Chamber and committees

Co-ordination is important. All the intentions and services might be in place, but it is about their co-ordination. Do you think that oversight is also important? When the public hear that 500 prisoners are going to be released in four tranches, there will be a lot of concern about that. That concern could be satisfied by the knowledge that there will be oversight of each and every one. Should there be some kind of national Government oversight, given that prisoners are going to be dispersed across different local authorities? Would that be possible?

I am thinking more about whether there is a justification for including remand prisoners in the tranche of those being released early. If we are able to look at that on a case-by-case basis, with support for every prisoner who is released early to ensure safety for the community, why can we not do the same with remand prisoners to free up prison space?

Yes—you know where I am going here.

Other than that, though, you do not see those serving sentences of four years or less.

There are a lot of issues to wrestle with here, and it is important that we understand the impact of the measures.

Professor Armstrong, there are trends in other countries that suggest that more people are being imprisoned, although you highlight that Scotland seems to be at the top of the league table for many of those factors. We have longer sentences, but we also have a continued use of short-term sentences, a reduction in home detention curfew and the ending of automatic early release, and, as you said, the Parole Board is slow at releasing people. There are lots of factors there. Is it your view that it could have been predicted that those factors and policy decisions would result in our arriving at our current position, with an exceptionally high prison population that we cannot cope with?

Women are routinely being strip-searched in Scottish prisons, despite ministers saying, five years ago, that the practice would be reduced. The cabinet secretary will know that the practice is particularly retraumatising for female prisoners who have suffered abuse in the past. Only this morning, Wendy Sinclair-Gieben, the chief inspector of prisons, wrote to the cabinet secretary, asking for the practice to stop. Linda Allan , whose daughter Katie took her own life in Polmont prison, said that repeated strip-searching was a major factor in her death. How quickly does the cabinet secretary think that the practice can come to an end?

Scotland should have a modern road network that is safe to travel on and is properly maintained. Yes—we need fewer cars on the road, but we still need to have a good road system. We are lagging behind the rest of northern Europe, which has excellent good-quality roads, but it also has good public transport systems. It is possible to have both. In comparison, Scotland’s road network is still, in places, patchy and unfinished.

Glasgow’s M8 seems to be a mess at the moment. It is Scotland’s busiest motorway and it is crucial for the west of Scotland economy. The remediation work that was supposed to be completed last year was revised to be completed at the end of this year, but now it seems to be expected that it will be completed in 2026, and costs are rising. That will cause considerable difficulties for road users and—as my colleague Paul Sweeney pointed out—for communities.

There are factors beyond the contractor’s—that is, Amey’s—control. Amey has a great team, but there must still be accountability for the length of time that the project is taking and the money that it has now cost. Drivers and communities need to be kept informed of on-going developments, if the project is going to take another three years. We need to be able to trust that it will require three years because—although one should not make assumptions—people who drive by it often see no workers on that road. We need some accountability and information, and we need engagement with those who are affected.

Not surprisingly, one of the top issues that people still raise, as Alex Rowley and others have said, is potholes, which have become quite a significant topical issue—certainly in this election. In February this year, a new study that was conducted by SmartSurvey named Glasgow as the worst city for potholes outside London. Glasgow prides itself on being second to London in many things, but not that one.

Apart from being a risk to pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, potholes cause damage to cars and bikes and can cause fatal accidents, so the matter is not trivial. They cause hazards on the road as drivers try to avoid them. We have all, if we drive, seen that. Taxi drivers across the city of Glasgow say that potholes are a nightmare, and one taxi driver said that

“On brand new vehicles, the guys are having to replace the wheels because they are getting cracked after hitting these potholes.”

Having a good road network is essential, but that does not mean that we do not want to get more people out of cars and on to buses and trains. All are necessary.

That is absolutely true. I know from talking to people that not only are they frustrated about the dangers that the roads cause, but they feel embarrassed. When I opened my speech, I talked about other European cities. I have had the benefit of driving on those roads, so I have seen them for myself.

The Labour amendment talks about the bus partnership fund. It is essential that we transform the quality of bus journeys; if we do not encourage that, we will not get more people, who do not use them now, using buses. As the cabinet secretary has described, that is a key area of investment. The project is meant to improve bus reliability and speed—two of the reasons why people who do not already use buses do not use them. As Maggie Chapman pointed out, low-income households tend to use buses. However, if we want more people to use buses, there must be investment in partnership. I want to see that happening, certainly in this session of Parliament.

Yes. Does the bill help with that?

So it is possible for families to be told of the outcome of a gross misconduct or misconduct complaint.