Chamber and committees

The Government has taken a number of significant steps in this area of policy, not least of which is the establishment of the continuing Scottish child abuse inquiry, led by Lady Smith, which has been sitting since 2016. That inquiry is providing the welcome and significant scrutiny that is required on the issue.

Separate work by Police Scotland and the Crown is under way to explore individual cases, some of which are the cases that Mr Findlay has just raised with me, to establish whether further detailed scrutiny is required on grooming gangs. From my reading of the information that I have seen, I am not persuaded of the necessity of that further inquiry, but work is under way in Police Scotland and the Crown Office to advise ministers on that point. We will consider that and discuss it with Parliament in due course.

It is important that I make it clear that the criminal justice system has taken very hard and significant action to bring people to account for utterly unacceptable behaviour, and that will remain the case.

In my statement to Parliament last Wednesday, I set out a range of interventions that the Government will take forward to address those issues. I recognise the importance of following through on the commitments that have been given to Parliament, and I give Mr Greer the assurance that that is exactly what the Government is doing and the action that we are taking.

The appalling situation in Gaza has been escalated by the unwarranted and unjustifiable attack on Qatar—a state that is working to try to bring some degree of peace to the situation in the middle east. The attack on Qatar was intended to undermine the very peace process that we all want to see happening. That brings me back to the starting point of Mr Greer’s question, which is that there is a necessity for the United Kingdom Government to use its diplomatic influence with the Government of Israel, and to work with other partners, in order to make it abundantly clear that the conduct of the Israeli Government is completely and utterly unacceptable. There needs to be an immediate ceasefire and the flow of humanitarian aid, and we need to start the process of recovery for the people in Palestine, whose lives have been absolutely devastated by the unwarranted attack.

A review of the severance policy for Scotland concluded in 2023. Its findings were reflected in robust controls being put in place to scrutinise expenditure in line with the Scottish public finance manual. Settlement agreements address specific employment issues in individual organisations, and the number and nature of those can vary across sectors. It should be noted that settlement agreements are used rarely and only in very limited circumstances.

I thank Mr Matheson for his assiduous representation on behalf of his constituents. The Government has been working intensively with partners, including the trade unions, Scottish Enterprise, Transport Scotland and Alexander Dennis. A process of full and active co-operation, which has involved a number of ministers, has been under way for the past few weeks and months. It has been an entirely constructive period of engagement, and I very much welcome the positive developments that have taken place.

Mr Matheson referred to the extension, until Monday, of the current consultation period, which is very welcome. I also welcome the decision of the trade unions to take forward the modernisation operations that Alexander Dennis has put in place. Those are all encouraging signs, and we are working collaboratively with the company and others on the sourcing of orders.

I expect that we will be able to provide a further update on the situation next week, and that the Deputy First Minister will be able to update Parliament accordingly on the steps that we are taking with ADL on a salary support scheme and other relevant issues in relation to new orders.

This is a matter for local authorities. I know that I am responsible for everything, but the parking arrangements in Bishopbriggs are just a little bit beyond me, perhaps.

This is a matter for East Dunbartonshire Council to sort out. It has the responsibility. The Government sets out the guidance, and it is up to councils to get on with it. I see the application of the pavement parking ban in my constituency. Folk are just getting on with it, and councils are getting on with it, so there is no reason why East Dunbartonshire Council cannot get on with it. I invite Pam Gosal to take the matter up with East Dunbartonshire Council and see what she can do about the parking.

Mr Sarwar is at the bottom of the barrel today. The accusation that there is a soft-touch justice system in Scotland might have some validity if we were not incarcerating more people than any other western European country and if our prisons were not facing the increase in population that they are. The charge that Mr Sarwar has put to me is a baseless charge that is unworthy of the Labour leader in the Scottish Parliament, and he should withdraw it.

In the budget—which Mr Sarwar never voted for—we put in money to tackle retail crime and to support and work with the retail sector. Mr Sarwar could not even bring himself to vote for that provision. [Interruption.]

In the budget that Mr Sarwar never voted for, this Government put in record investment of £1.64 billion for policing, enabling us to deliver police services across the length and breadth of the country. The Government has also put in resources to work with the retail sector to tackle the issue of retail crime. In addition to all of that, the Government is working to ensure that we have an effective police presence in every community in Scotland so that these issues are addressed. If he is not prepared to vote for the Government’s budget, Mr Sarwar is not in any position whatsoever to come to the chamber and complain about any other issues.

This Government is determined to work with different organisations in Scotland to protect the public in a country in which crime is at one of its lowest levels in 40 years. [Interruption.] I will say that again, with all the heckling: crime in Scotland is at one of its lowest levels in 40 years. That is because of investment by this Government, which the Labour Party failed to support.

First, I understand the depth of Mr Greer’s concern about the visit of the President of Israel to the Prime Minister. I also understand the Prime Minister’s argument that there is a need for dialogue with the Israeli Government to try to bring about a resolution of the unjustifiable assault on Gaza. I understand that point. What I would want to be more confident of is that the President of Israel heard from the Prime Minister a series of actions that the United Kingdom Government will take to bring Israel to account for the disproportionate attack that has been made on Gaza. I would feel happier if that was the case.

On Mr Greer’s specific point about any individuals from this country who are involved in the work of the Israeli Defense Forces and whether there would be any consideration of that behaviour, those judgments would be made independently by the prosecutorial authorities. It would be wrong for me, as First Minister, to indicate what should or should not happen in those circumstances. However, I understand the seriousness of the point that Mr Greer puts to me on that important question.

It is inaccurate to conflate an increase in public dental service spending with an increase in dental access issues. The main role of the public dental service is to treat patients who have more complex needs that cannot be managed by independent dentists. Scotland remains the only country in the United Kingdom to offer free regular dental examinations for everyone, and 95 per cent of people in Scotland are registered with dentists. More than 7 million courses of national health service dental treatment have been delivered to patients since November 2023.

First, I pay tribute to the courage of women such as Liz Shanks. It is invariably women who have had the courage to come forward and talk about their experience so as to ensure that victims are more central to the criminal justice system. I know that the justice secretary has engaged substantively on all those issues.

We have will have amendments in front of us in Parliament on Tuesday, and the Government will consider all the amendments that are submitted to come to the right conclusion.

I assure the Parliament and Liz Shanks that we have listened to the opinions that have been expressed to us, we are making changes to the bill, and the Government is absolutely committed to ensuring that the voice of victims is central to the way in which the criminal justice system proceeds.