Chamber and committees

In your submission, you also talked about the impact of the change in the law on corroboration. Obviously, the slight change in the law will mean more work for prosecutors, but does it necessarily mean that there will be a lot more cases? I am trying to ascertain what additional resource will be required for that law change.

Good morning. I will begin by asking John Logue about the time limits in the High Court, which we have discussed before. The Covid emergency time limit comes to an end in November, except for cases that have already started. I presume that that means that, at the end of November, we will go back to the time limits in the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995. What is the time period—does the Crown have 80 days to indict cases for the High Court?

The bus remains by far the most commonly used form of public transport in Scotland, and most people who commute to work by public transport take the bus. However, with routes being cut and prices rising, which is hitting people during a cost of living crisis, action is urgently needed to prevent people from being priced out of travelling and communities from being cut off.

Buses are vital for those on low incomes and those who need to access employment and leisure as well as their everyday lives. Lower bus fares are an aspiration, and it is an aspiration that I share. A 2023 NUS Scotland report, “Fighting for Students: The Cost of Survival”, found that more than a fifth of students had missed a class due to travel costs. Of course, it is students from low-income families who are most affected.

Local bus services in Scotland have collapsed by 44 per cent since the SNP took over in 2007. More than 1,400 bus routes were lost between 2007 and 2024, and in one year alone—2023-24—we lost 190 bus routes. I think that members will all be familiar with cuts to local services in our communities.

I have supported—and still do support—public control and the regulation of the bus industry. I believe that it is imperative that we shorten and simplify the franchising process, to enable local authorities to bring bus services under public control. I have seen an unregulated private bus industry during my lifetime, and I do not think that it has served the people all that well.

In Glasgow, taking the bus remains more expensive than taking the subway, believe it or not, with a return ticket costing nearly £6. As Claire Baker said, there is a lot to be learned from other cities, such as Manchester and Edinburgh. Edinburgh has a popular bus service whose usage reflects residents’ confidence in it, and it is certainly cheaper than Glasgow’s.

For me, the debate is about customer affordability, reliability and equivalency to other public transport sectors, such as rail. If you go into a railway station, you can see the timetable and whether the train is late. I know that the bus industry aspires to have that, and the same information should be available if you are waiting for a bus. If we do not aspire to have that level of service, maybe we can understand why many people still will not use the bus.

Recently, in Glasgow, which I represent, an 18-year-old girl was waiting for the number 57 night bus, which was the second-last bus home, but it did not turn up. The app that she should have been able to look at did not show her where the bus was, and the next bus was also cancelled. When she questioned the bus company about it, it was clear that road works played a big part in the delay. The company accepted that that is not where it wants to be with the reliability of its service and that it does not want to have to cancel buses. However, I would be concerned for a young female constituent who could not afford to get a taxi home. In 2025, we really should not have to hear about that happening—women’s safety is really important in this.

During my first term in the Parliament, in 2016, I worked on a member’s bill on the subject, because I have always believed in concessionary fares and that we have to reduce them—and not just on buses. I believe that it is also important to make train fares affordable. Mark Ruskell referred to a cliff edge, which also affects 16-year-olds, because, when people turn 16, they have to pay full fare on the trains. That is something that the Parliament could look at in a future session. It is about having affordability, reliability and concessionary fares.

I will conclude by commending the bus industry for the progress that it has made, particularly on the decarbonisation of vehicles. Concessionary schemes are very important, and we support them. We implemented them when we were in government. We must aspire to have better community bus services that take people to the places where they need to go.

Community police officers play a key role in preventing crime. They provide a visible presence in communities, tackling antisocial behaviour and working with local people, particularly young people, to get ahead of problems that relate to alcohol, drug abuse and other issues that drive criminality. Last week, the chief constable told the Criminal Justice Committee that she wants an increase of 600 community police officers as part of the budget process. What is the Scottish Government’s position on that?

What safeguarding concerns do Scottish ministers have for transgender prisoners that would justify not implementing the Supreme Court judgment and going to court to defend the Scottish Prison Service’s unlawful policy, which contravenes the requirement for single-sex spaces in Scottish prisons? [Interruption.] Can Scottish ministers, including the cabinet secretary, say today why the SPS would continue to deny female prisoners the right to serve their sentence with other women?

Chief constable, I want to ask you first about the closure of police stations. A number have closed for different reasons, although it has mainly been for budget reasons. There is a list of proposed further police station closures, although I believe that some of those are being held back for the budget outcome. The situation is concerning for communities, as well as for police officers. If I consider my constituency in Glasgow, were Stewart Street station to close, Baird Street would be the nearest. There are implications for everyone.

If the Government acceded to your request for budgetary capital and revenue, what would that mean for those police stations? Would it give you room for manoeuvre to save some of them?

Yes. We have heard a lot of evidence that we should just decriminalise it. However, if we did that, my concern would be that the harm to women who are involved in prostitution that we have spoken about—

If there is no improvement to the proposed budget, would that take the numbers down further than the existing establishment?

Chief Constable Farrell, I think that you said that the ask in the budget was for 600 community officers and 250 officers to work on the challenges of serious and organised crime. I presume that that would be experienced officers, but you can tell me if that is not the case.

Liliana Torres Jiménez, you have spoken about the technicalities involved in the framing of the legislation. What is your view of the issue of consent, which is an issue in sexual offences such as rape?

Outside the committee, I went to a meeting held by Ash Regan, which was attended by women who had been involved in the sex trade in various countries such as Canada and Sweden. I appreciate that those countries have different laws. However, the women spoke about the difficulties there in prosecuting crimes of rape and other sexual offences that turn on the question of consent when the sale of sex is legal and—to use the phrase that they did—a contractual matter.

Do you see similar problems in Scotland for women who face the same threats as others who are involved in the sex trade and who might be the victims of crime even if the act of selling sex were to be lawful?