Chamber and committees

That is not the case.

Well, in Scotland, people are eligible for more early learning and childcare provision than they are in any other part of the United Kingdom; young people get to go to university without paying tuition fees; Mr Hoy and his colleagues do not pay prescription fees; and free personal care for the elderly is available. That is what people get for their taxes in Scotland, which they do not get in any other part of the United Kingdom.

However, I wanted to ask Mr Hoy this question: does he believe that the shocking economic performance of the public finances in the United Kingdom has anything to do with Liz Truss’s budget, the war in Ukraine, the Covid pandemic and the spiralling inflation as a consequence of Conservative decisions? If it has, his attack on the SNP Government is absolutely fatuous.

There are two aspects to that. I very much agree with the aspirations that Katy Clark sets out in her question, and I have two points to make in response.

We have to give relentless political leadership on the value and inclusivity of our communities and not allow anything at all to get in the way of our unity on that point. It is precious to me and that is why I valued the engagement with political leaders during the summer.

The second point is about social and economic policy choices, and, frankly, austerity. Enormous damage has been done to our society in the past 14-year period of austerity and I want it to come to an end. We need to reinvest in our communities and we need to tackle the challenge of poverty. I will say more about that in the programme for government tomorrow, because I believe that poverty is the feeding ground of some of that misplaced ideology.

During the summer recess, everyone was affected by the dreadful, tragic deaths of three girls in Southport. On 29 July, Bebe King, aged six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, aged seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, aged nine, who were all attending a summer dance class, were attacked and killed. My heart goes out to the families of the girls who lost their lives. No parent should have to face the loss of a child, let alone in such appalling circumstances. Ten others were seriously injured in this horrific and shocking attack.

My thoughts have been with the community of Southport which, while facing that unthinkable tragedy, then faced further distress. Starting in Southport, sparked by false information and rumour on social media as to the identity and background of the perpetrator of the attack, communities in England and Northern Ireland were then made to endure disorder and rioting, on top of their grief and concern for those affected. That led to considerable distress to residents, significant damage to businesses and a number of casualties, including police officers who were injured in the line of duty.

Let me be clear: that activity was not and should not be classed as protest. It was violence and thuggery, pure and simple, perpetrated by those with a far-right ideology, by those who were taken in by that rhetoric and by criminals. Far from having legitimate concerns, those who were indulging in those mindless acts were doing so from a place of racism, Islamophobia and anti-immigrant sentiment. That cannot and should not be tolerated anywhere. It is absolutely unacceptable for anyone to live in fear of leaving their home, to feel nervous about sending their children to school or to be afraid to use certain services or transport. Justice has been done in the English courts, with sentences reflecting the serious criminality that was perpetrated.

To date, Scotland has not had to deal with incidents of a similar nature, despite the attempts to organise them via social media, but we must continue to be vigilant against ideologies that can lead to such violence. We cannot take the view that we may be immune from related disorder occurring on our doorsteps.

Were we to see anything similar in Scotland, our courts have robust sentencing powers available to them, to use as they see fit. The Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs and I have been in regular contact with Police Scotland, which remains alert to the prospect of disorder and is working with colleagues in other parts of the United Kingdom to ensure that they can respond accordingly and immediately if such response is required. I am grateful to the chief constable, and I thank her and all in Police Scotland for their continued work and commitment in keeping our communities safe.

We should rightly be proud of our history as a nation that values free speech and welcomes those who want to live and work here. We can be proud that, as a society, we celebrate, value and protect diversity in our communities. However, we must challenge those who would deny those values. We must guard against the prejudice, discrimination and misinformation that aim to incite hatred and violence. We must remember that those who seek to divide us are in a very small minority—and let me be clear that it is a small minority.

While we watched the violence unfold in communities and heard about how social media was being used to whip up the disorder and violence that several towns witnessed over some nights in August, we also saw many more people and communities come together to express how that was not reflective of their towns. We saw many more people work together to clean up the mess and damage in their neighbourhoods. We can also all take heart that, on 10 August, thousands of people took to the streets across the UK to protest against the racist thuggery and anti-immigrant rhetoric that they had witnessed—far more people than had taken part in the disorder itself.

Our relationships with our diverse communities are crucial to community cohesion, and I know that many people felt scared or uneasy in those early days of August. Violence, prejudice, racism, Islamophobia and antisemitism have no place in our society, and nobody should ever be subjected to them. I want to reassure everyone who was impacted that this Government will always work to ensure that every person living in Scotland is protected and that we are united in our opposition to anyone who would seek to use disorder as a means of division.

In the first week of August, I attended the Edinburgh central mosque, and, at my invitation, faith leaders came together as well. That provided an opportunity for us all to make clear that conflict and hatred have no place here. Faith leaders from across Scotland continue to promote mutual respect and share a common desire for everybody to be safe in our society. As First Minister, I assured them that that desire is shared by all of Scotland’s political leaders.

I also convened a meeting and briefing between political leaders and Police Scotland. I thank colleagues in this chamber for taking the time to attend that event. It enabled senior officers to brief us on the work that they are undertaking to keep people safe as they engage with communities to provide reassurance and to ensure that none feels marginalised, isolated or vulnerable. In recent weeks, the service has had considerable engagement with Muslim and other minority communities. Greater officer visibility around mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers has also been well received.

Let me be absolutely clear to anyone in Scotland who is considering mimicking the kind of vile behaviour that we have witnessed in parts of England and Northern Ireland this summer that their actions will not be tolerated, they will be dealt with robustly and criminal actions online will be taken just as seriously.

I want to reassure people in Scotland that we have plans and preparations in place to ensure that everybody is kept safe in this period and that we continue to work co-operatively with a wide range of organisations throughout the country to tackle racism and hatred and to promote inclusion.

Let me turn now to the role of social media and how its use—or should I say misuse—has proven how easy it is for false information to spread. Following the tragic events in Southport, social media was a key factor in the first incident of disorder that then took place. In Scotland, we had an occasion when untrue speculation was spread about the perpetrator of an incident in Stirling. I wish to commend Police Scotland for its swift action in countering that misinformation and, I believe, in helping to reduce the risk of any possible conflict in Scotland.

Although we all have an individual duty to question whether everything that we read online is actually true, it is very clear to me that the major organisations behind the platforms also have a duty—both moral and legal—to take action to ensure that individuals in our society are not subjected to hate and threatening behaviour and that communities are protected from violence.

I wrote to the main social media companies, asking them to promptly outline the decisive steps that they plan to take on the matter, and we have engaged constructively with the United Kingdom Government on this question. Social media companies have assured me that safety teams have been working to detect any associated violation of their terms of service and that they have taken action, including account suspension and content removal. However, recent events suggest that there is much more work to do to ensure that hateful content and misinformation do not proliferate.

I want to conclude by emphasising to anyone who feels fearful of being targeted for who they are or what they believe that we stand in solidarity with them. Scotland is a diverse, multicultural?society where everyone is welcome, and I want us to be united in our opposition to anyone who would seek to use disorder and violence to divide people.

However, we are not immune to the actions of a violent, misguided minority, and therefore we must remain vigilant. People in Scotland who are feeling afraid, marginalised or isolated as the result of this summer’s events should rightly look to their parliamentarians to stand with them—and we do.

As First Minister of Scotland, I will always be emphatic in saying that violence and conflict have no place in our communities. The Scottish Government is committed to building cohesive communities within which divisive narratives will not resonate. It is in our power to address hatred and prejudice by tackling its root causes, and the most powerful and effective way in which to do that is by bringing communities together to learn from one another. It is for all of us in the chamber, and across society, to commit to standing for tolerance and equality and against hate and violence. The importance of one Scotland where people live in safety and peace, and have the opportunity to flourish, cannot be understated.

I close by reflecting on the words of Sabir Zazai, the chief executive of the Scottish Refugee Council, who was among the community leaders whom I met in August. Sabir emphasised the importance of nourishing community togetherness, of shared values and of the need to

“build bridges and bonds between communities.”

Let us all affirm our commitment to doing just that. Bridges must be built, but they must also be maintained, and that is the approach that we should all take.

[Applause.]

Obviously, the number of police officers is an operational matter for the chief constable, but there are discussions between the Government, the chief constable and the Scottish Police Authority about such matters. As I said to Mr Ross in my earlier answer, there has been a fall in police numbers, which has been driven, in part, by the issue that Mr Findlay has raised—a larger number of retirals than was expected—but recruitment is under way to replace those individuals, and we expect police numbers to rise.

I reiterate the point that we have had police numbers at the level that we have had in Scotland, which I accept are lower than they have been, but we have also been able to offer mutual aid to other forces when that has been requested, and communities in Scotland have remained safe.

I welcome Mr Cole-Hamilton’s comments. He will be familiar with the ethos of curriculum for excellence, which is the curriculum in our schools. One of its objectives—one of the four capacities—is to create responsible citizens. That aspiration runs right through our approach to our three-to-18 curriculum, so, from young people’s earliest interaction with our education system, the importance of becoming a responsible citizen is imbued in our educational model.

On the specific incidents over the summer, the chief inspector of education wrote to all local authorities to convey guidance and educational materials that the school system could use when pupils returned in August. That was to ensure that materials were available to schools to support them in—I agree with Mr Cole-Hamilton on this point—the important work that has to be done to ensure that young people are exposed to the most considered material that will support them to become responsible citizens and to turn their backs on any involvement in violence and prejudice such as that which we saw on the streets of England and Northern Ireland.

I have been in touch with social media companies, and I have had responses from some of them about the steps that they take. They provided some degree of assurance about material that is taken down, but I do not think that that goes nearly far enough. It is quite easy to view material online that I consider to be completely and utterly repugnant and unacceptable.

Ofcom has strict and clear guidelines in place, but my sense is that those are not being respected by social media companies. We will engage in dialogue with the UK Government to ensure that whatever strengthening is required is undertaken. Social media companies have a responsibility to exercise their duties, and they could exercise them this minute to protect communities from being exposed to unacceptable material.

I thank Mr Ross for his contribution, and I associate myself very much with his remarks in relation to my colleague Richard Lochhead, whom I am delighted to see back in Parliament after a very serious illness. I commend the staff at Aberdeen royal infirmary, whom I had the great privilege to meet, just days after Richard’s operation, in order to thank them for the extraordinary work that they had undertaken. It puts me in awe of what clinicians have to face and to handle. I am profoundly grateful to them, and I am delighted that Richard is back in his place today.

Mr Ross makes a number of comments about the importance of community cohesion and safety, and the safety of children. I associate myself entirely with those comments; he is entirely correct about those things.

Police numbers are growing as a consequence of the very significant recruitment efforts by Police Scotland that are now under way, and we expect the numbers to rise in the period ahead. Police capacity has been adequate and appropriate to deal with the challenges that we face. Indeed, the chief constable has been able to take part in mutual aid to Northern Ireland, which she would only do if she was confident about police resourcing in Scotland, and she has given me the assurance that she is.

In relation to the early release of prisoners, Parliament has authorised the steps that we have taken so far. The prison population continues to rise, and to rise significantly. The Cabinet was updated on that issue by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs this morning. We are having to look at the issues around capacity in our prison system and at whether we have to take any other steps to ensure that the prison population remains safe and sustainable for prisoners and staff. The justice secretary will update Parliament on those questions.

In relation to the work of the United Kingdom Government on terrorism measures, obviously we remain in regular discussion with the UK Government on those questions, and we expect to take forward those discussions in the period ahead, as the UK Government forms its steps.

Mr Ross will be aware that we have taken a slightly different approach to the handling of the communication of these issues in Scotland in the past, which has been built on building community confidence in anti-terror measures. I have a great deal of confidence in that, and I think that, most importantly, the communities of Scotland have confidence in those measures, as we saw demonstrated during the period of instability that we wrestled with over the summer.

I have made clear my view that austerity is damaging our communities and I want to see that resolved. I cannot summon up any appreciation or understanding of why somebody wants to engage in violence—I just cannot understand it at all—so I think that it has no justification. Political participation is an essential way to resolve any differences and debates in our society, and we should all engage in that.

It is important to separate out those different things. We should make our political choices, exercise our political leadership and encourage people to participate in the political process, and we should be absolutely and completely resolute in rejecting any sense that there is any excuse or legitimacy for violence in our society. I know that Christine Grahame will not be of the view that there is such legitimacy. We have to set that out very clearly to ensure that the public are protected and that we invest in and support our communities.

It is important that we encourage and enable the cohesion of communities. Some of that comes about by political leadership, some comes about by community work and some by the active investment in social and economic priorities in the Government’s programme and the programme of local authorities. Of course, our local authorities are heavily involved in all that work on community cohesion at local level.

It is important that we remain focused on that. It is unacceptable that anybody should feel unsafe in our society. It is unacceptable that somebody has to close their business because they are fearful of being attacked—that is completely repugnant to me. Police Scotland is prepared to be visible and active to protect people, and it has done so. A combination of those measures—investment in our communities, effective policing and strong, clear political leadership—will help us through these difficulties.