This search includes all content on the Scottish Parliament website, except for Votes and Motions. All Official Reports (what has been said in Parliament) and Questions and Answers are available from 1999. You can refine your search by adding and removing filters.
Given the way in which resources are allocated at present, we must be clear about what interventions give the best outcomes. There is increasing evidence that resources should be shifted into areas where there is a good evidence base.
Those are not small problems—they are some of the biggest in Scotland—but they need to be tackled from the root. In many cases, they cannot be best tackled in our prisons.I was shocked by some of the statistics.
It comes down to the pressure to cut budgets.There are implications for society if our best papers cannot operate on the scale that they should be operating on.
We are talking about people who have broken the law. The question is, how can we best deal with their offences and offending behaviour and rehabilitate them?
There was much debate about that when the previous Administration set up the parks: I think that the model is certainly the best way of developing strong links with local communities.
The expectation is that, when it reports to Shona Robison in spring 2010, the points that you raise should be answered in its report. How do we serve the best interests of communities and provide the services that they need?