Chamber and committees

I will ask a follow-up question about the practical aspect of release days. Do you have any comment on how appropriate it is for Friday to be a release day, given that, for example, some services might be closed over the weekend? Thinking about it in the context of victim support, should that arrangement continue?

Good morning and welcome to the fifth meeting of the Criminal Justice Committee. There are no apologies this morning.

Under item 1, do members agree to take in private item 5, which is consideration of today’s evidence?

Members indicated agreement.

I will bring in Tim Barraclough, as I think that he was quite keen to speak.

I would like to bring in Superintendent Convery, who I know is very interested in that.

Time is slightly against us, but I will bring in Katy Clark with a final question on criminal injuries compensation.

Item 4 is consideration of two Scottish statutory instruments under the negative procedure. I refer members to paper 6.

If members have no comments on the regulations, are we content not to make any comments formally to Parliament on it?

Members indicated agreement.

We now move into private session.

Oops—we seem to have a problem with Professor Burman. Hopefully, we will be able to come back to her later.

If no one else has any questions, I will bring in Mr Findlay to pick up on the earlier point about delays in criminal cases. Do you want to direct your question to a particular witness?

I welcome the Lord Advocate to the chamber. Will she clarify the criteria for whether a person is suitable for diversion?

I thank Michael Marra for bringing the debate to the chamber. I have a rugby family, and for many years I have been a child protection officer for a local rugby club in Aberdeen, so I am sensitive to, and supportive of, the work to improve safety in sport.

As members will recall, I asked a question on this very issue earlier this month, following the news that Denis Law, Scotland’s joint all-time leading football scorer, had confirmed his own diagnosis of mixed dementia. The beautiful game is an essential part of life for many generations of boys and girls: idolising their favourite players, posters on bedroom walls, stickers swapped at school, and players reinvented as characters in computer games. However, behind the glamour, football players are, first and foremost, human beings with friends and families who love and support them. I know the emotion that is felt when a pal, brother or father is diagnosed with dementia.

As an Aberdeen constituency MSP, my thoughts turn to two individuals in particular. The first is Jimmy Calderwood, who was Aberdeen team manager for five years during the 2000s and led the team into the latter stages of a European competition. Mr Calderwood went public with his own diagnosis of Alzheimer’s in 2017, but he maintained a very positive attitude in managing his condition and enjoying life. I understand that he is open-minded on whether heading the ball may have been a factor behind his diagnosis.

Dons fans through the 1970s will remember Chic McLelland, who made more than 150 appearances for Aberdeen but sadly suffered from early-onset dementia for 10 years. I am aware that Mr McLelland’s family believe that football may well have played a part in his diagnosis.

I note the research, to which Michael Marra referred, by Dr Willie Stewart, who found that former football players are three and a half times more likely to die of neurodegenerative disease in comparison with non-footballers. Outfield players are four times more likely to suffer from brain disease, and defenders—the position that Mr McLelland played—were found to be five times more likely to suffer from dementia.

Sadly, it would appear that Mr McLelland’s family had good reason to believe that heading footballs contributed to his condition. Likewise, the risk for Mr Calderwood, having played as a midfielder, may have been increased.

The Minister for Public Health, Women’s Health and Sport, in answer to my question in the chamber, confirmed that the Scottish Government is

“in regular contact with the Scottish Football Association”,

and I was encouraged to hear that the Scottish Football Association has

“produced guidance ... on heading”—[Official Report, 2 September 2021; c 5.]

for clubs and coaches to follow.

It is reassuring to know that there is specific guidance for primary and secondary school children, so that future generations of footballers will not face the same risks as those in the past or, indeed, in the present. I also welcome the Scottish Government’s plans to “substantially increase funding” for Scotland’s national health service and social care system in order to ensure that older people, including football players who are living with dementia, receive the care that they need.

We all know how important it is to encourage people, especially children and young people, to participate in sporting activities. I commend the work of researchers in the field of brain injury and sport, as well as the many others who have helped to raise the profile of this important issue and have worked so hard to improve safety in football and similar sports. It is vital that that work is supported and continued.

I am pleased to support Michael Marra in bringing the issue to the Scottish Government’s attention. I will follow developments very closely and will do what I can to ensure that work continues at not just a national but an international level.