Chamber and committees

I am not sure whether I caught all of that question, but I think that part of it was about the timetables in relation to fatal accident inquiries. As the member knows, the FAI system is independently run by the Crown Office, and in 2016 the Parliament voted unanimously on the way that it was to be changed. Substantial additional resources have been given to the Crown Office to address that, and there have been substantial successes. However, one way in which we can address this issue is through the deaths in custody review. For example, instead of duplicating certain processes, we might be able to reach a faster conclusion in cases where there is no evidence of criminality.

As for Liam McArthur’s point about families, what we have taken forward as part of the review is a much more consistent approach to informing families at the right time. That sort of thing was not done in the past; indeed, we have had very good engagement from families who had been affected by that very issue. I now understand that, in the past three to four months, every single death in custody has been followed up by a phone call from the governor or an officer in the prison to the family or next of kin to ensure that they are advised as soon as possible.

I am not unaware of Christine Grahame’s member’s bill. On her first point, and to go back to the previous discussion, encouraging responsible ownership has to cover people’s being conscious of where they buy a puppy in the first place.

We welcome proposals that seek to improve animal welfare, including Christine Grahame’s proposed bill on the welfare of dogs. I thank her for sharing a recent draft. Officials are still considering the proposals, and I look forward—or rather, Mairi Gougeon, who is the appropriate cabinet secretary, looks forward—to discussing the bill in further detail once she has had the chance to fully consider it.

As we have heard, animal welfare is an important and emotive issue. I am sure that all members will welcome the opportunity to consider what more can be done to strengthen Scotland’s high animal welfare standards.

I have already mentioned the support of working in collaboration with the SSPCA. Police Scotland has an overall increase of £40 million in its budget for the current year; however, the operational methods by which it drives down the trade are, of course, a matter for Police Scotland.

I hope that Finlay Carson will take some comfort from the fact that the serious organised crime task force is looking at the issue. It involves 13 organisations, including the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers, the National Crime Agency, COSLA and Police Scotland. Its refreshed strategy was published in February. Although the aims and objectives remain broadly the same, I go back to the first point that was made by Jamie Greene: as well as the trade’s being appalling in itself, its proceeds sometimes feed further illicit activity, in relation to drugs.

There is a very serious focus on the issue. It is not always possible to be explicit about the way in which we are trying to deal with it, because, obviously, we do not want to forearm those who are involved in the activity. However, Finlay Carson should be reassured that there is a joint approach that takes in the Irish Government as well as the UK Government and HM Revenue and Customs.

The Scottish Government continues to work with a number of key stakeholder organisations and other Administrations through the puppy trade working group to disrupt the activities of those who are involved in the unlicensed puppy trade. We have also run several puppy campaigns over the past few years to highlight the cruelty of the trade, to raise public awareness and to provide advice on how to buy a puppy safely.

New animal licensing regulations were introduced in 2021 that cover the breeding and selling of dogs, and further regulation is planned using powers that are set out in the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill, which is progressing through the United Kingdom Parliament.

Serious organised crime affects us all, and we can all play a part in reducing the harm that it causes. Raising awareness of the nature of the threats that we face is one part of that response. The Scottish Government and its partners on the serious organised crime task force oversee work to reduce the harm that is caused by serious organised crime in Scotland, and they will continue to use every means at their disposal to disrupt serious organised crime.

On the last point that Jamie Greene raised, different crimes or elements of crimes can be recorded in different ways. I am happy to make sure that the answer that I give covers all the different ways in which the illicit puppy trade might be touched on, and I will provide that information to him in writing.

I challenge the point about how much is being done. The scale and significance of the trade was the driver behind the creation of the puppy trade working group, back in early 2018. That United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland group includes key animal welfare organisations; the Scottish Government; the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; HM Revenue and Customs; the Irish Revenue; and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities. Jamie Greene rightly identifies that one of the ports of entry is Stranraer, which is why we also work collaboratively with the Irish Government.

The principal aim is to disrupt unlicensed, low-welfare puppy farming and the associated criminal activity, which is taken very seriously. Jamie Greene will be aware that much of what we could say in relation to the SMASTA and the serious crime strategy is not made public for reasons that he will understand, but I am happy to make sure that as much information as possible is provided to him to convince him that we are doing what we need to do.

Further action is proposed, not least in relation to the age at which puppies may be transported. The transportation of dogs that are late in their gestation period, which is often hard to determine, is also going to be addressed, perhaps by reducing the periods in which pregnant dogs can be transported. We are taking serious action, and I am happy to follow that answer up by writing to the member.

I have already mentioned that we carry those publicity campaigns, but there are a number of other ways in which we can raise awareness. Jamie Greene’s question was perhaps prompted by a press release that was issued by the Crown Office, which draws attention to these matters. They were also highlighted when the SMASTA was published.

We do those things, and we work with other organisations. The member rightly mentions the Scottish SPCA, with which we work very closely on the matter. However, we will always look to highlight it even more, not least at this time of year, when it can be the case that people want to buy a dog or a puppy for Christmas.

Just to find some common ground, both of us are agreed that the trade is abhorrent and that we should do all that we can to limit it, not least because the very transportation of those animals is detrimental to the health of some of them.

We will continue to work on the issue. As I have said, I will provide to Jamie Greene the information that I mentioned.

The resource spending review was based on information coming from the UK Government, and it was about trying to set out a path for the next few years to give some context. The budget itself is separate from, but related to, that process. Between and within portfolios, it is, naturally enough, possible to change those totals. That is part of the process that we are currently undergoing, in discussions with police, fire and the Scottish Prison Service. It is not fixed in stone as per the RSR.

There will be substantial calls on the Government to do many things. Those calls will come not least from your party, which will demand, as ever, that health consequentials are passed directly to health and that, as they say, we do not pass go. I concede that it is the Government’s priority to ensure that health consequentials go to health services.

You mentioned the sum of £1.5 billion over two years. I have just mentioned the additional cost of £1.7 billion that we face this year due to the erosion of value caused by inflation. Therefore, there is no question of that money being a bonanza that we can expect to resolve the pressures in our portfolios. However, I will fight my corner for the justice budget and for the police, firefighters, prisons and others. I will fight my corner for the court service, where we are doing tremendous work, with the astonishing reduction in the backlog of summary cases of 12,000 in one year. Of course I will do that.

You used the word “shocking”, and I think that the budget that we have had from Westminster is certainly shocking. Many Government departments, as well as Scotland and Wales, have said that the pressures that we are facing this year are extraordinary. I am sure that you know the situation: the Scottish Government cannot change taxes during the year, and we cannot increase borrowing to cover pay. To have a £1.7 billion diminution in our budget and for that not to be recognised is shocking, I think, and that is the source of many of the pressures that we currently face. My job is to ensure that justice is well served by the budget process and that we maintain and improve the public services that we have under the justice portfolio.

As I have said, the intention is to have HMP Highland as the first net zero prison. Deciding to develop a district heating system for an individual institution is probably outwith the justice portfolio. It would require the cross-Government working with the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport that I think you are hinting at. Your point is perhaps whether—especially in relation to Glasgow, which has our largest prison population—having such a system could produce wider benefits. We are still in the formative stages of the process on Barlinnie. Perhaps Donald McGillivray or Neil Rennick will want to say more about that.

The approach to pay rises will, necessarily, have to take inflation into account. As you will know, the UK Government has projected the start of a significant fall in inflation during the middle of next year, if memory serves me correctly. Inevitably, the approach to pay rises will take into account the real cost of living.

Briefly, there is of course a correlation between the impact of pay rises, our ability to pay for them and the overall budget. I have mentioned that, in the justice portfolio, around 70 per cent of our costs are people costs—whether directly in salaries, in pensions or in other costs. Those costs are significant, and they squeeze out the opportunity to do other things.

When it comes to the pay settlement that we reached this year—I imagine that the same process will inform how we approach further pay rounds—we recognise that police officers, prison officers and firefighters face increases in the cost of living, including in energy costs. We are trying our best to reflect that within the budget.

Although I neither recognise nor agree with your figures, you mentioned a correlation between paying more for pay and a squeeze on other things. This year, as I have mentioned, there has been £700 million of additional pressure so far, but that has not caused the reduction in police officers. That reduction was caused by the fact that Tulliallan was being used for the 26th United Nations climate change conference of the parties—COP26—and because of the restrictions of Covid. However, Tulliallan has now gone back up to its regular intakes of 300.

However, there is no doubt that there is such a correlation. I do not think that any Government has projected what it will do on pay over the next three or four years. I also make the perhaps obvious point that a 5 per cent pay increase this year does not disappear next year but is built on, so the pressures will grow.

It is our job to make sure that the number of officers in the police service establishment does not fall below the level that we think—and, more importantly, that the chief constable thinks—is necessary to do the job.