Chamber and committees

Jamie Greene makes an important point. He knows that one of the recommendations in Dame Elish Angiolini’s report relates to that. He will also know that there were more than 100 such recommendations, many of which have been progressed. I reassure him that a meeting took place last week at which the latest tranche of recommendations that have been progressed was summarised. We will shortly make public the progress that has been made on the range of recommendations.

The situation to which the member refers would require primary legislation to change. We will have to introduce that and, perhaps, another provision on advisory and barred lists, under which somebody who is convicted of an offence in one police force cannot join another police force without that force being told about it.

Those are two important recommendations, but they will require primary legislation and, if we implement them, that will require to be fitted into the legislative programme. The justice portfolio currently has around 22 bills scheduled for this parliamentary session alone before any bills that Jamie Greene and other members might propose. It is a congested programme, but we intend to implement those recommendations. Serious progress is being made on the range of recommendations that Elish Angiolini made.

That is an operational matter for Police Scotland. The chief constable has confirmed that Assistant Chief Constable Tim Mairs will move from his current role on an interim basis to take responsibility for the organised crime, counterterrorism and intelligence portfolio. The member will appreciate that it would not be appropriate for me to comment further while an investigation is under way.

As you said, Presiding Officer, that is a completely different matter. I am familiar with some of the background to that inquiry, which is being conducted by Merseyside Police, as it was requested that it be conducted by a force from outwith Scotland. We would want to learn the lessons from any inquiry of that type. I undertake to examine the output from that inquiry.

The public inquiry into the death of Sheku Bayoh is independent of Scottish ministers, and it is for the chair of the inquiry to direct how the inquiry carries out its duties. As Mark Ruskell might be aware, the inquiry held its first preliminary hearing on 18 November, when Lord Bracadale provided an update on matters such as the gathering and disclosure of evidence and preliminary legal issues, and outlined when evidential hearings will commence.

I can confirm that I am happy to correspond with the member on that, because I understand that those concerns have already been addressed. If I am wrong about that, I will certainly let the member and Parliament know, but I am pretty sure that some of the issues that he raised around the expenses that have been incurred by the family have been addressed; I know that decisions on that have been taken recently. I am more than happy to get a view of the final position and to correspond with the member. By all means, he can come back to me if there is more information that he wants.

It is worth mentioning that I have met Brigadier Andy Muddiman a number of times recently. It is important to say that the armed forces are represented on the veterans employability strategic group. Currently, members of the group are leading employer-focused work, considering how we connect the needs of employers and veterans, addressing inaccurate perceptions of veterans, and working with employers to find ways of increasing work placements.

Developing our local employability partnerships continues, with employability leads considering the skills of veterans and their families to help address local and regional demands. That builds on previous initiatives, such as the one that we undertook with Prince Charles some years ago, to get large employers together in one place to make sure that they are aware of the assets that veterans can be if they are taken on and employed. We will continue with that work.

We recognise the importance of continuing to increase awareness and understanding of, and to deliver, the covenant and its principles. As I have outlined, the veterans employability strategic group is leading a range of employer-focused work. Next year, we will launch a public awareness campaign targeting employers and businesses to help increase employment opportunities for veterans.

I am grateful to both members for raising those issues about veterans. Much of our work for veterans in relation to employment was undertaken in advance of the covenant being established. That work has been going on for some time, and we are building on what I believe is a very sound base for taking that work forward.

I think that it is worth clarifying aspects of the decision about the guidance, which was not taken by the Scottish Government per se but by the independent Lord Advocate, who has authority in that area. First, the scheme extends to possession offences only; it does not extend to drug supply offences. The Lord Advocate has made it clear that robust prosecutorial action continues to be taken against the supply of controlled drugs.

It is also worth saying that recorded police warnings are not a finding of guilt but a form of law enforcement, which, if accepted, is recorded on the criminal history system for two years and can be taken into account if the individual comes to the notice of police.

The Lord Advocate’s decision adds to the police’s options; it does not bind the police. As I am sure that the member knows, recorded police warnings, which have been in operation for more than five years, provide police officers with an additional law enforcement option when they encounter someone in possession of drugs for personal use.

It should also be mentioned that the Lord Advocate’s decision has been widely welcomed by many of those who work on the front line to support individuals and communities that are affected by drugs. Police Scotland’s head of drugs strategy, Assistant Chief Constable Gary Ritchie, said that the measure

“will give officers another tool to support those at risk of becoming vulnerable in our communities”.

Maximising employment opportunities for veterans is a key priority for the Government, and we work closely with Skills Development Scotland and the Scottish Funding Council on that important issue. For example, SDS is a member of the veterans employability strategic group, and both agencies are working closely with partner organisations, including the Career Transition Partnership, to enable more veterans to fully understand—this is an issue that veterans sometimes have a difficulty with—the many skills that they already have and, where required, to develop new skills or gain qualifications to enable a smooth transition into employment.

First, I can confirm that the figures show that, since 2017, the amount of heroin seized by Police Scotland has increased by 311 per cent.

We are committed to bringing to justice those who supply drugs to some of our most vulnerable individuals and communities. I commend Police Scotland for its work to take illegal substances off the streets and dismantle the groups that are responsible.