their microphone before speaking.

Agenda item 1 is a decision on taking business in private. Do members agree to take item 4 in private?

Members indicated agreement.

Agenda item 2 is consideration of two petitions that were referred to the Justice Committee in the previous parliamentary session and which were carried over into this session. I refer members to paper 1. I should say that this is the first time that we have looked at the petitions since the Criminal Justice Committee was established. I will shortly invite members to give their thoughts.

I will start with PE1370, which was lodged by Dr Jim Swire on behalf of the Justice for Megrahi campaign group. This important petition calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to open an independent inquiry into the conviction of the late Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi for the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 in December 1988.

The previous committee kept the petition open and, in effect, placed it on hold pending the conclusion of the different inquiries and various legal cases that were being pursued in the courts. The committee members felt that they could not?make a decision?on the merits of the petition until those processes had been concluded.

As the clerk’s paper notes, some but not all of the legal processes have been completed. Members will note the letter that was received yesterday from Iain McKie on behalf of the Justice for Megrahi committee, which confirms that the family of Mr al-Megrahi continue to seek a Supreme Court opinion. We are grateful to Mr McKie for the helpful update.

My suggestion for the committee is likely to be that we continue to keep the petition open until we are clearer about what steps, if any, the family of Mr al-Megrahi plan to take in relation to any appeal to the Supreme Court.

I invite views and comments from members.

That is helpful.

I am grateful for members’ comments and views. On the basis of those points, we agree to keep the petition open until we are clearer on what progress has been made, and we can make further decisions when the petition next returns to the committee. I thank members for their assistance.

I do not think that anyone else wants to come in. On the basis of the points that have been made, I think that we are agreed. I know that Rona Mackay is minded to close the petition, but my suggestion is that we keep it open. As members have commented, we seek further clarity on the plan to take the matter forward and we will write to the cabinet secretary for details on progress and a further update on timescales. My proposal is that we keep the petition open and write to the cabinet secretary. Are we agreed?

Members indicated agreement.

To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made with the latest Scottish wholesale food and drink resilience fund. (S6O-00669)

I thank the cabinet secretary for that helpful answer. Access to the fund will provide a lifeline to many wholesale businesses that were severely impacted by the omicron variant just as they were beginning their recovery and looking forward to the festive season. One such business in my constituency is experiencing added uncertainty about eligibility, arising from having been unable to apply for previous business support. Can the cabinet secretary provide an assurance that funding will be forthcoming as a matter of urgency and that all eligible applications will be considered, regardless of whether the business received funding in the previous round?

I congratulate my colleague and old friend—with the emphasis on friend, rather than old; I meant it in the most respectful way—Jackie Dunbar, for bringing forward the motion. I know that this is an initiative that she has been committed to as it has been developed locally in Aberdeen city and Aberdeenshire.

I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests, which states that I am a councillor in Aberdeen City Council. I thank the Asthma and Allergy Foundation for its helpful briefing ahead of the debate.

I shamefully admit that, despite living in the north-east, I had not crossed paths with the my breath is my life initiative until Jackie Dunbar lodged the motion. The notion of a learning resource that delivers training to children and young people on how to cope with an asthma attack seems logical and, as Jackie Dunbar highlighted, the statistics speak for themselves. In Scotland, around 368,000 people live with asthma, around 72,000 of whom are children. Tragically, 2020 saw 113 asthma deaths. I cannot imagine the loss and the sense of tragedy that is felt by the families and friends who are affected.

Prevention plays a vital role in many aspects of our lives, particularly in our health and wellbeing—for example, our daily multivitamin tablets, our free eye tests and, of course, our flu and Covid vaccine jags and boosters. We are fortunate to be able to access a wide range of resources and educational opportunities to enhance our confidence and skills, which help us to respond to unforeseen events in which we might need to remember the recovery position from our first aid training, or, for cases of suspected stroke, the FAST mnemonic—facial drooping, arm weakness, speech difficulties and time. It therefore stands to reason, given the potentially serious consequences of an asthma attack, that education on how to respond—for those living with asthma, their carers, families and teachers—could, literally, mean the difference between life and death.

The commitment of Martina Chukwuma-Ezike in establishing the Asthma and Allergy Foundation, and in developing the my breath is my life resource, is inspiring. She has turned her traumatic personal experience into an opportunity to educate and empower those who live with asthma. It was fantastic to learn that the my breath is my life workshop has been delivered to almost 15,000 pupils, just under 600 teachers, pupil support assistants, parents, and others, teaching learners to understand asthma, identify symptoms and triggers and, importantly, how to manage their condition. It is truly a fantastic achievement.

However, the my breath is my life project is not just about raising awareness; it is about supporting people to have a good life in which they are in control of their asthma, rather than their asthma controlling them. Although it is currently a local initiative, the project will be making its own valid contribution to ensuring that children can stay in education, play sport and experience strong mental health, and, further on in their lives, can access skills development, educational opportunities and positive outcomes.

In that regard—and in conclusion—I note that the motion calls for the my breath is my life project to be made available nationally. Having spent many years in volunteering roles with children and young people, there is no doubt in my mind that such a project merits every consideration for wider roll-out across Scotland, and I will do everything that I can to support efforts in that respect.

How will the 2022-23 budget maintain the Scottish Government’s commitment to protect the police resource budget, improve service delivery, and enhance safety and security in communities across Scotland?