Chamber and committees

I was referring to the EHRC’s briefing, which says that we should consider the relevant amendments.

Will you take an intervention?

Your comprehensive amendment refers to a GRC being “fraudulently obtained”. What would need to be shown in court to prove that? You will be aware of the considerable debate around the provisions in the bill that say a GRC is fraudulently obtained if it can be shown that someone has done that for the “wrong reasons”, as you mentioned.

I have concerns that the bill does not set out what would be needed to be shown in court, given that self-declaration is a simple process.

The amendment is a good one, but I would be really grateful if you could outline what would need to be shown in court to prove that a GRC had been fraudulently obtained.

Will the cabinet secretary give way?

Almost 80 per cent of women prisoners in Scotland have a history of significant head injury, mostly through domestic abuse. The University of Glasgow research has shown that 66 per cent of female inmates have suffered repeat head injuries for many years, and 89 per cent of participants said that domestic violence was the most common cause. It is concerning that many of those women might return to their abusers on release from prison. What further action can the Scottish Government take on the specific issue of female prisoners who have a history of being a victim of domestic abuse, while they are in prison and, importantly, when they are released from prison?

The minister will be aware that the MS Victoria, which is being used to house Ukrainian refugees in Leith, has more cabins without portholes than cabins with portholes. Can the minister tell me whether that is also the case with MS Ambition? The Government does not seem to have set a time limit for how long people will be there, other than the end of the contract—would that be the time limit?

Windowless cabins and isolated ports, I am sure the minister would agree, are not the best situation for people fleeing war to be in. I welcome the leadership that the Scottish Government has given on the question of housing Ukrainian refugees but I am looking for assurances that that can happen sooner rather than later.

To ask the Scottish Government for how long it plans to house refugees from Ukraine on the ship docked on the Clyde, MS Ambition. (S6O-01541)

I take this opportunity to welcome the new minister to her post.

Last week, Professor Anna Stec of the University of Central Lancashire presented to MSPs the shocking results of her research into the impact of contaminants on firefighters, showing that United Kingdom firefighters are four times more likely to get cancer during their lifetime than the general population. Moreover, the World Health Organization has classified firefighting as a carcinogenic occupation. Canada, the USA and Poland have put in place presumptive legislation that tracks links between the workplace and exposure to carcinogens. What action is being taken to ensure that the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service protects firefighters, and is the minister prepared to discuss with me the possibility of pursuing presumptive legislation?

If ever there were to be a case for changing the rules of privilege in the Scottish Parliament to include questions that are sub judice, it would be this one. I understand why it is so, but I do not think that it is good enough that we cannot get accountability for the decision. I agree with Russell Findlay that the case has brought the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service into complete disrepute. We have been unable to ask any questions and it is now a long time since that all happened. I am beginning to worry about the quality of the answers that we will get.

I totally support the notion that, whenever we can do so, we should ask the Lord Advocates to come to the committee. The committee needs to be the body to question the Crown Office on how such a decision could ever come to pass. Who else will do so? The money is an issue to some extent, but at the heart of the matter is the question of why our Crown Office and Lord Advocate took a decision that, on the face of it, now seems highly questionable and which has been described as involving a malicious prosecution against the directors concerned. We need answers on what was behind that decision. The sooner we can get those, the better.

Good morning. I have both a local and a regional interest in Barlinnie prison, which you have spoken about. For the record, and to add to what you said, I note that it has only five cells that are suitable for disabled prisoners, that there are no shared spaces for prisoners to sit and converse with others at mealtimes and—this is quite shocking—that prisoners have to eat all meals in their own cells. Where there are two prisoners to a cell, that might breach the standards on space.

I imagine that not much can be done about the situation right now, but how concerned would you be if the timetable for the new build were to slip? Have you had any discussions that would give cause for concern about that timetable? I appreciate that it is in the hands of the Scottish Prison Service but, given what you have said, I imagine that you have a strong interest in it, too.