Chamber and committees

Colin Beattie has some questions on the sponsorship arrangements between the Scottish Government and the Crofting Commission.

Richard Leonard now has a set of questions on weaknesses in business planning.

I want to ask about the environmental impact of PPE. The Auditor General’s briefing paper recommends that, when developing a future approach to PPE supply and demand, the Scottish Government and NSS should consider how to support suppliers in developing more environmentally sustainable PPE. We have all seen masks lying in the streets, in bushes and in fields. What is the current environmental impact of PPE? What work is the Scottish Government, NSS and partners doing to develop more environmentally sustainable PPE, and what are the challenges associated with that?

I do not know who wants to answer that one. Is Gordon there?

That is good to hear.

The Audit Scotland report states that there was “excessive involvement” by the board and the former convener in operational decision making and in matters that would typically be the responsibility of the senior management team. Excluding the office tasks that were performed during the pandemic, why did the board and the former convener become involved in operational decision making?

As Jamie Greene has said, violence against women and girls has no place in our society. We can all agree that our justice system must make punishing those who commit violence against women and girls a priority, but one thing that has become quickly apparent is that our current system has in many cases done nothing of the sort. Instead, it fails to give dignity, fairness or respect to the women and girls looking to our courts for justice.

For several months now, I have been in contact with a family in my constituency. They have asked that I share their story but, as per their wishes, I will keep their anonymity.

For more than a decade, women and children have suffered at the hands of the man that I am going to talk about. From 2005 onwards, this individual has terrorised multiple families, including three of his own biological children. In the space of four years, he abducted one of his own children, having abused his partner; went on to assault the mother of his second child, leading to severe anxiety for the child and a permanent non-contact order; and then entered into a relationship with another woman, resulting in another permanent no-contact order in relation to his third child.

To any reasonable individual, it would already have been clear at that early stage that that man was a menace, given that he had assaulted multiple partners and traumatised his own children. However, he was given community service, probation and counselling—no jail time and nothing more than a slap on the wrist.

Of course, none of that had an impact on his behaviour. He went on to breach the terms of his probation by entering into a relationship with my constituent, becoming step-parent to her children. His campaign of abuse then escalated. He moved on to throwing the children along hallways, grabbing them by the throat, throwing items at them, grabbing them by the hair or dragging them up the stairs by their ears, all while also attacking their mother, who was forced to flee to her neighbours for safety. For that, he was charged with six counts of child abuse. We might think that that would be the end of the matter, but no. The only punishment that he received was another non-harassment order and an order not to contact the mother or the children. He was then released on bail.

We already know this man’s record with non-contact orders: he ignores them, which is exactly what he did. Last year, he attacked the family’s home and had accomplices break the windows and stalk the mother, all before breaking his bail conditions to contact the children. Once again, the family were forced to flee their home, this time for a safe house.

What was the result? For six counts of child abuse, the sentence that the abuser received was little more than a 12-month non-harassment order and a ban on contact with any child under 16 and on entering a relationship with a female. Members following closely will recall that this individual has broken every non-contact order placed on him over the past 15 years. What has happened is not justice and it does nothing to protect that family or others. Families in that position need more.

The system has done nothing for victims but create a cycle of abuse and pain. There is cross-party consensus on this issue: we must work together to eliminate violence against women and girls.

Yes, it does. Thank you.

Thank you. Those are really good comments. I think that it was Pippa Coutts who talked about partnership and mutual respect, and about who is the third sector. However, after the pandemic, I do not think that anybody is in any doubt about who the third sector is. I do not think we would have got through it without you.

There are similar themes in my next set of questions about the risks of losing good practical experience and going back to the old ways of working. There is a risk that we will lose the improved and more efficient ways of working that have developed during the pandemic. To what extent are public bodies embedding the new approaches to community engagement and delivering public services?

I totally agree with you on that point.

Good morning, everyone. I am an MSP for South Scotland.

Thanks, Ryan. Those are great points.