Chamber and committees

I understand that there was a Russian tanker in Shetland last week, much to the consternation of the community there. There was also a Russian transporter vessel anchored in Broadbay in Lewis for a number of days. I understand that it has just left this morning. What restrictions can be placed on Russian vessels entering Scottish waters and anchoring if they are not berthing at a harbour?

The Crofting Commission and other similar organisations that have had negative audit reports have cited interference by the Scottish Government. Boards need to be clear about their duties and responsibilities, and the Scottish Government needs to respect their role. Will the First Minister urgently carry out a review of the governance structures of the Crofting Commission and other similar bodies to ensure that they are fit for purpose?

I echo Colin Smyth’s plea on behalf of peripheral communities where the benefits of these ports could have a far greater regional impact. When will decisions be made about where green free port status will be allocated and how will decisions and agreement be reached between the two Governments?

Does Maurice Golden agree that the Government’s mishandling of the situation has managed to unite those who previously supported the scheme and those who were against it? The Marine Conservation Society originally championed the scheme and now asks us to vote it down. It told us to ask the Scottish Government to lay new regulations that include strict fiduciary measures to ensure that proposed milestones and implementation dates are met and that no more taxpayers’ money is wasted. It is a disgrace that the Government’s mishandling of the issue has caused the Marine Conservation Society to change its position. Does the member agree?

Last week, Angus Campbell, the chair of the ferries community board, said:

“While we are well used to living with the effects of weather on our ferry services and more recently Covid, the recent extent and duration of mechanical failures on multiple vessels has led to massive disruption right across the network.”

He went on to say that that represents a

“real threat to our islands’ ability to retain and attract people, ensure services are sufficiently reliable and at prices that permit viable communities and thereby avoid depopulation.”

This morning, Donald Joseph MacLean of Barratlantic, a fish exporter, said that it is now impossible to run a business on the islands, due to the unreliable ferry services.

This is not just about weather. Disruption has gone on for years and things are getting worse. Is the minister’s Government trying to create a situation in which communities who stood firm against privatisation would now willingly accept it?

To ask the Scottish Government how it is addressing the disruption to ferry services in the west of Scotland that has reportedly resulted in significant supply issues and interruptions to the lifeline service. (S6T-00513)

Let me be clear: we cannot wait until next year. The fault for this chaos lies at the door of the SNP Government, which has shown itself to be incompetent. It should be protecting our island communities; instead, it is putting them at peril. It has failed to provide additional tonnage and it has refused to employ the additional crew that would be required due to Covid restrictions to allow CalMac to use the full capacity that it has available.

The minister is new in post, but she does not have a period of grace, because time has already run out for our island communities. Will she commit now to purchase additional tonnage, and to employ the additional crew required to use the ferries to their full capacity?

I, too, congratulate Ruth Maguire on securing the debate. It is good to see her back in the chamber.

We all know and recognise that prostitution is violence against women. In a country that values equality, men should not be able to buy access to other people’s bodies. That is male violence and an abuse of power, and it has no place in Scotland; yet, today, 1,595 women are on sale in Scotland on Vivastreet and Adultworks.

That is because a sizeable minority of men in Scotland are abusive, which has led to the creation of a lucrative industry. The pimps, traffickers and brothel keepers exploit that market, but, to do so, they need to be able to advertise their victims to sex buyers. The pimps are the same, whether they advertise on the street, own a brothel or operate a website. They facilitate and profit from the prostitution of others. Vivastreet, Adultworks and the rest are simply pimps making money through promoting violence against women and exploiting people to feed an appalling trade.

The truth is that prostitution is lucrative for those who manage it. The websites say that they have measures in place to prevent victims of trafficking from being advertised on them. However, as we heard from Ruth Maguire, our witnesses in the report tell us something very different. Megan King’s evidence was alarming.

Elena Whitham cited last year’s BBC “Panorama” broadcast, which was an investigation into Vivastreet that exposed how pimps and their traffickers use the site to advertise their victims. The journalist who led that investigation, Bronagh Munro, said:

“I was able to identify a pattern surrounding phone numbers, surrounding the names of the women that were being advertised, the names of women that were passing through multiple postcodes. There were hundreds of numbers connected to multiple ads. … The 12,000 ads that I looked at were littered with adverts that I would say were concerning.”

If she can see that, surely so should the police.

Elena Whitham also cited the case that shows how seriously Vivastreet takes the issue of sex trafficking: that of the trafficker who spent £25,000. Prior to that man’s arrest, Vivastreet did not respond to his high rate of spending on prostitution adverts by calling the police; instead, it allocated him an account manager.

Pimping websites have a major vested interest in prostitution and will oppose any attempt to combat that exploitation. The charity National Ugly Mugs is launching NUMbrella lane, a service in Scotland for people who are involved in the sex trade. The Vivastreet logo is on the home page of its website, in its list of funders. The website states:

“We have a longstanding relationship with Vivastreet that began in 2015”.

Last year, National Ugly Mugs lobbied the Scottish Government, through the equally safe consultation, to fully decriminalise the sex trade, including for third parties. There is a close relationship between exploiters and organisations that promote the decriminalisation of pimps, making money out of misery and using it to further the cause of misery. They must be stopped.

Will the member take an intervention?

Criminalising the purchase of sex would make Scotland an unwelcome place for traffickers. Is the Scottish Government taking action by using websites to identify both people who have been trafficked and the traffickers? Will it take further action in that regard?