Chamber and committees

How to follow Mr Leonard?

Some years ago, the languages tree in my son’s primary school had 46 leaves, to represent the 46 languages that were spoken in his school and the mix of nationalities that had settled in the north-east. Children were learning about one another’s cultures, traditions and values. They lived in families who worked in the energy industry, health services, education and business, and made a significant contribution to the local economy, their communities and the social and cultural ecosystems in the north-east.

Scotland is a welcoming nation, which embraces those who come to live, study and work, and those who flee persecution and conflict. That is a far cry from the previous UK Government’s unwelcoming approach of reducing migration through its immigration and asylum systems. I sincerely hope that the current UK Government commits to shifting the dial on that harmful approach. Scotland has distinct demographic and economic needs, and I will highlight two interconnected issues that are highly relevant to the north-east.

First, I thank Universities Scotland and Robert Gordon University for their helpful briefings on higher education. In our higher education space, international students have contributed between £4 billion and £6 billion to Scotland’s economy since 2019, and attracting global talent, such as Lorna Slater, to Scottish higher education has brought huge social, cultural and soft benefits.

In 2021-22, in Aberdeen alone, the contribution of international students had a net impact of more than £350 million. However, numbers have recently fallen dramatically due to the previous UK Government’s decision to end dependant visas. In 2023-24, Robert Gordon University in my constituency saw international on-campus postgraduate student enrolment decline by 34 per cent, and applications from female students declined by a staggering 57 per cent—they were clearly disproportionately affected by that decision.

Importantly, some postgraduate courses are viable only due to the presence of international students. Those courses provide the higher-order skills that are required by our workforce in Scotland at a time of significant skills shortages across a range of sectors. The UK Government must reverse the decision that prevents international students from bringing dependants to the UK, and maintain the graduate-route visa to ensure that Scotland remains an attractive destination for our international students.

That brings me on to the energy industry—specifically offshore wind. I am grateful to Scottish Renewables for highlighting a recent white paper that was submitted by numerous energy industry bodies, which outlines the detrimental impact of amendments to the Immigration Act 1971 and changes to visa rules for offshore wind workers that mean that almost all non-UK offshore workers require a visa to work in UK territorial waters.

The offshore wind sector is dependent on specialist vessels and crew that operate around the world, and the strict UK visa requirements are presenting a significant barrier to the deployment of vital Scottish offshore wind projects, which adds complexity and costs to working in the UK amid an increasingly competitive global offshore wind market. To illustrate—I ask members to stick with me—the average construction of a 1GW offshore wind farm in the UK can require close to 100 vessels. Industry has calculated that in that scenario, the cost of obtaining visas for a full complement of crew could be in excess of £45 million. The point about such costs was also made by my colleague Ben Macpherson.

To achieve clean power by 2030 and to capture the economic benefits for Scotland of our offshore wind potential, we need a visa system that enables those specialist vessels and crews to work in UK waters. Importantly, that would then allow projects to be successfully deployed and allow the long-term, high-value jobs that they create to be secured for our workforce here in Scotland.

To put it simply, visa requirements do not align with the needs of our economy, and they are creating an untenable situation for a key industry to Scotland. Scottish Renewables and industry partners are highlighting the issue with the UK Government, but traction with the Home Office has been limited. The Scottish Government has limited powers in that space, so I hope that there is scope for some collaboration between the Governments, working with industry, to find a resolution, given the importance of our ScotWind and innovation and targeted oil and gas projects.

I commend the action taken by the Scottish Government to establish Scotland’s Migration Service, which is an excellent support for employers, investors and individuals who are navigating the UK immigration system once they have arrived here. However, given the challenges faced by Scotland’s higher education and energy industries, and others that have been referred to by colleagues this afternoon, I fully support the Scottish Government’s calls for a differentiated, more flexible migration policy that is tailored to meet Scotland’s specific needs, including a policy that derives from a geographical context.

I urge members to support the Government motion this afternoon.

If you want to provide a follow-up answer in writing, that would be helpful.

Thank you—we managed to get that question in.

I am looking through the door and I do not think that the cabinet secretary is outside yet, so I will shamelessly insert a final question. [Laughter.] It is on a point that is made in the Social Work Scotland submission on the basic issue of the police being able to make contact with services. I direct this question to David Hamilton—you may need to take it away, David. Do police officers have available to them the core access that local arrangements should be supporting?

Okay—great. That is the final word. I thank you all for what has been an excellent session. We could probably have run on for another hour.

We will have a short suspension to allow a changeover of witnesses.

11:33 On resuming—  

One of the things that was highlighted in the paper on safe spaces was the need for peer support, which the cabinet secretary referred to, as well as the need to work alongside clinical staff. The clinical aspect of overall care is important.

That is helpful to know.

I will stop there and bring in members, starting with Liam Kerr.

A very good morning, and welcome to the first meeting in 2025 of the Criminal Justice Committee. Happy new year to everyone. We have no apologies this morning.

Our first item of business is a decision on whether to take in private agenda item 3, under which we will review the evidence that we hear under item 2. Do members agree to take item 3 in private?

Members indicated agreement.

Our main item of business is an evidence session on the continuing challenges that are faced by Police Scotland officers and staff in responding to people in distress. I welcome our first panel of witnesses. I am pleased that we are joined by Dr Inga Heyman, associate professor, Edinburgh Napier University; Assistant Chief Constable Catriona Paton and Chief Superintendent Matt Paden, Police Scotland; Dr Robby Steel, consultant liaison psychiatrist, NHS Scotland; and Dr David Hamilton, mental health manager at the state hospital. What a fantastic panel. Thank you all for giving up your time—we know that you are busy. We also appreciate the submissions that some of you were able to provide ahead of the meeting.

I refer members to papers 1 and 2, and I thank—in addition to our witnesses—all the organisations that have provided us with written evidence. I intend to allow up to 75 minutes or so for this session. To get us started, I will open with a very general question. We will start with Dr Heyman, and we will then work our way across the panel.

The policing response to people in distress is an issue that the committee has been interested in for much of this parliamentary session. What are your initial thoughts on the progress that has been made in that area of policing generally? In addition, from your respective perspectives, what are the key priorities that need to be considered in further developing a multisectoral or whole-system approach that enables officers and staff to transfer the care of a person to a more appropriate service?

We are now joined by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs and her officials. I wish you all a happy new year. Accompanying the cabinet secretary from the Scottish Government, I welcome Lynsey McKean, policy team leader in the police division, and Alasdair Cook, principal medical adviser with the mental health division. I refer members to papers 1 and 2. I intend to allow about 75 minutes for this evidence session.

I invite the cabinet secretary to make some opening remarks.

The submissions from Police Scotland and others have helpfully set out some of the work that has been going on, which is welcome to see.

I bring in Dr Robby Steel.