Chamber and committees

I thank all members of the panel for joining us today, online and in person.

Donald Emslie, you already mentioned the consultation on proposed schemes, and it is important that the objectives and the impact are looked at. Do you agree with the requirement in part 3 of the bill that revenues should be spent on developing, supporting and sustaining the facilities and services that benefit tourists and leisure visitors? Do you have any thoughts on how those levies might support your strategies, your vision for projects and so on? It might be good to hear from Sheila Gilmore after you, or anyone else who wants to come in.

Thanks. It is really important to get those strong commitments on the record.

I will pick up on what you said in relation to 13 to 14 per cent of victims taking up the offer of information. We asked about that quite a while ago and, last week, we heard from the SCRA that it expects that looking at the issue will take between 12 and 18 months, because it has lost a third of its researchers. Is it possible to urge it to take a quicker, more focused look at the information and to have a discussion with people who chair panels, to get an initial indication of why that might be the case? The SCRA did not have any understanding of it at all, so it would be helpful if you could do that.

I am trying to be helpful here. I think that what we are getting at is that the bill is about those young people who are getting involved with the criminal justice system and involving them with the children’s hearings system instead. However, the bill is about those young people who are perpetrating acts. It does not include the victims, and that is why we are asking whether legal advice has been taken about the impact on victims, which is not part of the bill.

I would be quite happy if you wanted to take that away and have a further look at it. I am not trying to put you on the spot and make life difficult.

That suggests that the three-tier system has been ruled out, because the first tier of that would involve sharing with all victims information on the children’s hearings process and decision making.

I appreciate that the children’s hearings system is unique to Scotland, but I do not think that that means that we cannot look at how, internationally, people are getting the balance right and how we can apply that.

As we heard last week, different countries have different systems. Some of those systems are very good at, for example, balancing the rights of children in cases that involve a child victim and another child—our witnesses mentioned such a system in Croatia. What exploration has there been of different systems in different places with regard to what is effective, what works well and what would work in Scotland?

I really appreciate that, because I think that it is important that we look at that.

In making this point, I will go over what has been said already. As a committee, we are looking for a concrete reassurance that a child victim’s right to their physical and psychological recovery under article 39 of the UNCRC will be a key priority for you. We also want you to acknowledge that information sharing can be critical to the victim’s ability to recover following a crime and that it can help to alleviate the significant anxieties around their being involved with the justice system. In addition, we want you to fully accept that information can be a really powerful enabler for victim safety planning and for victims’ mental health and wellbeing.

We want to know that all of the above will be key priorities for you and that you will continue to work with all the relevant organisations, including those that we have mentioned today—Victim Support Scotland, Women’s Aid Scotland and Rape Crisis Scotland.

Yes, convener. There has been some overlap.

Minister, it is good to know that you have met Victim Support Scotland. We have heard a bit about the restrictions surrounding the information that can be given to the person who has been harmed, who may also be a child, and the significant obstacle to victims being able to access adequate information relating to their case. Can you share any thoughts on the three-tier information-sharing system that has been suggested? There was a comment earlier about the fact that information would not always be shared.

You have recognised the importance in secure care of grouping children together appropriately. There may be children who have committed very serious crimes and have manipulative tendencies alongside children who are very vulnerable. There is a bit of concern about the increasing numbers and the possibility that secure care centres will need infrastructure changes to ensure the safety of all the children who are in their care. Will you take that into consideration?

I assume that choosing the most appropriate secure care provider for a particular young person and their circumstances would be part of that.