Chamber and committees

I will appreciate any response that I get from the First Minister in a letter or in any other way, but a promise was made to a family who have gone through the worst of circumstances, which none of us can imagine, and, with less than a week to go, it sounds as though that promise is not going to be kept.

That is not the only promise to the Stewart family and others like them that has been broken. Just a few weeks ago, Lisa Stewart said this about her sister’s murderer:

“We get no warning that he is out in our local area. What happens if we come across him; is any thought given to the victims?”

Again, that is not an isolated example. Victims are routinely left in the dark about where the criminal who ruined their lives ends up and when they will be let out. Right now, around 4,500 criminals who are serving sentences of up to 18 months for crimes including sexual assault and domestic violence have a release date that their victim could be told about. That means that there are 4,500 victims of crime who could be informed of when the offender in their case will be released from prison. How many of those victims have, in fact, been notified?

Today, we stood together in a minute’s silence to mark international violence against women day. Tragically, in Scotland, more and more women each year become victims of crime. Last year saw the largest year-on-year rise in the number of domestic abuse charges, and the number of sexual crimes has more than doubled since 2007. We know that women suffer those horrific crimes far more than men do. It is the first task of this and any Government to keep the public safe. Does the First Minister have confidence in her Government’s ability to keep women across Scotland safe?

The First Minister said that victims have to have proper notice. The answer to my question, which was about how many of the 4,500 victims of the offences that I mentioned have been notified, is 37. At the moment, 37 of those victims are aware of where the offender in their case is and when they will be released. Less than 1 per cent of those victims know when the criminal who ruined their life will get out.

How can women who suffer the most horrific crimes and their families feel safe when they are kept in the dark about the release of dangerous offenders? They have no idea of whether, when they are walking down the street in their own community, they might come face to face with their attacker.

The justice system is stacked against victims. We have to change that to prevent another case such as what happened to Caroline Glachan, what happened to Esther Brown and what happened to Michelle Stewart. When will the First Minister’s Government finally take the action that is desperately needed to keep women safe from such crimes?

More dangerous offenders such as Jason Graham are being released all the time. The most recent annual figures show that more than 95 per cent of the criminals who are sent to prison in Scotland will be eligible for automatic early release—more than 95 per cent. Far too often in the Scottish National Party’s soft-touch justice system, criminals are put first, not victims. It is too late for Esther Brown, but that must change.

Our victims law would restore confidence that is sadly lacking. This Government has a choice to make: having emptier prisons from letting out early even more criminals, or protecting the public and putting victims first. I choose public safety and supporting victims. Which side is the First Minister on?

The First Minister started her answer by saying that there are processes and procedures in place. Those processes and procedures did not save Esther Brown from being raped and murdered, so I am sorry, but that does not cut it when we are dealing with lives being lost, and it is not an individual case.

The SNP Government consultation does not stop there, however. It also proposes automatically releasing short-term prisoners after just a third of their sentence. The First Minister previously told the Parliament:

“Our objective remains to end the policy of automatic early release completely as soon as we are able to.”—[Official Report, 2 April 2015; c 19.]

That was six years ago, yet now, far from keeping dangerous criminals off our streets, this Government is proposing to let them out even earlier. Is it not the case that this Government’s course of action has let some of the worst offenders back on to our streets, where they are free to commit further offences?

Sixty-seven-year-old Esther Brown was raped and murdered by Jason Graham. This is a man who was a registered sex offender and had 23 previous convictions. In 2013, he was given a seven and a half-year sentence for the rape of a retired nurse, but he got released early on licence. After Graham was sentenced yesterday for this brutal attack and murder, one of Esther’s friends said:

“She was the type of person that would go and help anybody.”

Can the First Minister honestly say that her Government’s approach to justice is keeping the people of Scotland safe?

This case is yet another damning example of the glaring flaws in Scotland’s justice system. Jason Graham was released early. He was not monitored properly. Yesterday, he got 19 years in prison—yes, that is a long sentence, but it is not nearly enough for such a horrific crime.

This week, the Scottish Government launched a consultation, proposing that violent criminals could get out of prison after serving just six or seven years of their sentence. The Government’s document suggests that long-term prisoners could be considered for release after serving just a third of their sentence. Does the First Minister not see that the proposals would take our justice system even further in the wrong direction and would risk public safety?

The Glasgow pact is a momentous achievement that will keep the 1.5°C goal within our grasp. What was agreed in Glasgow can protect the future of our children and the generations to come. COP26 can be remembered as the first step towards the end of coal use and deforestation, and for its historic deal to cut methane emissions.

COP26 was the biggest conference ever hosted in the United Kingdom. As the First Minister said, the people of Glasgow deserve our thanks for coping with the disruption. I acknowledge the efforts of Police Scotland and police officers from around the UK, who deserve our thanks and appreciation for keeping disruption to a minimum. Alok Sharma and the UK Government deserve huge credit for delivering such a momentous conference in Scotland and for working tirelessly to get a deal over the line.

The First Minister said that we

“can lead and speak with credibility only if we deliver on our own net zero targets.”

That is the same First Minister who claimed that almost 100 per cent of all the electricity that we use is from renewables when, in fact, just over half of the electricity consumption in Scotland last year was from renewables. Her Government’s renewable heat target was missed and progress has stalled. The Scottish National Party Government has missed its own legal emissions targets for the past three years. Setting ambitious targets is great, but the planet needs action.

Will the First Minister explain how her Government will deliver a lasting legacy for COP26 by finally meeting its own targets?

It is vital that everyone who can have the Covid jag goes out and gets it as soon as possible. The vaccine, including the booster jag, is our best weapon against the virus. That is why we have called for the reopening of mass vaccination centres, alongside the current local delivery programme, to ensure that we maximise opportunities for people to get their vaccine boosters. Will the First Minister agree to reopen mass vaccination centres, so that we can speed up the booster jag roll-out and protect people more quickly?

Today, the public were expecting a statement that delivered clear decisions. We all were. That was the message that the Deputy First Minister was sent out to give the Parliament last week. Instead, we are being told once more to wait until next week. The Government has delayed again, thereby creating wholly avoidable uncertainty.

Businesses are, once again, being left in the dark and are being treated as an afterthought. They might have less than two weeks to adapt to changes to the vaccination passport scheme at one of the busiest times of the year for the hospitality industry. That has a big impact on staff, too. The Government is showing a total lack of respect for Scottish businesses, which the Scottish National Party expects to shoulder the costs of its vaccination passport scheme.

Last Tuesday, the Deputy First Minister said that the Government would

“discuss options with business sectors in the course of this week.”—[Official Report, 9 November 2021; c 11.]

Can the First Minister give a clear answer and tell us the outcome of those discussions over the past week? The Government must know who might be impacted, so let me ask the First Minister the same question as I asked the Deputy First Minister last week. To which businesses, exactly, is the Government still considering expanding the vaccination passport scheme? She mentioned in her statement “some other ... hospitality” venues. Which hospitality venues will have to prepare for that added burden?

The First Minister has just said:

“We want—if possible—businesses to stay fully open over Christmas”.

We know that the Government wants to keep its options open, but will the First Minister be clear for Scottish businesses and the jobs that depend on them? Does that statement mean that the SNP Government is considering closing businesses and premises over the winter months?

The problem is, Deputy First Minister, that other families are having that experience. This is not the first time that I have raised in the chamber a distressing case like Richard Brown’s. We have raised several cases where lives have been unnecessarily lost.

This week, Dr John Thomson of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine told a Scottish Parliament committee that excessive waiting times are resulting in avoidable deaths. He laid out the grim facts. For every 67 people who wait at accident and emergency for more than eight hours, somebody dies. If we look at just the past two months, according to Dr Thomson’s estimate, there will have been more than 200 avoidable deaths. Lives are being lost that could have been saved.

Will the Deputy First Minister therefore accept that the Scottish Government simply is not doing enough to support our emergency health services in their time of greatest need?