Chamber and committees

Reassurance for farmers was absent in the Brexit that the Conservatives imposed on us, and it has caused incalculable—[Interruption.]

Between 1990 and 2022, Scotland’s emissions halved, while the economy grew by 66.6 per cent. I cite that information to note to the Parliament that it is possible for us to grow our economy and reduce our emissions by sensible investment. What does that sensible investment involve? It involves supporting the transition to renewable energy—and I mean the transition to renewable energy—whereby we manage carefully the way in which we generate our energy by attracting investment—[Interruption.]

—which we are successfully doing to secure the energy future of our country. That is the commitment of the Scottish Government: to ensure that we deliver a just transition, grow the economy and always take action to protect the interests of the people of Scotland. The SNP Government will do that while the Conservatives play politics with the opportunists.

As I indicated in my earlier answer, there are three elements to the approach that the Government is taking. Great importance is attached to education programmes on the danger and the unacceptability of carrying a knife and being involved in violence.

The mentors in violence prevention programme, which is directed through Education Scotland, is delivered in all 32 local authority areas, and young people are involved in that work. We support the work of the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit in proactively engaging with young people to avoid incidents of violence. That is in addition to the work that we do to support Medics Against Violence to engage young people in the work that YouthLink Scotland does to deliver the no knives, better lives training to hundreds of practitioners and young people around the country.

Proactive work is being done to ensure that the issues that Russell Findlay has raised are addressed, but there is also firmness in the justice system when incidents take place. It remains open to prosecutors to prosecute a young person if they have committed a serious offence. Our sustained focus on prevention and early intervention is a core part of our strategy, but steps can also be taken in the criminal justice system to bring people to justice. I expect the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and the judicial system to consider all those issues in addressing any cases that emerge.

I fear that Russell Findlay has not been listening to my answers, in which I have set out that a combination of proactive and preventative work is undertaken by a number of very successful organisations, which, since 2008-09, has resulted in a 69 per cent decrease in emergency hospital admissions because of assault with a sharp object.

That is the result of us tackling knife crime in our society. That prevention work is having an effect. Scotland is a safer country today than it has been in the past, but I return to my point that one incident is one incident too many.

The work on prevention is absolutely vital, but the public cannot look at this exchange and believe that there are no consequences for carrying a knife or for carrying out an incident. I repeat: the Scottish Sentencing Council guideline for young people indicates that all sentencing options, including imprisonment, remain open to the court. That is what the law says and that is what the guideline says. People need to understand the consequences of carrying a knife and committing an offence. There is a risk of imprisonment. I encourage people to follow the advice issued on Wednesday by Police Scotland, which was that under no circumstances should young people carry knives in our society. It is dangerous, it is damaging and young people should not do it.

I am very sorry to hear the details that Jackie Baillie has shared with me about Isla Sneddon, and I express my sympathies to her family. Jackie Baillie makes a compelling case. I will take the issue away and raise it with the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care. We will pursue the issue of clinical guidance, because I understand the significance of the point that Jackie Baillie has raised.

Not for the first time, the fishing communities of Scotland have been judged to be expendable—this time by a Labour Government and the previous time by a Conservative Government. The people of Scotland know that, whether it is a Labour Government or a Tory Government, the UK Government will sell out the Scottish fishing industry. My Government will support the industry, and we will do what we can to assist the communities to overcome the obstacles that are put in their way by the deals made by Labour and Conservative Governments. Of course, the only way in which the fishing industry in Scotland will be properly protected is with the powers of independence.

Mr Sarwar invites me to speak to the parents. That is, of course, what I have done, because in January I convened a gathering, at the instigation of Vicky Donald, who came to it, with leaders of all political parties. Pauline McNeill attended on behalf of the Scottish Labour Party. Colleagues from all parties were there, and I welcome that engagement around the table. I have sat with parents and listened very directly to their feedback.

I have seen the letter from Vicky Donald and I have replied to her this morning. One of the points that I made in the letter is that, although this is of no comfort to victims of violence and their families, knife crime has fallen and the number of homicide victims aged 13 to 19 years has decreased by 79 per cent. That is some of the progress that I think has come about because of the prevention work that the Government has been taking forward.

When it comes to that prevention work, we have a number of different elements. Education Scotland delivers the mentors in violence prevention programme, which is delivered in all local authority areas in the country. I welcome the engagement of schools and local authorities. I have seen that programme in action in my constituency, and it is powerful and emphatic. The young people themselves become the advocates for violence prevention.

We also have the work of Medics Against Violence, which engages with young people in youth clubs on the consequences of violence, and YouthLink Scotland takes the no knives, better lives training to hundreds of practitioners.

We are also supporting the outstanding work, which is internationally renowned, of the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit to expand its reach across Scotland, from Glasgow, Dundee and Edinburgh to now Ayrshire.

I say that in the hope of reassuring Mr Sarwar, members of the public and Vicky Donald that the Government is very focused on the issue.

I reiterate the point that I made to Mr Findlay a moment ago. There are punishments available that the courts can decide to apply, and they can involve imprisonment, so nobody should be under any illusion that there are no consequences to being involved in the unacceptable actions of knife crime or violence.

That will be the sustained approach that the Government takes forward, and I will be very happy to engage, as I engaged with all political parties in January, on what we can collectively consider to address the issue. There will be a follow-up discussion on these questions in June, which the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs will convene. In the light of these issues, I will attend that discussion as well, and I invite other colleagues and members of the youth work sector to be involved in that, too, to make sure that we leave no stone unturned in addressing the issues, because one case is one case too many.

I welcome the advice that we have received from the Climate Change Committee, which the Government will carefully consider before setting out our proposed carbon budgets in secondary legislation, in due course.

I assure Lorna Slater that the Government is absolutely committed to meeting its target of net zero emissions by 2045. We recently put a number of vital climate measures in the budget, which I was pleased that the Green Party was able to support. We have added to that another measure to make public transport more affordable, which is the abolishment of peak rail fares from 1 September. I hope that that is taken as an example of good faith regarding what the Government is trying to do to prioritise action on climate.

Scotland’s economy has been robust despite significant economic challenges. Since 2007, Scotland’s gross domestic product per person has, overall, increased by more than the United Kingdom’s has. Our labour market remains resilient. Our programme for government includes measures to support economic security and growth, but it is right to recognise the effect on Scottish living standards of UK Government austerity and damaging decisions on issues such as migration and Brexit, which have created the circumstances that are accounted for by the Future Economy Scotland report.