Chamber and committees

At the root of the question that Willie Rennie asks is a serious point about the prevalence of mental ill health in Police Scotland. He referred to the situation two years ago. We know that, since then, additional pressures have built up, not least through Covid, but also through working patterns and non-holiday periods. People have had to work through holidays, and we know that there has been a lot of pressure as a result of the 26th United Nations climate change conference of the parties—COP26—and so on. Those things all mean that pressures have increased, and I acknowledge that.

However, it is not true to say that that has not been discussed with the Scottish Police Authority and the chief constable. I have discussed it myself with both the SPA and the chief constable, and I will discuss those issues, and related matters, with the Scottish Police Federation this afternoon. We take these matters seriously, and we are aware of the pressures on police officers. That is one reason why we have ensured that in Scotland, unlike in other parts of the United Kingdom, police officers have had a pay rise this year, and that we maintain police numbers, which can help to reduce the pressures on individual police officers.

We are committed to ensuring that all veterans who live in Scotland can access the best possible care and support, including safe, effective and person-centred healthcare. We fund two veteran-specific mental health and wellbeing providers—Combat Stress and Veterans First Point. Additionally, each national health service board has an armed forces and veterans champion, who can offer veterans advice and guidance.

To return to the previous question, we have bold ambitions for new Scottish disability benefits, which come under the remit of the cabinet secretary who is responsible for that area. We have identified several ways to provide disabled people, including veterans, with a different experience when accessing the support to which they are entitled, which includes improving the application process, assisting applicants to gather supporting information from a professional to help make decisions and abolishing functional assessments.

The issue also impinges on a previous question and answer about identity cards, which would allow veterans to access services more easily. In addition, as part of the benefit take-up strategy, we will continue to engage with our seldom-heard groups, including veterans, to maximise take-up and to ensure that such voices are heard and considered in our policy work.

Consideration of the latter matter would fall to Shona Robison, who is the cabinet secretary in charge of social security.

I have just answered the first part of the member’s question. We keep under continual review things that we might want to legislate on. Although that aspect does not feature in the 22 bills that the member referenced, we will introduce a number of other bills that do not feature in those 22 bills. It is possible that other bills might also be introduced. The party that the member represents has mentioned two or three bills that it wants to introduce, so the list of 22 bills is not exhaustive. As I said, we keep—and will continue to keep—under review the extent to which introducing legislation is appropriate or possible.

We do not discuss such matters directly with the Lothians and Scottish Borders police—the discussions that I have are with the chief constable and the chair of the Scottish Police Authority, and sometimes through organisations such as the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents. Those discussions are based on the national police force that we have. I believe that the increased budget for police that we managed to agree this year goes a long way in helping the police to meet the demands of crime.

The levels of some crimes have increased—the member mentioned violent crime, although homicide numbers are down at an all-time low since records began in the 1970s. The situation is complex, but we provide the resources and discuss with the police the resources that are required to allow them to do that most important job of addressing any instance of crime in their area. That is discussed on a national basis rather than on the regional basis that the member mentioned.

I am certainly happy to meet with members and consider that. The objections to the Cancard scheme come from the medical profession, at least in part, but I am happy to consider the point and write to both members with more information and, after that, to have a meeting to discuss it further.

No finalised online safety bill has been published by the UK Government yet. Although there has been engagement between officials in the Scottish Government and those in the UK Government, I have not yet had any discussions with the UK Government about the impact on Scotland of its proposed bill.

The member raises an important point. As he says, the Parliament has agreed legislation that will simplify and modernise the law on defamation, and I am pleased that the Scottish Government expects to lay commencement regulations in early May, which will bring the 2021 act into force this summer.

I agree that it was a deplorable and tragic act that led to the killing of Sir David Amess, and we would want to support anything that can lead to a situation in which such an appalling attack is less likely in the future.

Given that the bill has not been published, it is difficult to give any agreement at this stage. In fact, the UK Government has made a number of announcements that have changed the bill’s proposed content. However, I will look seriously and sympathetically at the bill—from what I have heard and from what I have seen reported in newspapers, it will have potentially productive elements. Scottish Government officials and I will engage with the UK Government on the issues.

The member will be aware that the Scottish Government has given an annual update to the Parliament each year since 2017 on our support for veterans and the armed forces community in Scotland, accompanied by a published report. I thank the member for his contribution to that debate last year—and, I think I am right in saying, in previous years. We will provide a similar update in November this year. We also intend to publish a refresh of our veterans strategy action plan, detailing our commitments to the veterans and armed forces community in Scotland, during the first half of this year.

I agree with the member; veterans are assets to our society and the Scottish Government’s ambition remains to make Scotland the destination of choice for service leavers, wherever they come from, and their families. By doing that, we can offer high living standards, great job prospects, and a society that respects and values their contribution.

I repeat my encouragement to the UK Government to work collaboratively with us to deliver as soon as possible a veterans ID service that meets the needs of veterans across the UK.