Chamber and committees

We work very closely with the UK Government in that general area. We have done so in relation to its Online Safety Bill, a number of provisions of which relate to exactly the kind of crimes that Russell Findlay is talking about. It is best that we work together with the UK Government, as we do, on issues that have no borders—there are no borders online. If we did not do so, that would not be an effective mechanism to stop such crimes, so we work in conjunction with the UK Government and other partners.

The Scottish Police Authority, through the serious organised crime group, looks at a number of ways in which children can be victims through online activity. That includes human trafficking as well as sexual abuse.

A great deal of work is on-going. I am happy to provide Russell Findlay with further information on other initiatives in writing.

I do not know whether this is uncomfortable to hear, but please do me the courtesy of listening to the answer to the question that you asked, if that is possible—[Interruption.]

We recognise that people in prison often present with higher levels of risk and vulnerability than the general population as a whole. We are committed to ensuring that they can access healthcare that is, as a minimum, equal to that offered in the community. We are working with the Scottish Prison Service and national health service boards to improve health outcomes for people living in our prisons, including preventing deaths by suicide. The work is informed by the Scottish Government’s prison healthcare needs assessments, the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland’s report on prisoner mental health support and the “Independent Review of the Response to Deaths in Prison Custody”.

Across that work, we will embed the principles of “Time, Space, Compassion”, to ensure that people are able to access high-quality, compassionate, appropriate and timely support that supports wellbeing and recovery.

As noted in the response to a previous parliamentary question, S6W-13874, the heavy impact of the pandemic and subsequent court closures on reconvictions data means that user needs for information must be balanced against

“the provision of meaningful and informative statistics that carry minimal risk of misinterpretation.”

The investigation into what information we could helpfully provide to users in respect of reconvictions statistics is still on-going. We plan to communicate the outcome of that investigation by the end of March.

My thoughts are, first and foremost, with anyone who has lost a loved one to suicide in prison custody. Every death by suicide is a tragedy. We are committed to working with partners to implement the recommendations of the independent review of deaths in custody. Although the progress report in December recognised that some of the issues are complex and will take some time to resolve and implement, as the member suggests, greater pace is needed.

Following the publication of the progress report, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care and I jointly wrote to chief executive of the Scottish Prison Service and to all NHS Scotland chief executives and integration authority chief officers to request that greater priority be given to timely implementation of the recommendations.

Gillian Imery, the former chief inspector of constabulary for Scotland, will continue in her role as the external chair of the review into late 2023, providing support and leadership to implement the recommendations. A further update on progress will be published later this year.

In partnership with its stakeholders, the Government commissioned a comprehensive needs assessment of the prison population in relation to social care, substance use, mental health and physical health. We are working with senior leaders from across the Scottish Government, the Prison Service and national health service boards to provide additional oversight and to drive forward priority improvements.

We are fully engaged with the SPS in the development of the Scottish Government’s new mental health and wellbeing strategy. The Scottish Government also sits on the SPS mental health and wellbeing steering group. That close working is informing our collective approach to improving wellbeing and suicide prevention in all our prisons.

That is absolutely the case, as the member said. As he will appreciate, if we were to publish the data that we have, it would show a very substantial drop in the year after 2019-20, which saw the first of the lockdowns, for example. The data would probably show quite a dramatic reduction, but it would not be an accurate picture. There is more to it than that.

Furthermore, in order to give meaningful information, we have to do the investigation that I referred to, and we also have to make sure that the statistics provided meet a certain standard. They are gold standard. They are now accredited, vindicated and validated, and we want to make sure that that remains the case. There is no reason for not providing that information other than making sure that it is as accurate as possible, which is what we intend to do.

That is a really important question. As convener of the Criminal Justice Committee, Audrey Nicoll will know that the bill will help to reduce reoffending and future victimisation by ensuring that public safety and victim protection are at the heart of bail decision making and by improving support for people leaving prison custody.

The bill recognises the negative impact that short periods of imprisonment can have, particularly on those who have not been convicted of a crime, and the evidence that community-based interventions can be more effective at supporting rehabilitation. The bill supports the principle that those who do not pose a risk to public safety or, in certain circumstances, a risk to the delivery of justice should be admitted to bail.

The provision of effective support for people who leave prison reduces their risk of reoffending, which is something that we all want to see. That is why the bill includes reforms to improve pre-release planning and the support that is provided to individuals on release. The bill should be seen alongside our on-going investment in community-based alternatives to custody, as well as our continuing investment in third sector voluntary throughcare services across Scotland.

I was trying to answer, but you would not allow me to answer. That was the point that I was trying to make. Can I try to answer now?

At the time, I said to the Parliament that I had faith in the basis on which the Scottish Prison Service deals with prisoners who are transgender. It has an extremely strong track record on that. It has managed to protect women, other prisoners and staff. I expressed that support for the Prison Service at the time, and I am happy to express it again now.