Chamber and committees

There is no doubt that there have been significant cuts to youth services in recent years. To what extent does the cabinet secretary believe that it is the impact of cuts to councils, in North Ayrshire and elsewhere, that have led to reductions in services, including in arts and culture, that are targeted at young people?

Good morning. I will ask about funding applications. How could funders work with third sector organisations, especially the smaller ones, to create more proportionate reporting and application processes?

My question is about funding applications. How could funders work with third sector organisations, particularly smaller ones, to create more proportionate application and reporting processes? Who would like to answer first?

So you think that more uniform processes would help. Do third sector interfaces—TSIs—play a role in advocating and supporting the implementation of more streamlined and uniform processes?

The previous panel said that having more uniform processes would help. Do you agree with that?

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I would have voted no.

As has been said, the bill comes before us as a result of the Angiolini review. The Criminal Justice Committee heard evidence from a number of witnesses who had complained about their treatment by the police. As the convener said, we also heard evidence from a former police officer who had had a complaint made against him.

I think all members of the committee would agree that some of the evidence that we heard was harrowing and shocking and raised serious issues about policing in Scotland. As Maggie Chapman said in her opening contribution, power has sometimes been abused. It is far from clear to me that the contents of the bill that we are discussing today, if enacted, would have made any difference to the experience of those witnesses. Police Scotland itself has accepted that it has been institutionally racist and discriminatory.

The testimony by many women police officers about the sexist and misogynist treatment that they have experienced in the police force is unacceptable. As Rona Mackay said, cultural change is essential. The appointment of the first woman chief constable is very welcome and we hope that that will be part of the acceleration of that cultural change.

Ben Macpherson and my colleague Martin Whitfield spoke about the code of ethics, which Mr Whitfield has said should be reviewed. I believe that, as we look at the bill before us, we should consider whether the changes in it will make a real difference.

The barred list included in the bill is very welcome. It is unclear whether legislation is necessary to enable that to happen, but the Sarah Everard case is probably the most high-profile recent UK case to demonstrate why a barred list, along with continuous and robust scrutiny of the suitability of police officers for their role, is required. I welcome the fact that additional resources have already been put into that work.

Claire Baker spoke about the Sheku Bayoh inquiry and Jackie Dunbar spoke about her experience of the policing committee. We must also look carefully at the wider structures for police accountability. The cabinet secretary is correct in stating very clearly that trust in the police force is of paramount importance. The ethics, conduct and governance of the police require an appropriate framework and any legislation that we pass must drive greater public confidence.

The duty of candour already exists. It is unclear whether a higher standard of behaviour is required, should the legislation be enacted. For example, the duty of candour that exists in the health service is wide ranging. As Pauline McNeill said, we should clarify what the duty of candour will mean in a police setting. On that, and on many other technical aspects of the legislation, it is Scottish Labour’s view that the detail should be written into the bill. We look forward to seeing the cabinet secretary’s amendments regarding the duty of candour for operational staff and hope that there will be clarity about the implications that that will have for individuals. We also hope that she will address the concerns raised about that duty by the police civilian trade union, Unison.

Many of the issues that were raised in the committee relate to the individual employment rights of police officers, and their rights must be respected. However, the overriding concern of the bill must be to ensure greater transparency and a more speedy and just resolution of complaints that are made by the public and, indeed, by other police officers.

Alexander Stewart said that improved standards were essential. The PIRC has indicated that it does not wish to have some of the powers that are being suggested should be transferred to it under the bill. I agree with Jamie Greene that that is concerning, and I hope that the cabinet secretary will specifically address that and give an explanation for it.

Scottish Labour has made clear our concerns about the financial memorandum. As Pauline McNeill said, we will support the bill today in good faith, on the basis that those concerns will be addressed at a later stage of the bill. We will support the bill today, even though we are not convinced that it will make the significant cultural shift that is essential if we are to address some of the significant concerns raised by witnesses who gave evidence to the committee. I therefore believe that much more needs to be done, some of which might not require legislation, to ensure that we deal adequately with complaints about the police, drive the cultural change that is clearly essential and ensure that the people of Scotland can have the highest trust and public confidence in their police force.

So you will be able to give us an update on that in due course.

What I am trying to find out is whether we will now have safe systems of work, at least in relation to that aspect, or whether there is more to be done. You now have the resource. The policy is that people should be able to access clean kit immediately if their own kit has been contaminated, but whether you have been able to implement that policy fully is a slightly different issue. Firefighters tell me that they might attend a number of incidents in a week, so their kit might be contaminated a number of times. They might go to another incident with kit that has already been contaminated. As I understand it, they are having to put dirty equipment back on.

Convener, I was not going to ask another question, but I would just point out that industrial injuries are obviously now a devolved matter. Perhaps the committee could get more information on some of the issues that have been raised in that respect.