Official Report 581KB pdf
Constitution, External Affairs and Culture, and Parliamentary Business
National Theatre of Scotland (20th Anniversary)
To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting the National Theatre of Scotland as it marks its 20th anniversary. (S6O-05611)
This is the final portfolio question time of the parliamentary session, so it is an opportunity to put on record my appreciation of having been able to serve as the cabinet secretary as well as my appreciation of colleagues across the parties who have an interest in the portfolio and the dedicated and talented civil servants whom I have had the honour of working with.
I thank Bob Doris for hosting an excellent parliamentary reception last month to celebrate the National Theatre of Scotland reaching its milestone birthday. The Scottish Government will provide £4.5 million to the NTS in 2026-27. That significant funding demonstrates the Scottish Government’s recognition of the important role that the NTS plays in the culture sector of Scotland as a theatre without walls taking its world-class productions to venues across Scotland.
The parliamentary reception highlighted the NTS’s on-going significant contribution to the cultural life of Scotland and the important work that it does in Scotland’s schools.
Will the cabinet secretary join me in wishing our national theatre every success in its 20th programme of events, which includes a new adaptation of “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” and “Stand and Deliver”, which tells the story of the Lee jeans sit-in in Greenock 45 years ago?
Given the funding concerns that have been highlighted, will the cabinet secretary take this opportunity to offer the Scottish Government’s on-going long-term commitment to the funding of the National Theatre of Scotland in the years ahead?
I join Bob Doris in congratulating the NTS on reaching its milestone anniversary and in wishing it well for its 20th birthday year. We aim to provide additional funding in future years. I understand the importance of multiyear funding, having seen how it is benefiting other areas of the culture sector through Creative Scotland’s multiyear funding programme, and I have asked my officials to undertake work to explore that further.
National Performing Companies
To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting Scotland’s national performing companies. (S6O-05612)
The Scottish Government will provide £24.6 million in funding in the 2026-27 financial year to support our five world-class national performing companies, which demonstrates our support for those organisations. We have provided an uplift of £1 million in funding across our five national performing companies in 2025-26, and they will receive an additional £700,000 of funding in 2024-25. That investment takes their core funding to the highest level of funding since 2011-12.
I was copied in to a letter from Eden Court to the cabinet secretary, which I am aware that he has responded to. I enjoy the benefits of Scottish Ballet, Scottish Opera, the National Theatre of Scotland, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra regularly performing in Inverness. However, they have reported issues with their funding, which I understand has been described as standstill. Rebecca Holt, the chief executive, said that that puts their performing in Inverness at risk. The companies report that they have found it
“increasingly challenging to include Eden Court in their tours due to the greater travel costs and additional overnight stays required by our location. If performances from those companies were to stop coming to Eden Court, that would leave a significant part of Scotland’s population without access to high-quality Scottish-produced work.”
It sounds as though the Highlands are at risk of missing out. Can the cabinet secretary provide more detail of any discrepancy there, and does it sit right with the Government that the Highlands may miss out on such opportunities?
I agree with Emma Roddick that one of the advantages of having national performing companies is that they perform throughout the nation, including in Eden Court. I know that their performances are greatly valued in the Highlands, as they are elsewhere in the country.
I expect the national performing companies to continue to deliver their world-class productions across Scotland, including in the Highlands. I recently met the chief executives and the chairs of all five companies, and I reassure Ms Roddick that the Scottish Government aims to provide further funding to the national performing companies in future years.
We are so fortunate to have the national performing companies, but, as we have just heard, the standstill budget that the Scottish Government has handed down means that they are potentially having to cut back on some of their activities. In 2021, in the programme for government, the Scottish Government—indeed, the cabinet secretary himself—committed to three-year funding for the national performing companies. Five years later, that has still not been delivered. Why has that promise been broken, and what is the cabinet secretary going to do to make sure that it is now delivered?
We are now 70 per cent through the record additional uplift in annual spending in culture, which I hope that Murdo Fraser—having voted against the budget, of course—will welcome. It is also fair to put on the record that multiyear funding has been delivered through Creative Scotland to a record number of organisations. Mr Fraser will know—as do colleagues across the chamber, and as do the national performing companies—that I am in favour of multiyear funding being delivered for the national performing companies. I hope that his party will commit to that. If I have the good fortune to return to this place and, indeed, to this office, I look forward to delivering just that. Perhaps next time, Murdo Fraser might actually vote for it.
Scottish Opera
To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting the long-term sustainability of Scottish Opera. (S6O-05613)
The Scottish Government will provide £8.6 million in funding to Scottish Opera in 2026-27 as part of £24.6 million in funding for the five national performing companies. The Scottish Government aims to provide additional funding in future financial years as part of the commitment to an additional £100 million per year by 2028-29. I recently met with all five national performing companies, and my officials will continue to work closely with them over the coming months to develop plans to support the long-term sustainability of our world-class national performing companies.
I thank the cabinet secretary for that, but, in fact, Scottish Opera has suffered a 66 per cent real-terms cut to its grants since 2007-08, and its general director has warned that
“The current position is unsustainable”
and that it risks losing the talent that underpins Scottish Opera’s international reputation.
How will what is a standstill budget in 2026-27 impact the unsustainable position highlighted in that warning? Does the cabinet secretary accept that the Government’s funding decisions are directly threatening jobs and Scotland’s cultural standing?
I would take Liam Kerr’s calls for more funding for the national performing companies seriously if he had actually voted for the record increase in culture funding, but he voted against that. Scottish Opera will receive £8.6 million in 2026-27, which will ensure that it is the single highest publicly funded performance organisation in Scotland by some distance.
I acknowledge the point that he makes about talent. It is important to retain talent, and I acknowledge that funding is an important part of the picture in ensuring that that happens. I have stated a number of times my desire to introduce multiyear funding for the national performing companies and to look at the last 30 per cent of the increase of £100 million for culture that the Government is delivering with a particular focus on the national performing companies.
I encourage Liam Kerr, should he be returned to this place, instead of voting against those record increases—
Unsustainable!
—for the national performing companies and culture, to actually vote for them in the future.
Let us hear one another.
How does the per-head investment in the opera in Scotland compare with the investment by the United Kingdom Government or Arts Council England?
I do not have that information to hand, but I will be happy to correspond with Bill Kidd on that question. I have already put on record that the significant amount of funding for Scottish Opera means that it is the single highest publicly funded performance organisation in Scotland by some distance. Nevertheless, it is an important part of our five excellent national performing companies, and, as we move towards the delivery of the £100 million increase in culture spending, my focus is very much on the national performance companies, including Scottish Opera.
Culture and the Arts Promotion (Local Authorities)
To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting local authorities to promote culture and the arts. (S6O-05614)
Although it is for local authorities to decide how they allocate their funding, the Scottish Government’s budget for 2026-27 provides, in addition to the block grant, a further £20 million in funding for culture. That provides on-going funding for our flagship culture collective and creative communities community-led arts programmes and supports local authorities to promote culture and the arts. The Scottish Government is working with culture conveners on how local and national organisations can work together to continue to support and promote culture.
Creative Scotland’s chief executive has warned that he is increasingly concerned about the risk to arts funding due to pressures on local authority budgets. Culture is vital to communities across Scotland, yet councils are being forced to cut arts funding. In the Western Isles, for example, the council has removed all secured annual investment in the arts. Therefore, after nearly two decades of SNP power, councils have been so financially squeezed that access to the arts and culture in communities across Scotland is being put at risk. What is the Scottish Government doing to reduce that risk?
I regularly hear, particularly from the member’s side of the chamber, that local decision making is important. I agree that it is right that local councils should make decisions, but I appeal to them to protect and support cultural provision in their local authority areas. The member knows the figures for the increases in council funding. He also knows that I am working closely with the council culture conveners in the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities. That commitment will continue. I acknowledge that it is important that national and local government work together to protect and support the cultural infrastructure across the country.
Last month, City Property (Glasgow), which is an arm’s-length organisation of Glasgow City Council, issued its tenants with an eviction notice for their premises at Trongate 103 unless they agreed to sign a new lease under which their rent would rise to up to four times its current level. Trongate 103 is home to organisations such as GMAC, Sharmanka Kinetic Theatre, Glasgow Print Studio and Street Level Photoworks. We all know that local authorities are under significant financial pressure, but the situation is very concerning for the culture sector in Glasgow, particularly following the closure of the Centre for Contemporary Arts. Does the cabinet secretary agree that that would be another devastating blow for Glasgow’s creative sector? What are he and his officials prepared to do? Can they assist those organisations in trying to find a way forward from the situation?
I acknowledge the concerns that Neil Bibby raises and I recognise that a great number of people, particularly in Glasgow, are concerned about those developments. In the first instance, the issue relates to Glasgow City Council and Creative Scotland. I am being updated on the situation. Discussions are on-going and, as soon as there is anything that I can report to Neil Bibby, I will be happy to do so.
In the light of the launch of the 2026 Edinburgh international festival today, what steps is the Scottish Government taking to work with local authorities to support local artists and maximise the cultural and economic output of the festival for our communities in Edinburgh and across Scotland?
I thank Foysol Choudhury for the opportunity to highlight Edinburgh international festival’s launch announcement. I encourage members across the chamber to share the exciting contents of the programme and the details of what we will be able to see later in the year.
Mr Choudhury will be aware that the Edinburgh international festival is now being funded on a multiyear basis. That is huge progress, but more can be done. I have set up a festivals task force to co-ordinate the work of the Government and other public agencies with our festivals, including the Edinburgh international festival. We acknowledge the important role that the world-class festival fulfils, and I will do everything that I can to support it and other festivals, not least because I am the member of the Scottish Parliament for Edinburgh Central and the Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture.
Mr Choudhury has highlighted an important month in the calendar for Scotland’s cultural life. The Scottish Government will work closely with the Edinburgh international festival to support it to succeed, as it has done over the past 47 years.
Question 5 has not been lodged.
Scotland’s People
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to make records on the Scotland’s People website more readily available elsewhere. (S6O-05616)
I asked Alison Byrne, the chief executive of National Records of Scotland, to respond. The answer is as follows: as well as through the Scotland’s People website, National Records of Scotland provides access to its records at General Register House in Edinburgh, local family history centres across Scotland, and through its extract services. Scotland’s People offers a unique service, with around 1.3 million global users and no restrictions on who can access the records. Searches are free, with charges applying only to viewing or saving records. NRS is exploring options to let commercial partners integrate a digital interface so that customers can search the Scotland’s People database directly.
I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer, which is entirely accurate. However, let me explain the issue. Thousands of people across the world like to research their family connections to Scotland, but that is very difficult due to the restrictive nature of the Scotland’s People website. The vital information that it contains is not shared with other sites and, if people use it, they have to buy credits in order to see or order records that may not even be relevant to them. It is either that, or they have to physically go into records offices in Edinburgh or the Mitchell library in Glasgow, neither of which may be convenient.
Would the cabinet secretary agree to look at opening up Scotland’s records of births, deaths, marriages and divorces not only to Scotland, but to the world?
Clearly, Graham Simpson is a keen genealogy buff, as am I. I have an account on Scotland’s People, as he does. It would be incorrect to leave the impression that Scotland’s People is not available around the world. It is open to everybody. I acknowledge that Scotland’s People is the official site for searching and viewing public records and archives. The records available to search include historical statutory registers, church records, census returns, tax and legal records, poor relief and migration records, prison registers, historical employment records and the Scottish Cabinet records.
I will repeat the last part of the reply from the chief executive of the National Records of Scotland: she said that NRS is exploring options to let commercial partners integrate a digital interface so that customers can search the Scotland’s People database directly. That should answer the concerns that Mr Simpson has raised.
Freedom of Speech (Culture Sector)
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support freedom of speech across the cultural sector. (S6O-05617)
The Scottish Government recognises freedom of speech as an essential part of a healthy culture sector and democracy. At the same time, the exercise of that right must never be used to justify behaviour that is harmful, intimidating or unlawful. The Scottish Government works with publicly funded culture bodies to ensure adherence to public sector frameworks that govern the use of public funding. Those principles, and the legal frameworks within which all organisations must work, also apply to cultural organisations in receipt of public funding and are subject to the regular scrutiny of the awarding public body.
Poet and novelist Polly Clark was shamefully cancelled by literary magazine Gutter for her gender critical beliefs. Gutter is funded by Scottish National Party quango Creative Scotland. This is yet another chilling example of state-funded censorship in Scotland’s cultural sector.
I am glad that the cabinet secretary says that he will take action in relation to any organisation under his wing that is acting unlawfully. Will Creative Scotland defund Gutter for discriminating against Polly Clark for her lawful beliefs—yes or no?
The first point that I will make is that—as I hope that Tess White knows—Creative Scotland operates at arm’s length from Government. It does so for very good reasons, because it is not for a culture secretary to order an arm’s-length organisation when it comes to creative content. In relation to the case that Tess White mentioned, Creative Scotland has clarified that it does not regulate editorial content. Intervention is possible only where funding conditions are breached, and its funding approach is shaped by equalities and access priorities. However, if Tess White would like to write to me about the specific case, I would be content to write back to her.
Public Libraries (Rural Areas)
To ask the Scottish Government what further support it will provide to local authorities to protect access to public libraries in rural areas. (S6O-05618)
The Scottish Government will provide an increase of £100,000 in funding to the Scottish Library and Information Council in 2026-27. This will take funding to £1.035 million. That is on top of our general revenue funding to local authorities and includes £450,000 for the public library improvement fund, which has been awarded annually since 2006, with £200,000 going to support creative, sustainable and innovative public library projects throughout Scotland.
The financial pressures that our local authorities face are well known and are a result of almost 20 years of the choices of this Scottish National Party Government. In its latest budget, the SNP administration in Perth and Kinross Council has indicated that it intends to use the proceeds from the visitor levy to support the long-term sustainability of rural libraries. At every stage of the introduction of the visitor levy, we stated that that is exactly what would happen, and that the intention that proceeds would be used to enhance the local tourism offer would not come to fruition.
Does the cabinet secretary share my concerns that councils are being pushed into alternative funding sources to provide basic council services, such as rural libraries?
I gently say to Roz McCall that, again, I am getting calls from members on the Conservative Party benches to intervene in the democratic decision making of local councils, which is something that they normally oppose.
In answering her question, I draw her attention to the fact that, since 2014, 140 projects have been funded, including 127 individual projects and 13 collaborative projects, reaching a total value of nearly £2.4 million. I am pleased to confirm that the Scottish Library and Information Council is receiving a £100,000 uplift in funding in 2026-27.
I thank the cabinet secretary for engaging with campaigns across Perthshire to protect libraries, and in particular for accepting my invitation to come and visit Scone library at the end of last year. At that event, the Scottish Library and Information Council announced that it would be publishing new guidance on what constitutes the adequate provision of libraries, for which campaigners in Perthshire have been calling for a long time. When can we see that guidance being produced and utilised by councils?
I pay tribute to Mark Ruskell for his tenacious pursuit of this issue and for the invitation to attend Scone library. He will wish to be aware that the Scottish Library and Information Council will publish the recommendations from the public libraries beyond adequate working group tomorrow. The working group considered how local authorities can meet their statutory duty to provide an adequate public library service in a way that is equitable, financially sustainable and aligned with Scotland’s national outcomes.
I cannot comment on the recommendations today, but I encourage Mr Ruskell and other colleagues to read them when they are published, and I hope that everyone will agree that they should be warmly welcomed.
I encourage the cabinet secretary to investigate the work of the charity ELibraries for Schools, which is working to create a national children’s digital library. The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills is familiar with its work, and I encourage the culture secretary to facilitate a discussion between councils, trusts and the charity to see what can be done together to improve the service.
That is a helpful intervention. The key operative intervention is with the Scottish Library and Information Council, which does a lot of the co-ordination work across library provision in Scotland. I have taken a note of Mr Rennie’s point, and I will raise it. I will be happy to report back to Mr Rennie.
Thank you. That concludes portfolio questions on constitution, external affairs and culture, and parliamentary business.
Justice and Home Affairs
Knife Crime (North Ayrshire)
To ask the Scottish Government how many crimes involving a knife there were in North Ayrshire in 2007-08 and 2024-25. (S6O-05619)
While acknowledging that one knife crime is one too many, I note that knife crime has fallen considerably over the past 20 years. In North Ayrshire, the number of recorded crimes of weapons possession that specifically reference the presence of a knife or a bladed or pointed article decreased by 33 per cent from 123 in 2007-08 to 83 in 2024-25. Significantly, emergency hospital admissions in NHS Ayrshire and Arran due to assault by a sharp object decreased by 78 per cent from 81 in 2007-08 to just 18 in 2024-25, although 18 is still too many. That is a welcome contribution to the 70 per cent fall in admissions due to sharp-object assault that has been seen across the whole of Scotland since 2007.
Can the minister say what impact the creation of Police Scotland has had on the efficiency and effectiveness of our dedicated police officers? Can she confirm that homicide numbers reached a record low of 45 last year, down from 116 when this Government came into office, which proves that Scotland is safer with the Scottish National Party?
I agree with the member on that point. Although one homicide would still be too many, homicides in Scotland are at a record low. The number of sharp object-related homicide victims fell by 49 per cent from 55 in 2007-08 to just 28 in 2024-25. Over the past 20 years, the number of homicide victims aged between 13 and 19 decreased by 75 per cent from 44 during the five-year period of 2005 to 2010 to 11 during the five-year period of 2020 to 2025.
At the start of this parliamentary session, North Ayrshire recorded 130 cases of people possessing an article with a blade or point in a public setting. The latest figures show that there were still 128 bladed or pointed-article crimes in 2024. With the figures showing little change over recent years, the SNP has failed to get a grip on the problem.
Given the importance of early intervention, what engagement has the Scottish Government had with schools to ensure that young people are being educated about the dangers of carrying knives and to prevent that behaviour before it starts?
Please respond with regard to the substantive question, minister.
Any level of violence is unacceptable. However, as I said in my answer to the first question, there has been a reduction since 2007.
In relation to work that is happening in schools across Scotland, all local authorities have engaged with the mentors in violence prevention programme, and 234 schools have delivered the programme over the past session. More than 6,000 young mentors have delivered more than 8,000 MVP lessons to younger pupils. In addition, over the past year, 80 Police Scotland youth volunteers have completed peer education training that was focused on the dangers of weapon carrying.
After the death of 16-year-old Kayden Moy, who was stabbed on Irvine beach in May 2025, cuts in funding for the no knives, better lives programme were raised with me. I asked the minister about that, and we entered correspondence about real-terms cuts in recent years. However, it is not clear whether there will be an increase in funding in the coming year. Will the minister advise on whether it has been possible for her to achieve an increase in funding for the programme?
Again, please respond in relation to the substantive question, minister.
I do not have the exact figures with me, but I know that, through the children, young people and families early intervention, 11 youth work organisations in the sector are being supported with more than £860,000. I do not have the figures for the budget with me, but I will write to Katy Clark on that point.
Crime Reduction
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to reduce crime in Scotland. (S6O-05620)
The Scottish Government is reducing crime by prioritising prevention and early intervention, and by addressing root causes such as poverty, inequality and drug or alcohol-related harm. It is implementing measures to tackle organised crime, violence, hate crime, cybercrime and human trafficking. That work is guided by “The Vision for Justice in Scotland”, which sets a transformative framework for creating safer communities.
We recognise the vital roles of police officers and staff, so we are investing over £1.7 billion in policing for 2026-27, which will enable Police Scotland to deliver priorities, strengthen front-line services and progress its three-year business plan.
I welcome the policing funding from the Scottish Government. However, in the light of the United Kingdom Labour Government’s national insurance hike, which is affecting our public sector in general, is the Scottish Government continuing to press the UK Government to cover those extra costs?
We have called on the Chancellor of the Exchequer to fund those costs in full, but she has failed to do so. The UK Government’s failure to fully fund its increase to employer national insurance contributions has left public services in Scotland with a total bill of more than £700 million.
We have provided an additional £15.2 million of baselined funding to Police Scotland to compensate for the UK Government’s tax in that regard. Although I was more than happy to secure that additional funding, we now cannot invest that money elsewhere in our public services due to the increase that was imposed on us by the UK Government.
Budget 2026-27 (Justice Public Services)
To ask the Scottish Government how its budget 2026-27 will invest in front-line justice public services. (S6O-05621)
We will invest £4.6 billion across the justice system in 2026-27 to support this Government’s priority of high-quality and sustainable public services and the delivery of essential front-line justice services. That includes record funding of more than £1.7 billion for policing, more than £1.1 billion for the Scottish Prison Service and community justice services and £436 million for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.
Scotland is a safer place since this Government took office, with recorded crime down 38 per cent since 2006-07. Recorded crime has halved since the peak in 1991. The increased investment across the justice system in 2026-27 will help to keep our communities safe.
Charities play an important role in supporting people who engage in the justice system. How will the 2026-27 budget support their work?
I whole-heartedly echo that point about the important role that the third sector plays in society. It provides support and information to those who are affected by crime, it supports the rehabilitation of those who are involved in the justice system to reduce reoffending, and it diverts young people from crime through our cashback for communities programme.
The Scottish Government’s budget underpins our commitment to the victims and survivors of crime. We will continue to support 23 organisations as part of our £18 million victim-centred approach fund, which includes more than £6 million for specialist advocacy support for survivors of gender-based abuse. In addition, the delivering equally safe fund is being increased by 5 per cent in the next financial year, so there will be a total investment of almost £46 million over 2026 to 2028 to ensure that recipients can continue their vital work to prevent violence and support survivors.
The cabinet secretary trumpets the funding and says that it will deliver community outcomes, but there are about 1,000 fewer police officers in Scotland than there were five years ago. How will the funding that the cabinet secretary has announced directly increase officer numbers by 1,000—or is she happy to leave the figure as it is?
I am quite sure that Mr Kerr is aware of the manifesto commitment that this Government stood on and was elected on in 2021 and, indeed, the one before that, in 2016. It is, of course, a matter for the chief constable of Police Scotland to come to a view on the number of officers. I am pleased that, as a result of the £1.7 billion that the Government is providing for policing, the chief constable’s establishment figure for police officers will remain at 16,500.
Cashback for Communities
To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting the cashback for communities programme as it enters phase 7. (S6O-05622)
The cashback for communities programme delivers early intervention work with young people to reduce the risk of their engagement with police and the justice system.
The forthcoming phase will operate from April 2026 to March 2029. I am pleased to say that 51 projects will be funded and that there will be project delivery in all 32 local authorities. The programme will be supported by a record allocation of up to £26 million, which will continue to enable initiatives that provide safe spaces, trusted adults and positive diversionary and support activities for young people aged 10 to 25, addressing underlying factors that are linked to antisocial behaviour and criminality.
Does the minister agree that work in early prevention and a focus on improving young people’s wellbeing is critical to reducing both the risk of offending and reoffending, which, in turn, benefits our communities?
Early intervention with young people, supported by a strong focus on understanding and improving their wellbeing, is a core element of the cashback for communities programme. Through universal provision, partners support young people on their individual journeys by offering the safe spaces and the trusted adults and guidance that build confidence and skills while addressing conditions that may lead to harm before they arise. All 51 phase 7 partners will work collaboratively with children, young people and their families to ensure that young people feel safe, nurtured, active, respected and included.
Prisoner Voting Arrangements
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs has had with the Scottish Prison Service regarding arrangements for prisoners eligible to vote in the forthcoming Scottish Parliament election. (S6O-05623)
The Scottish Government and the Scottish Prison Service are working with the Electoral Commission and electoral registration officers on communications with prisoners ahead of the Scottish Parliament election on 7 May. The deadline to register to vote in the election on 7 May is 20 April, and that deadline will be highlighted in our prisons. Only prisoners who are serving sentences of 12 months or less are entitled to register to vote. As of 6 March, there were 609 prisoners in Scotland serving sentences of 12 months or less.
The Scottish National Party Government continues to give prisoners the vote of confidence by allowing offenders who are serving sentences of 12 months or less the right to vote in the upcoming election. Those 609 prisoners include people who have committed sexual and violent crimes. How will enfranchising those prisoners reduce crime and support victims?
I am not sure whether the member was in Parliament in 2019 when the Scottish Elections (Franchise and Representation) Bill was passed. So far, that is the only piece of Scottish Parliament legislation to require and obtain a supermajority—there were 92 votes in favour and 27 against. The member might be interested to know that, in November 2019, the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee, in its stage 1 report on the bill, unanimously agreed that
“the blanket ban on prisoner voting is unsustainable as it is at odds with European Convention on Human Rights.”
Further to that, in the 2021 elections, 38 prisoners were registered to vote and, in the 2022 local government elections, 49 eligible prisoners were registered.
Does the cabinet secretary agree that allowing prisoners with sentences of less than 12 months to vote allows them to retain a connection to the communities that they will return to?
Yes, I do.
Police (Mental Health-related Calls)
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to recent reports that police officers are attending up to 700 mental health-related calls per day. (S6O-05624)
I appreciate the member’s question on that matter, and I recognise the pressures that have been highlighted. We are working with a range of partners, including Police Scotland, health boards, local authorities and third sector organisations, to deliver improvements, and that shared approach is helping to make a difference.
Since 2019, the Scottish Government has invested more than £18 million in the enhanced mental health pathway, which directs suitable emergency calls to the 24/7 NHS 24 mental health hub, and that has redeployed 76,000 police hours. That sits alongside initiatives such as distress brief intervention, which reduces unnecessary call-outs and ensures that people who are in distress receive timely and compassionate support.
I recognise the on-going work that the cabinet secretary refers to. Mental health-related calls now represent one in five of all incidents that police officers attend, and only 15 per cent of those involve criminality. That is now the biggest single reason why police officers’ time is unnecessarily taken up. At a recent meeting of the Criminal Justice Committee, Scottish Government adviser Dr Robby Steel said that there is “a gap in provision” for many people who are having a mental health crisis. He went on to say:
“The reason that I point out the gap is that there is a limit to the extent to which the police and the NHS, working together, can solve this problem. It is a broader societal problem.”—[Official Report, Criminal Justice Committee, 18 February 2026; c 22.]
In effect, Police Scotland finds itself responsible for dealing with people in that gap. This morning, the chief inspector of constabulary said that, when he talked to people who had been in receipt of the service, they found it quite scary when the police turned up, and that that actually made the situation worse for them. Given that the gap needs to be addressed, what more can the cabinet secretary say to assure me that we are shaping services in a different direction to ensure that police officers are not picking up that wider societal problem?
I very much recognise the frustration. In many circumstances, the situations that Ms McNeill has narrated are unacceptable, from a policing point of view and from the point of view of caring for people. There are examples of good work being done, particularly through community triage models. For example, the data demonstrates that the model in Lanarkshire has had a very good result, which is similarly true for Ayrshire and Arran, and that points to the need to scale up such models at pace.
Regarding mental health provision, Ms McNeill might be interested to know that £3.5 million has been invested to expand the 24/7 response to mental health emergencies, a new crisis framework for children and young people is in place, and NHS 24 mental health support has expanded to include psychological therapies. Those policies have been helpful. There is also cross-collaborative work between the Scottish Ambulance Service, the national health service and Police Scotland to deal with high-intensity users.
The cabinet secretary has touched on some of these points, but can she outline what further work is being done through improvements such as the distress brief intervention programme and the increased investment in mental health to get people the right care when they need it and reduce the need for police to attend mental health-related calls?
The investment in the distress brief intervention programme, which has now been rolled out across Scotland, has enabled it to achieve more than 100,000 referrals. The programme also supports the expansion of the NHS 24 mental health hub that I referred to earlier. That helps to support call-handling capacity and to establish the national model of digital and psychological treatments. We continue to fund the Scottish Ambulance Service’s mental health paramedic response units, and an evaluation of that support is expected in the coming months. Our investment in those units and in other improvements will continue to ensure that people who experience distress receive the right support at the right time and in the right place, while ensuring that officers are deployed only when necessary.
Violence Against Women and Girls
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to protect women and girls from violence, in light of international women’s day last weekend. (S6O-05625)
Violence against women and girls is abhorrent and still far too common. That is why we remain focused on delivering Scotland’s equally safe strategy to prevent such violence, which includes seeking to change the attitudes and behaviours that underpin it. The delivering equally safe fund supports 107 organisations, which deliver 115 projects. Between October 2021 and March 2024, those projects supported more than 67,000 adults, children and young people. Next year, the fund will increase by 5 per cent, so over the period from 2026 to 2028 we will make a total investment of more than £46 million to ensure that recipients can continue their vital work to prevent violence and support survivors.
I extend my gratitude to the minister for meeting my constituent today, to hear from her as a survivor. Does the minister agree that policy on such matters must be informed by people’s lived experience? Will she highlight how that approach will continue to shape the decisions that are required to ensure that survivors get the support and services that they need?
I recognise the courage and fortitude that survivors of sexual and domestic abuse show when they share their personal experiences, whether they do so with ministers, in court or with other people in their lives. I absolutely endorse the sentiment that we need to listen to them in order to learn from their lived experience. That has been very much central to the work that we have done, such as the landmark Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Act 2025, to which the cabinet secretary referred and which will transform our justice system and ensure that victims and witnesses are treated with compassion and are supported throughout the legal process. The importance of learning from lived experience is also one reason for our establishing the victims task force, which is supported by the victim/survivor advisory board to ensure that the task force’s work to improve the experiences of victims and witnesses is underpinned by lived experience.
The United Kingdom Supreme Court ruled that single-sex spaces based on biological sex are lawful and that spaces are single sex only if the opposite sex is excluded. However, Scottish Prison Service policy still allows some biological males who identify as women to be held in the female estate. Most women in prison are victims of male violence, and they deserve safety, dignity and privacy. What level of risk to those women does the minister consider to be acceptable?
The Scottish Government accepts the Supreme Court’s judgment. We are ensuring—as any responsible Government must—that our policies comply with all our legal obligations, including those set out in the Scotland Act 1998 and the European convention on human rights. The prison guidance has not been changed and, based on the work that the Scottish Government has conducted, it will not need to be changed in the light of the Supreme Court’s judgment. There is a live court case at the moment, so I will not comment on the issue any further.
To coincide with international women’s day, Shetland Women’s Aid published the results of its voices of women in Shetland survey. Fifty-seven per cent of respondents reported being affected by gender-based violence and, of those affected, nearly 60 per cent did not receive any support and more than three quarters chose not to report incidents to the police. It is concerning to learn that many women who experience harm are unable to access support or to report what has happened.
What is the Scottish Government doing to support public services, including education providers, to challenge the culture of misogyny that makes it harder for gender-based violence to be reported and for survivors to be supported?
I have not seen that report, so I would appreciate it if Beatrice Wishart would send it to the justice team so that we can look at it. As I have said, violence against women is completely unacceptable, which is why we are delivering the equally safe strategy and investing record amounts of money in services that support women who experience domestic abuse. I will be happy to engage further with Beatrice Wishart on the issue.
Modified E-bikes and Off-road Vehicles (Antisocial Behaviour)
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on action it is taking to address the use of modified e-bikes and off-road vehicles in incidents of antisocial behaviour. (S6O-05626)
To tackle such behaviour, we continue to invest significantly in policing, with £1.64 billion of funding provided this year and £1.7 billion provided for the next financial year. Although operational policing decisions are rightly a matter for Police Scotland, I welcome the positive examples of its activity in this area, including the increase in the number of seizures of such bikes and vehicles.
We have also funded a Crimestoppers summer campaign on off-road vehicle misuse, begun to review antisocial behaviour legislation and expanded our cashback for communities programme to divert young people from antisocial behaviour.
The Scottish Government wants to work collectively to address concerns. We recognise that this is a common issue across the whole of Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom, with some legislation in this area being reserved, so we have proposed further interministerial discussions to consider how we can tackle our shared concern.
I thank the minister for that update. I continue to hear from constituents in areas of Dundee such as Ardler, Kirkton, Blackness and Dryburgh that modified bikes are being used with seemingly no consequences—that is how my constituents feel—despite their posing a clear risk to public safety and, to be frank, causing mayhem. Given the increasing risks that illegally modified e-bikes and off-road vehicles pose to the public, does the minister believe that the current powers available to Police Scotland are sufficient for it to deal with them?
I am not sure whether Michael Marra is aware that, given that the relevant responsibilities cut across our portfolios, Mr Fairlie and I have been engaging with MSPs on the matter for about the past 18 months. We had a meeting just last week, and we are also engaging with the UK Government. The issue is complex. For example, the challenges presented in Edinburgh city centre are quite different from those presented in rural areas.
I believe that Police Scotland has the necessary tools at the moment, but more can be done. As we said at our meeting last week, Mr Fairlie and I are keen for that work to be progressed in the next parliamentary session. We heard members’ suggestions about what should be done, and we will leave those on the desk of the minister in the next parliamentary session so that they can proceed with that work.
I was at the meeting that the minister referred to, when we discussed what more could be done to tackle the issues that Michael Marra raised. Representatives of Police Scotland were also in attendance. Can the minister provide reassurance that there will be a cross-party approach to tackling the issue in the next parliamentary session, regardless of whether the power to achieve a solution sits with the Government in Scotland or the Government at Westminster, and that local MSPs will continue to be able to have constructive dialogue on the matter with the Scottish Government?
I cannot speak for the next Scottish Government, but I assure the member that, if the Scottish National Party is back in Government in the next session, we will engage on the issue on a cross-party basis. As I said to Michael Marra, legislation on this matter is quite complex, because it falls between reserved and devolved areas. However, we can do some work on it, and I hope that that work will progress in the next parliamentary session.
That concludes portfolio question time. There will be a brief pause before we move to the next item of business.
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