Chamber and committees

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects police officer numbers to be restored to the previous target of 17,234 officers. (S6O-01659)

I thank Jackie Dunbar for bringing the debate to Parliament this evening. We were councillors together at Aberdeen City Council, and we are now MSPs together. We rarely agree in debates, but I am glad that we can today.

“Young people are part of society. They deserve to be heard because they are here, and they exist in the present. They are not just the future and the decisions made in Scotland and the UK affect young people today.”

Those are not my words; they are the words of an #iwill ambassador from Aberdeen. We are fortunate to have so many young people who are willing to come forward and be heard. As a Parliament, we should be doing more to listen to their voices and to hear their views on topics that affect us all.

We are lucky to have a vibrant Youth Parliament, and perhaps we should be doing more to strengthen the links between the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Youth Parliament. As elected representatives, we have the privilege of welcoming school groups into our workplace. I know that, for many of us, it is the highlight of our week. Young people have important things to say about our democracy, our policies and the issues that we discuss, and they often ask the unexpected questions that others dare not ask.

#iwill week is all about a celebration of those young people who get involved. It celebrates the social action that our young people take part in, and it commends the huge amount of volunteering that young people do and the difference that they make throughout Scotland.

Figures from Volunteer Scotland show that, far from declining, volunteering among our young people is increasing. At 49 per cent, youth volunteer participation is double the rate of participation by adult volunteers, which sits at 26 per cent. Seventeen per cent of young people who do not volunteer say that they will in the future. In the past decade, formal volunteering has grown from 33 per cent to 49 per cent. Girls are more likely to volunteer than boys. Our young people are active and vital members of our volunteering communities in Scotland.

#iwill week also encourages organisations and governing bodies to commit to young people and their participation in social action and decision making. We want young people to be more engaged in how policy is made at all levels of our society. It gives me an enormous sense of pride to know that a policy convention that will take place tomorrow in Aberdeen, my home city, will be attended by more than 200 young people. They will discuss the role of youth work as a rights respecting and rights promoting practice. Young people are key to enabling social action that will be the catalyst for change that young people will ultimately drive. I think that, as parliamentarians, we should invite them to come here to present the outcomes of that conference to us.

I would like to add my thanks to the many youth organisations and youth workers throughout Scotland who are passionate about working with young people. YouthLink Scotland, which is leading the #iwill week in Scotland, does an incredible amount of work to build and strengthen our network of youth work. Youth work does, indeed, change lives. I know that colleagues will join me in congratulating Angela Leitch on her appointment as chair of that organisation just this week.

In closing, I once again pay tribute to our young people. We could all learn from, and emulate, their ambition, vibrancy, hopefulness and commitment to helping others. They are, indeed, part of today’s Scotland and we are a far richer country as a result.

You lost the referendum. We said “No” in 2014.

Earlier this year, Superintendent Murray Main retired from Police Scotland and called on health and wellbeing services to “step forward” and ease the strain on Aberdeen police officers, whose time is considerably taken up by mental health concerns. Due to the national health service crisis, police in the north-east are now the first and last resort for people with mental health issues and addiction issues and for those in need of hospital care. Is it any wonder that there are 884 fewer police officers than there were a decade ago? When will the devolved Government start listening to our police force and have the proper support structures in place, so that our police force can get back to policing?

My second question is about the energy price cap, which is quite an expensive scheme for the Government to run. Are there equivalent schemes in other parts of the world?

Yes, that would be helpful.

House prices are starting to fall. What impact will that have on the UK economy and the Scottish budget? Will there just be a reduction in land and buildings transaction tax revenue, or will there be a block grant adjustment around that? Where do you see things going?

If you can provide them offline, that would be great.

Does the minister think that cutting the budget for Marine Scotland will help us to meet our climate targets?

Will the member take an intervention on that point?