Chamber and committees

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.

None of the cases bear on the substantive question, which was about local authority scrutiny and local policing plans, but I am happy to respond to the member directly if he wants to raise the matter again—[Interruption.]

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.

Enabling victims to take a more prominent role in the justice system is a key commitment in our recently published justice strategy. We are consulting on potential legislative reforms, including the establishment of a victims commissioner for Scotland, to strengthen victims’ rights and improve their experiences. An independent review of the victim notification scheme is under way to ensure that it is serving victims effectively, and we are committed to creating restorative justice services and expanding the use of victim impact statements in court. The victims task force, which is co-chaired by me and the Lord Advocate, is directly informed by victims’ voices and is progressing work to develop a more victim-centred and trauma-informed justice system.

It is hard to know where to begin with a question like that. It is simply not the case that there have never been fewer than 17,000 police officers in Scotland previously, but it is true to say that the pay rise, which was awarded this year from the Scottish Government, was matched by a United Kingdom pay offer of zero—no pay increase last year.

It is also true to say that we have substantially more officers per head in Scotland and that police officers start in Police Scotland on a salary of £5,000 more than they do in England and Wales. The idea that the Conservatives should be lecturing the Government on properly funding Police Scotland is a bit rich.

It is also true to say that we have seen the results of that investment in Police Scotland over the years, as we have some of the lowest crime levels that we have seen since 1974—certainly lower than in England and Wales. We of course want to continue to prioritise policing and we will do so against a background of a 5.2 per cent cut from the UK Government.

Would it not be useful if, for once, the Conservatives could congratulate the police officers of Scotland on the work that they do, and talk to their bosses in London about improving the grant to the Scottish Parliament so that we can look after our police officers and all our other public services? I will not hold my breath waiting for that to happen.

I have mentioned the steps that we are taking. I have tried for years—over a decade—to get information from the UK Government on this, but I have been refused at virtually every turn. If the member could perhaps have a word with his colleagues in the Ministry of Defence and ask them to provide data about veterans in Scotland, that would be helpful.

I mentioned how we can get information from the census and DAISy—the drug and alcohol information system—on addiction services. We have published the veterans mental health and wellbeing action plan, and its implementation board, which has been mentioned previously, will have on it representatives from the Scottish Veterans Care Network. That and all the veterans organisations that we deal with can help us to get a more rounded picture of the needs of veterans across Scotland.

The improvements to the lives and experiences of veterans will be not just because of the funding that Graeme Dey mentioned, but substantially down to the work that he carried out as veterans minister.

The funding ensures that Scotland’s veterans can access appropriate support and it includes funding for specialist veterans peer support workers, who understand the experiences of those who have served and ensure that veterans and their families are directed to the help that they need when they need it.

We are providing funding to support the implementation of the veterans mental health and wellbeing action plan, including the recently announced £50,000 for the See Me campaign, which will challenge mental health stigma and discrimination experienced by veterans, and hopefully change attitudes and behaviours, so that veterans with experience of mental health problems are respected, valued and empowered. I expect those developments to deliver significant improvements to the lives and experiences of veterans in Scotland.

I very much welcome that approach, which relates to the points that were made by Stephen Kerr. If we are to provide meaningful justice for those who come up against the justice system, the system has to be about more than a judicial process that ends with somebody being found guilty or innocent.

Therefore, I very much welcome the launch of the pioneering hubs, which will pave the way for restorative justice services to be rolled out across Scotland. Yesterday, I was delighted to meet staff and hear from survivors. I know that some groups, including women’s groups, have real concerns, although there has been general support for the restorative justice hubs. From talking to victims and survivors of sexual assault and rape, in particular, it is clear that those hubs could meet a need by providing a more meaningful justice outcome at the end of the process, although such an approach could be undertaken only with the consent and active support of victims and survivors.

Each local authority has established its own scrutiny arrangements to align with local requirements. I commend the work of local scrutiny committees and the work that they have undertaken with Police Scotland to review arrangements in line with Dame Elish Angiolini’s recommendations.

The public consultation on police complaints, investigations and misconduct launched on 24 May, beginning our 12-week public consultation period in which we welcome views on our plans for future legislation. The Government has invited local authorities via the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities to discuss our plans for legislative change in December 2021 and again following the launch of our consultation, and we are keen to engage with local authorities directly to hear their views.

It is vital that the needs of local communities are understood and reflected in the planning and delivery of police services, so the Scottish Police Authority engages with local authorities, COSLA and local policing teams to understand how policing is delivered locally.

COSLA, Police Scotland and the SPA recently completed a review of the local police planning process, and the revised joint approach was approved by COSLA and presented to the SPA in March 2022. Work has begun to progress implementation. Local police plans are developed by Police Scotland’s local area and divisional commanders, who engage with local authorities. I am happy to ask the chief constable to write to the member on the specifics of the matter.