Chamber and committees

First, I want to take this opportunity to thank those who are involved in the “A Model for Scotland” campaign group for their work in raising awareness of this key issue. I am aware that they have representation on the reference group that has supported the development of the fundamental principles that, once finalised, will underpin our future framework for Scotland to challenge men’s demand for prostitution and support those who experience it.

I am committed to continuing to work across the Scottish Government, the Scottish Parliament and stakeholders as our collective approach to tackling prostitution further develops, contributing to our aim to be a society that treats all with kindness, dignity and compassion. That will, of course, include continuing to engage with the “A Model for Scotland” campaign. I look forward to continuing that work with the campaign, and I will meet the people involved in it, and those with lived experience, as soon as I can.

The safety and wellbeing of all fire and rescue officers is of utmost importance to the Scottish Government. This year, we increased funding to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service by £9.5 million, but decisions on the allocation of its £352.7 million budget is a matter for the SFRS board and chief officer.

I am aware that the SFRS has been engaged with the Fire Brigades Union and the work undertaken by the University of Central Lancashire for a number of years now, and its well-established contamination working group has taken action across all aspects of operations to reduce exposure to harmful contaminants, including investment in new fire appliances and fire station facilities.

The Scottish Government provided new powers to local authorities specifically to make the sort of decisions about sexual entertainment venues in their areas that the member has outlined, and I am committed to ensuring that we can take the legislation forward and support local authorities on the way. I would be happy to meet local authorities to discuss that matter.

We have every confidence in the system that is in place for fatal accident inquiries. We keep matters under review in consultation with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, and we continually consider and evaluate whether there are ways in which the system can be improved further.

The Crown Office has significantly reformed its processes to reduce the time taken to investigate deaths and to bring FAIs to court more quickly. Those reforms have already resulted in reductions in the duration of death investigations, and it is expected that they will continue to do so. Parliament considered and modernised the law on FAIs in 2016, and there are currently no plans to revisit the legislation.

We are taking work forward through a framework for Scotland to challenge men’s demand for prostitution and support those with experience of prostitution. To underpin the framework, we have worked with an expert group of stakeholders to develop fundamental principles that will ensure that equality, human rights and safety are at its heart. Work is progressing well and, once finalised, the principles will be adopted and published.

In designing the framework, we will reflect the key aims of the equally safe strategy and the vision for justice in Scotland, including how best to effect delivery.

I am aware of Professor Stec’s work and its valuable contribution to building our knowledge and understanding of contaminants that could be harmful to firefighters, and I am absolutely happy to meet the member and discuss the issue further. I know that the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has implemented enhanced cancer-focused screenings, with questions being asked and discussions had during routine medical assessments, and the health and wellbeing department continues to provide a service for post-diagnosis support in relation to employees with cancer. As I have said, I am very happy to meet the member to discuss the issue further.

As the member knows, any negotiations for pay are done at a United Kingdom level. As things stand, our budget allocation for the fire service has increased year on year. As yet, we are not engaged in budget negotiations.

I join Ruth Maguire in commending the bravery of any victim of sexual exploitation in coming forward with their experiences—I know how hard that is—and I commend the work across the public sector and the third sector to support them. Any form of sexual exploitation is completely unacceptable.

I am equally of the view that prostitution cannot be considered in isolation. The developing framework to challenge men’s demand for prostitution and support those with experience of prostitution will have direct relevance to tackling wider forms of commercial sexual exploitation, including human trafficking.

I have deep sympathy for the family in that tragic case. However, that is a matter for the Lord Advocate. As Richard Leonard said, separate work is being carried out in relation to deaths in custody.

Each death investigation that is over two years old and every death in custody is carefully managed through the now well-established case management panel process. In addition to the new Covid deaths investigation team, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service has recently set up a specialist custody deaths unit to investigate deaths in custody. The Scottish fatalities investigation unit has significantly modernised its processes to reduce the time taken to investigate all deaths and to bring FAIs to court more quickly. A similar project has commenced in relation to the health and safety investigation unit.

The views of a family are always taken into consideration and account in deciding whether a discretionary FAI should be held.

I would agree that any death in custody needs to be taken seriously and we have to pay cognisance to the fact that mental health issues while in custody are very important. I will undertake to do everything that I can to ensure that we make progress on that matter.