Chamber and committees

No, he is older than that. I am getting it wrong. I am not very good with ages. He is now about as tall as my shoulder height. [Laughter.]

I met Callum the other week, and he is as determined as ever.

I think that he is nine, although I might have got that wrong.

He is probably nine now.

I thank Mr Cole-Hamilton for bringing this topical and timely debate to the chamber. I am glad to have the chance to speak today, especially after the outrageous behaviour that took place across our capital city last week. I will focus on those events, although antisocial behaviour across our capital encompasses far more than just bonfire night, as we have heard already.

I have previously written about the impact of the SNP’s police budget raids and how repeated cost cutting has slashed the number of front-line officers and is contributing to rising antisocial behaviour. That was apparent for all to see. The events of bonfire night demonstrated, once again, that there is a hardcore element that is determined not just to challenge authority but to positively revel in making ordinary people feel uncomfortable in their own homes.

It could be argued that that hardcore element now views 5 November as an opportunity to face off with police. Our police are stretched to breaking point by SNP cuts, so many criminals know that they can get away with it. We want to double jail time for people who attack our emergency services.

Trevor Wemyss is a constituent of mine. He wrote to me on 6 November, saying:

“My wife and I arrived home to witness a group of 25 balaclava clad and dressed in black youths arrive in our car park.

They were carrying giant fireworks and spoke about firing them at the flat windows. They were also armed with baseball bats.

For the next 3 hours the scheme was virtually held under siege as they set off fireworks and threw bottles. We are lucky that, so far nobody has died or been seriously injured. Allowing mobs to attack the petrol station on Calder Road could have led to multiple casualties!

We cannot allow massed armed groups to take over our streets, we need decisive action from our politicians and police force.”

Bus drivers, families living in the area and emergency services are all suffering because of this unacceptable behaviour. It gets worse every year. If it continues like this, someone is going to get seriously hurt. Another constituent wrote to me, saying:

“I live in Moredun in the south of the city and that last night was terrifying. Black-clad balaclava-wearing youths started appearing in my area about 6 pm and as the evening went on, we had to deal with a group of about 20 of them hanging about with weapons, fireworks being thrown around and lit on the road, a fire being set, bins being stolen and set on fire, one of my neighbours was threatened with a baseball bat, the fences from the greenspace redevelopment were used to barricade the road ... I called 999 3 times, 3 of my neighbours also called 999 multiple times and no one ever showed up.

Even later on when police were along Moredun Park Road and my neighbour called 999 again and was told officers were being sent down, no one showed up. My husband went out and (with the assistance of a neighbour) put a fire out himself during a quiet period. Other residents joined him to move fences back and pick up litter strewn about from stolen bins.

I understand it was a crazy night and the police were stretched very thin, but we should not be left to fend for ourselves and literally put fires out on our own.”

I went out on patrol with the police just two weeks ago to see for myself what a routine patrol looks like, and it should worry us all. As I mentioned, many of my constituents have experienced slow responses to 999 calls and have wondered what is going on. What they will not know is how many vehicles are off the road, how many officers are off sick and what those at work must deal with.

As long as the police are underresourced, overstretched and forced to operate as social workers, communities will feel threatened by gangs of disaffected youths who feel that they can act with impunity. I most definitely associate myself with the comments of the previous contributor, Mr Bob Doris.

Might the minister extend an invite to other members who are taking part in the debate this evening, because the issue is equally pertinent to all of us who are here?

That operation may have been a success at the time, but surely the member must admit that the antisocial driving of off-road bikes is still prevalent across the city, which is causing a lot of distress.

Article 3 of protocol 1 states that it concerns only legislative bodies. I am looking for clarification. Since councils are not legislative bodies, is it possible to get the changes in place at council level as soon as the bill is passed? The minister and I might have further discussions before stage 3 to consider an amendment that would at least put the changes in place at local authority level, so that there is that sort of equality around this.

I want to ask the minister for clarification on amendment 20, because he did not specifically address it in his remarks. As I understand it, the amendment would mean that any MSP in the current session who was placed on the sex offenders register or whatever would not be disqualified until the next Holyrood election, as that would not be compatible with article 3 of protocol 1 of the ECHR. Is that the situation, minister?

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact of the United Kingdom Government’s decision to reform agricultural property relief on the future of family farms in Scotland. (S6O-03878)