Chamber and committees

I thank Graeme Dey, my predecessor as minister for veterans, for securing this members’ business debate. I am sure that, as Maurice Golden has just done, we all wish him a speedy recovery.

The debate marks the 40th anniversary of the liberation of the Falkland Islands and the end of the Falklands war. As Jackson Carlaw said, it is strange to think that that was 40 years ago. As I said in the debate last week, 40 years ago we were closer to the second world war than we are now to the Falklands war.

At the time, my experience was as a signaller, which meant that I was lucky enough to have a high-frequency radio and could listen to Scotland’s world cup matches, which most people could not. Unfortunately, this year I will not be able to listen to or see Scotland’s world cup matches because Scotland will not be there. That shows how things have changed in the intervening period.

This debate is different from the Sharon Dowey’s recent debate. Jackson Carlaw focused, quite rightly, on the international implications and the way in which states have responded to the Falklands war. I will come back to that, but, first, I note that he also mentioned the principle of self-determination. Although, as Christine Grahame said, the debate on how the Falklands war came about in the first place will continue, self-determination is an important principle—one that is, I think, worth fighting for.

As we near the 40th anniversary, a number of events and activities will provide us all with a chance to consider the lasting impact of the conflict. I look forward to attending the Royal British Legion event at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire to mark the official anniversary next week.

On another point that Jackson Carlaw made, in the rest of my contribution I will focus—rightly, I think—on what Graeme Dey, in the speech that Stuart McMillan read out on his behalf, wanted us to focus on: the impact on veterans.

First, I go back to Jackson Carlaw’s point about statespeople, including international statespeople. I understand that the Prime Minister will also attend next week’s event, and in the past day or two, I think that he has also said that, if he gets the opportunity, he will go down to the Falkland Islands. Jackson Carlaw mentioned how important it was for Margaret Thatcher to get advice from Harold Macmillan—he gave a couple of other similar examples. I would not refute that: getting advice in such situations is very important.

To return to Graeme Dey’s speech, I think that a really important piece of advice is that we should know about the impact of war on those who are asked to fight—both veterans and those who do not come back from war. For my part, I am more than happy to contribute to enhancing the Prime Minister’s knowledge if he wants to discuss that next week, in the Falkland Islands or at any other time, because it is extremely important that people who have the responsibility of sending people to war have a full understanding of the impact. That is what Graeme Day tried to do in his speech.

I should mention briefly, because Maurice Golden and other members mentioned it, the memorial garden at RM Condor barracks. I should also mention, as I did last week, the four people in my troop who died and did not come back: Sergeant Bob Leeming, who had a wife and family; Corporal Fitton; Corporal Uren; and Marine Keith Phillips, who was the same age, held the same rank and had the same first name as me, and who, at 19 years old, never returned from the Falkland Islands. That was the real impact on the families of those four people. Those guys were in my troop; there were other guys in 45 Commando, and many others as well, but those were the guys I knew best.

I am delighted that the Scottish Government has been able to partner with Legion Scotland and poppyscotland, as Sarah Boyack mentioned, on establishing a Scottish national event in Edinburgh on 18 June, which will provide the people of Scotland with an opportunity to commemorate the anniversary. To coincide with that event, poppyscotland is delivering a wider learning programme. In last week’s debate and again today, the point has been made that people are not aware of the Falkland Islands. That important learning programme and package of resources for schools across the country will allow young people to learn more about the conflict; it will also highlight the role of the armed forces today and how we can support them and their families.

It is important that, as Graeme Dey tried to pass on in his speech, we acknowledge the lasting impact that the experience of war can have on some members of the armed forces community. We continue to work to address that. Many veterans of the Falklands still struggle with physical or mental scars or have faced hardships in the years that followed the war. Veterans of that conflict served at a time when there was a lack of knowledge and education about the symptoms of mental ill-health, and a huge amount of stigma was associated with mental health issues.

I will mention the point that was made in Graeme Dey’s speech about the absolutely appalling coverage of the guys who were down there when the war broke out. They fought extremely bravely but then were ordered, rightly, in the face of massively superior enemy forces, to lay down their arms. It was absolutely appalling that they were described as cowards by one tabloid newspaper. It was appalling that people thousands of miles away from the theatre of conflict felt able to cast judgment on people fighting in that circumstance and call them cowards. I hope that those in the media have learned from that coverage.

Jackson Carlaw mentioned some of the ways in which the media have changed over time and the healthy engagement of the media in conflicts. We also have the reverse of that, with Putin using his media to censor things and present a very favourable account of why the Russians are wrongly and illegally in Ukraine. Therefore, it can work both ways. However, Jackson Carlaw made an important point about the changing nature of the media.

That was very well put. We must remember that Clive Myrie and others are in real danger.

On the portrayal of the marine detachment that was in the Falklands at the time, the editor of the newspaper concerned was interviewed about that coverage recently, and I do not think that the people who made such comments lacked an understanding of the impact of such comments on the veterans who served in the Falklands. As soon as they returned to the UK, many of those veterans chose to go right back down and fight again. Some of the journalists at the time—Ian Bruce, for example, who is a fantastic journalist—put themselves in harm’s way to try to get as much of the truth as they were able to gather back to their audience.

We are also continuing to campaign to address the stigma experienced by veterans and their families. The campaign, which is led by See Me, addresses negative views and promotes positive images of veterans contributing as employees, volunteers, blue-light officers, clinicians, carers and community representatives.

Over a number of years, we have supported the mental health needs of veterans and their families through the innovative work of Veterans First Point and Combat Stress. We have funded both organisations to provide mental health services specifically for veterans and their families, and we are continuing to fund those specialist providers this year.

Combat Stress will receive £1.4 million to provide a Scotland-wide veterans mental health service. The organisation also provides a 24-hour telephone advice service, recognising that not all veterans are comfortable with online services. I know that, for older veterans, accessibility of services is really important. Combat Stress recognises that need and has recently opened two new bases, one in Glasgow and the other in Edinburgh.

We have also agreed to continue funding the six existing Veterans First Point providers. They will receive £666,000, which is to be match-funded by their local health boards and will enable veterans to access an NHS service in their community, which I know is appreciated by many service users.

To this day, veterans of the Falklands are still coming forward to seek help and use those services for the first time. More than 60 Falklands veterans requested support from Combat Stress over the past year alone. Therefore, I finish by expressing my gratitude to our close-knit charity sector in Scotland. I am sure that I speak for all here today when I say that I am continually impressed by the level and quality of support that the sector provides to our ex-service personnel and their families. I extend my heartfelt thanks to everyone who supports those charities in whatever way they can.

If members were able to participate in the remaining events to mark the 40th anniversary, or at least encourage others to participate in them, that would be gratefully appreciated.

In 2021-22, we provided £50 million to support the recover, renew, transform programme for the criminal justice system, which included setting up 16 new solemn and summary courts. For 2022-23, we have committed a further £53.2 million, including £26.5 million for the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service to help it to maintain enhanced court capacity. We have also extended funding for remote jury centres for an additional three months, to support the transition back to having juries in court, and we have increased the SCTS resource budget by 3.5 per cent.

The latest statistics that the SCTS has published show that those measures are having an impact, but justice agencies have been clear that it will take several years to address the backlog. We will continue to support that work.

Police Scotland has informed me that 169 police officers of various ranks have retired from Police Scotland between 1 April 2022 and 26 May 2022. A further 265 police officers have intimated their intention to retire before 30 June 2022. Therefore, Police Scotland expects a total of 434 police officers to have retired at the end of quarter 1 of this financial year.

I absolutely agree. It is interesting how animated the Conservative members become whenever we point out the differences between Scotland and the rest of the UK. I wonder why that is. It could be because of their embarrassment.

I agree with the member. Scotland is a safer country since the SNP Government took office. Recorded crime remains at one of the lowest levels since 1974, and it is down 41 per cent since 2006-07. I have yet to hear any recognition of that from the Conservatives.

As a member rightly points out, we have 32 officers per 10,000 population in Scotland compared to around 23 per 10,000 in England and Wales. More generally, we are investing an additional £188 million across the justice system in 2022-23, which is more than three times what the Conservatives asked for.

We are looking after Police Scotland, and we will continue to do so in a very difficult budgetary situation.

What we have to do is make sure that we provide the resources to Police Scotland. Of course, some of the things that Pauline McNeill talked about are not within the gift of the Scottish Government to change; they are operational decisions for the chief constable, and it is right that they should be. I do not know whether anybody is suggesting that we should change that so that the Government becomes directly involved. I do not think that that would be a good idea.

It is also true to say that we have a situation with retirement. I have spoken to the Scottish Police Federation, the Scottish Police Authority and the chief constable, and, at the top of the list is retirement caused by the change in pensions that underlies the figures that I have just given. Of course, we have an interest in the wellbeing of police officers and we will continue to talk to the Scottish Police Federation and do whatever we can to make sure that services and resources are provided to look after our police officers.

Improving veterans data continues to be a priority for the Scottish Government. The member will be aware that, for the first time, Scotland’s census 2022 included a question on previous service with the armed forces. We have also identified additional sources of regular data collection, for example by including the same question in the Scottish household and health surveys.

In addition, there is a veterans marker in the new drug and alcohol information system, which is a national database that holds data that relates to specialist drug and alcohol treatment from services across Scotland.

The member will know that the processing of cases is a matter for the Lord Advocate as part of her independent role as head of the prosecution system. I therefore recommend that the member contact the Lord Advocate, both on the specific case and on his suggestion about more localised processing. The Lord Advocate should be able to advise on the member’s query.

First, I sympathise with Stephen Kerr’s experience. I had a very similar experience, with my family being threatened with having the house burned down by somebody who was subsequently convicted for burning down a house. I know how troubling such experiences can be.

I concede that not enough is being done to ensure that victims—in this case, victims of a threat—are acknowledged by the criminal justice system in its various forms. We are trying to ensure that victims are recognised throughout the whole criminal justice system, although it is worth acknowledging that it is not necessarily a system in that sense; it includes lots of independent parts.

Some of the points that Stephen Kerr has raised relate to the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service and to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, and I am sure that what he has said will be heard by them.

On the matter of supporting Jamie Greene’s bill, I was told that the bill would be introduced in the first 100 days of the parliamentary session. I have not yet seen the bill, so I do not know how I can be expected to say that I will support it until I have seen its provisions. From what I know about the bill, and from previous discussions, I think that many of its provisions are covered by activity that the Government is already undertaking. However, I restate my commitment to look at the bill in good faith when it is introduced to see whether there are things that we can work on.

There is no question but that a 5.2 per cent cut in the Government’s budget will have an impact on all services in Scotland, and it is regrettable that the Conservatives cannot find it within themselves to condemn that cut and to seek a more beneficial settlement for Scotland.

Of course, yesterday was not a budget; it was a spending review, and the budget will come forward in due course. During the process of deciding on the budget, I will of course put the case for continued investment in justice services, whether that is the police or the court service.