Chamber and committees

I think that Russell Findlay misunderstands, because that is not a Scottish Government policy but declared guidance from the Lord Advocate. The issue that Mr Findlay raised is one for the Lord Advocate, although I take on board the suggestion that was made and will give it further consideration. However, as to prosecutions, Mr Findlay should be aware that those decisions are for the Lord Advocate alone.

Last week, I announced a £2 million funding initiative to support the roll-out of the new Scottish child interview model, which protects children and reduces the stress associated with recounting their experiences. That is an important step towards creating the foundations of our bairns’ hoose vision in Scotland, which we are committed to delivering by the end of the parliamentary session.

On 14 September, we published “Bairns’ Hoose – Scottish Barnahaus: vision, values and approach”, setting out in broad terms our vision of how the bairns’ hoose should be implemented in Scotland, the values that should underpin the model and the approach to its practical implementation. The vision has been welcomed by Children 1st and others, and our next steps will be to establish a national governance group to oversee the delivery of the bairns’ hoose in Scotland and to bring forward standards for it. Further plans will be published by the end of 2021.

We believe that the figure likely reflects the growing adoption of digital technologies in Scottish society, which has been accelerated by the pandemic. It is not unique to Scotland, and similar trends have emerged in England and Wales, where an increase in fraud has been linked to pandemic-related behavioural changes such as working from home and increased online shopping.

The Scottish Government is responding to the increased cyber threat through “The Strategic Framework for a Cyber Resilient Scotland”. Work is under way to share threat intelligence and mitigation measures, raise cyber-risk awareness and deliver education and training. Earlier this year, the Government founded the CyberScotland Partnership, which includes Police Scotland and the United Kingdom’s National Cyber Security Centre as founding partners.

It has to be recognised that efforts to raise awareness might in themselves be a factor in the increased reporting of cybercrime, although that is difficult to quantify. Within and outwith the partnership, the Scottish Government, Police Scotland and the National Cyber Security Centre will work together to protect people and organisations from cybercriminals.

Pauline McNeill is right to point to the concerns in that area, and I have mentioned some of the things that we are doing. In relation to young people, through our cyber strategy, we have been working with Police Scotland on the keeping people safe in a digital world initiative, which seeks to allocate resources where they can best meet the demands of the public, communities and business, but with a focus on vulnerable people.

We are committed to investing in Police Scotland’s officers and staff to ensure that the right skills are in the right place in the organisation. Pauline McNeill is right to say that we are not at that place yet, so there is more work to be done on that—not just in Police Scotland but in the other agencies throughout the UK. People attack their victims with vigour and ingenuity, and we must use the same level of commitment to defend people’s interests—not least the vulnerable people Pauline McNeill mentioned.

That work is done mainly through a number of partners, especially in relation to public awareness. One of the groups that has been doing that for many years is the Scottish Business Resilience Centre, which was based in my constituency. We use all the agencies in Scotland—and, where appropriate, in the UK—to get that message out. In the past, we have helped to fund courses for people on how to protect their online presence and software from potential fraud—for example, sometimes, people take over terminals and use them for nefarious purposes. Addressing a lot of that is down to awareness raising and—as I just said to Pauline McNeill—making sure that our agencies are fully equipped to deal with the challenge.

I am grateful to have the opportunity to pass on my best wishes to the remaining veterans of the Korean war and to pay tribute to all those who served in the conflict. I would wish to say more, but we do not seem to have the time. The member might not be aware that I intend in the coming weeks to visit the memorial, which she knows so well. I will get in touch with her about that.

I would point out that the Scottish Government has no role in the outcome of an FAI. However, Richard Leonard rightly raises the situation in which recommendations are made but are not accepted by, for example, a public agency or other organisation. In response to his point, I undertake to look into the case to see what action, if any, has been taken by the Scottish Prison Service and to discuss it with him further. At that point, if he remains unsatisfied, we can consider how to take matters forward.

Although the allocation of resources, including those for the police estate, is for the Scottish Police Authority and the chief constable to determine, we have committed to protecting the police resource budget in real terms in every year of the current parliamentary session, as we did in the previous session. Scottish Government funding for the SPA in 2021-22 increased by £75.5 million, which brings the annual policing budget to more than £1.3 billion. In relation to on-going investment in its estate, Police Scotland will continue to ensure that, in all cases, the primary focus of its approach is on the health and safety of all officers, staff and the public.

Fatal accident inquiries are inquisitorial judicial proceedings before sheriffs or sheriffs principal that are held in the public interest to investigate the circumstances of a death, to establish the time, place and cause of a death, and to identify reasonable precautions that might be taken to prevent deaths in similar circumstances. It is not the purpose of an FAI to establish blame or guilt in the civil or criminal sense.

Fatal accident inquiries play a significant role in exposing systematic failings and unsafe working practices and in ensuring that there are systems to safeguard and protect those who are held in legal custody. When the sheriff identifies reasonable precautions that might have avoided the accident or death, defects in any system of work that led or contributed to the accident or death, or any other fact that is relevant to the death, they might make recommendations to prevent similar deaths from happening in the future.

Yes—I think that the current system of FAIs, whereby the duty to make the decision lies with the Lord Advocate, is the right one. I am not aware of anybody else having made sustained proposals for an alternative system. The matter was discussed at length with the previous Justice Committee. It looked at the issues, including the time that some FAIs take, but it did not come forward with an alternative proposal. The current system has major benefits—although they are not all advertised in the chamber—not least that the Lord Advocate’s role in criminal investigations is joined up with the FAI system.

The current process is the right one, but that is not to say that we are complacent. The Government and, I am sure, the Crown Office will always look to make improvements. Improvements have already been made, further improvements are being made and we will continue to improve the system.