I will see how much progress I make and what time I have.

I recently attended a summit on violence among young people, and the examples given by victims and their families were extremely powerful. We heard how attacks against young people by their peers were routinely not dealt with in a way that reflected the seriousness of a crime. Cases that ought to have been put through the sheriff courts were diverted to the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration. The schools felt powerless to take any action, and the police would tell families that they wished that they could do more, but that their hands were tied.

The Scottish Government puts much effort into looking after the interests of young criminals; so much so, it does not believe that criminals under 25 should get jail time at all, even for very serious crimes with grave consequences for the victim. We know that the Government has made schools so powerless that, at best, violent and aggressive pupils simply have to be placated.

At the round table, young people told us that they felt that they were forgotten. They said that, regardless of someone’s age and gender, they are responsible for their actions, and actions should have consequences. Why does the Government put so much effort into pandering to young criminals but so little effort into protecting and looking after young victims?

I turn to members’ contributions. As my colleague Liam Kerr said, it is actually quite difficult to be sent to prison these days, but that is hardly surprising when a Government that repeatedly says that it will not interfere with courts and sentencing introduced an instruction in 2022 that criminals under the age of 25 will not get prison unless no other sentence is appropriate.

As Jamie Greene said, safer streets should be the issue underlying any policy. He spoke of the need to clear the number of people who are being held on remand, which would help to clear our prisons. Liam McArthur said that every effort should be made to rehabilitate and keep people out of prison, and I totally agree with that. He also spoke of penal populism. There are cases where the safest place for a person to be—for that person and the public—is a secure location, and we need to ensure that that is where they are when it is needed.

The cabinet secretary spoke of a review that is to be chaired by Martyn Evans, which was welcomed by a number of members in the chamber. Maggie Chapman asked about getting regular updates on that commission’s work. The cabinet secretary said that an interim report from the commission would come out in the autumn, but I wonder whether she can tell us more about what updates there will be and whether they will be shared with Parliament.

Pauline McNeill said that we need to run our prisons better from within. We must ensure that those who want rehabilitation are given the opportunity to take courses. She also said that the answer lies in throughcare, a point that Fulton MacGregor and Ben Macpherson also highlighted.

Rona Mackay and Audrey Nicoll spoke about strengthening community justice. Criminal justice and social work services do a great job, but the issue is that they have been underfunded for years. I welcome the proposed funding increase for them this year, but we need to ensure that community justice, as well as the third sector, get the funding that they require to provide the throughcare that is needed for people who come through prison.

The Scottish Government needs to spend more time focusing on the justice system so that it is fit to protect Scotland’s public in 2025 and beyond. We need to end automatic early release; introduce Michelle’s law to exclude dangerous criminals from the communities that they used to plague; make the victim notification scheme more transparent; give whole-life sentences for the worst criminals; and reform the ridiculous guidelines that advise against jailing under-25s. Maybe if criminals feared the prospect of going to jail, more of them would stay out of trouble, which would help to solve the SNP’s jail crisis for it.

Victims of crime deserve so much better. I support Liam Kerr’s amendment.

This debate takes place in the shadow of the emergency release of prisoners, many of them dangerous criminals, who are walking free after serving just 40 per cent of their sentence. That development tells us everything that we need to know about SNP priorities when it comes to justice. Its own failures—covering infrastructure, court business and rehabilitation—have led to a situation in which jails are too full.

It is a self-inflicted crisis that spilled more dangerous offenders out on to the streets, where we know that many will almost immediately reoffend, if they have not already. All the while, victims of crime are failed and left to live in fear about what their tormentors, who are supposed to be safely incarcerated, might do next.

The justice secretary’s motion begins by lamenting the fact that Scotland’s prison population is the highest per capita in western Europe. The SNP has been in charge of the very justice system that has presided over that statistic for almost 18 years. What is more, the SNP has also been in charge of the numerous other portfolio areas—not least education but also health and social care—that can contribute to the likelihood of someone falling into a life of crime in later life.

We need to be clear, especially to victims, that the failings in Scotland’s justice system lie squarely at the door of the Scottish Government.

Thank you for that. Mairi, have you got anything else to add?

You highlighted poverty as one of the fundamental contributors to drugs harm and deaths but noted that the

“enormity of this challenge goes beyond our remit.”

What would you like the Scottish Government and others to do to address that issue?

Are there any other recommendations for what needs to be done? You have mentioned the long timelines and 2030. What would you like to see targeted right now?

Good morning. In your response to the people’s panel report, you mentioned that

“improvement hubs”

are being established by Healthcare Improvement Scotland

“to design and improve pathways into, through and from”

rehabilitation, as well as

“Self-Assessment Thematic Analysis reports ... which will highlight key areas for improvement”.

Can you provide the committee with more detail on that work and any timescales for it?

Thank you.

Good morning. You recommended that there should be

“continued support for people in recovery ... following referral to services”,

so that they avoid a “cliff edge”. How could the Scottish Government and others ensure that such support is in place?

You mentioned practicalities, and concerns have been raised about the practicalities and costs of implementing the bill. Are conversations continuing with stakeholders since they raised their concerns?

The Finance and Public Administration Committee has highlighted evidence stating that the financial memorandum does not include an estimate of the costs that organisations, including the prosecution service and the police, will incur if they are to “meaningfully engage” in the proposed reviews. Is that the case? If so, what is being done to provide that information?