I echo many of your comments about the legacy paper. The committee is vital in ensuring that we are seen by those in the Parliament and by the general public in Scotland to be performing our roles and responsibilities. I had the opportunity to be a member of the previous committee, and I very much concur with the approach that is suggested in the legacy paper. It mentions specific areas that might require to be revisited for further development.

For example, it is vital that we get the scrutiny and governance right for members’ work outside Parliament. Tackling sexual harassment has been very high on the agenda both inside and outside the Parliament, and that will have to be looked at. Lobbying will also have to be looked at. We need to take a firm stance on those three areas. As we progress as a committee, we will need to make developments in those areas to ensure that we have the confidence of the Parliament, communities and Scotland as a whole. I look forward to going through the legacy paper with members, finalising our priorities for the committee’s first year and then progressing those.

I welcome everyone to the first meeting in session 6 of the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee.

As the oldest member of the committee present, I have the pleasure of convening the meeting for the first two items of business. I welcome all members to the committee and I look forward to working with them during this tenure. I remind all members present to switch their mobile phones to silent.

We have received apologies from Edward Mountain.

Under agenda item 1, I invite members to declare their interests. I will go first: I have no relevant interests to declare.

Congratulations, Martin.

Item 2 is to choose a convener. The Parliament has agreed that only members of the Scottish Labour Party are eligible for nomination as convener of this committee, and it is my understanding that Martin Whitfield is the party’s nominee.

Martin Whitfield was chosen as convener.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists has received figures that show that the number of referrals of children and young people with eating disorders soared to crisis levels during lockdown. Constituents in my region have been in touch to say that virtual appointments, loss of support structures, staff shortages and less activity in community services have fuelled the crisis. What action can the Scottish Government put in place to improve services and ensure that face-to-face consultations return as soon as is practically possible?

I am delighted that work is under way, through the survivors forum, on having support services in place for survivors when the scheme opens. That includes support during the application process and access to elements of non-financial redress, such as therapeutic support. Will the Deputy First Minister give a timescale for when such services will commence? Will emotional and psychological support be provided to those who require it?

Data from Show Racism the Red Card’s consultation shows that 48 per cent of teachers are aware of a pupil or pupils expressing negative attitudes relating to skin colour, 38 per cent relating to religion and 37 per cent relating to nationality. Although 61 per cent of teachers expressed a lack of confidence about educating pupils on anti-racism, only 24 per cent have received training on the subject.

Those are serious and worrying statistics. Given that 85 per cent of respondents said that tailored anti-racism workshops would be beneficial for all concerned, what urgent action can the Government take to ensure that that happens?

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to a recent survey, which records that more than 2,000 incidents of racism have been reported in schools over the last three years. (S6T-00075)

Show Racism the Red Card’s chair wrote to the Scottish Government to call for anti-racism to be included in the national curriculum following announcements about a similar move in Wales earlier this year. Given that 93 per cent of respondents to Show Racism the Red Card’s consultation said that

“anti-racism must be included within the curriculum”,

will the cabinet secretary confirm that the Scottish Government will seriously consider that request in order to further protect children from harm?

The cabinet secretary indicates that there is disproportionate investment in Scotland compared to England. I am sorry, but Scotland has had a loss of 739 police officers, which is not the case south of the border, where the Government is investing and ensuring that police numbers increase.

In the past, we have talked about ensuring that the police is properly resourced. The SNP has not fulfilled Police Scotland’s request for nearly £86 million-worth of capital funding, but has given it only £50 million. We have seen shocking stories in recent years about the state of our local police stations, which is totally unacceptable. We must ensure that our officers and their support staff are working in good conditions in stations that are not falling apart and in which roofs are not caving in and water does not come down the walls.

We must also talk about the loss of more than 100 police stations across Scotland, which makes the majority of people feel that there is an increasing remoteness between the police and the public. It is clear that the Scottish Government will not review fundamentally the way in which Police Scotland operates. We saw that over the previous session, and I imagine that that will be the case over this session. However, there need to be opportunities for us to discuss matters and move them forward.

We in the Scottish Conservatives would like to see the reinstatement of local police scrutiny boards across Scotland, which would allow for greater input into policing decisions and how they affect the public. I would also like the cabinet secretary to consider carefully any other measures that might address such problems.

There are also worrying signs that the SNP is failing to tackle crime through the justice system. Due to the SNP’s presumption against short-term prison sentences, just over half of violent criminals are going to prison. Meanwhile, we have seen violent crime increase from 8,008 cases in 2018-19 to 9,316 cases in 2019-20.

We have to ask whether the Government is really on the side of the victims. In that vein, I add my support to the comments that Jamie Greene made in his opening speech about ensuring that we enhance the rights of victims. Too often in such debates in the chamber, victims’ interests are treated as an afterthought. That is wrong, and we have to change that mindset.

We need to understand the effects of crime. That is why the SNP’s decision to reduce the budget for victim and witness support by £500,000 is truly staggering. I encourage the new cabinet secretary to look again at the cut and its effect on victims. It is important that victims are considered, and it is vital that they are given the opportunity to provide victim statements during court proceedings and at parole hearings.

We in the Scottish Conservatives are committed to ensuring that Scotland’s communities are safe. Before the pandemic, violent crime was already on the rise, there was a growing sense in Scotland that the criminal justice system did not protect victims, and policing felt even more distant and remote from communities. The pandemic has exacerbated the situation, and the issue needs to be managed.

I look forward to working with the Government where we can find common ground but also to holding it to account where its performance is below what Scots expect of their Government and their police force.