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Cabinet secretary, have you made an assessment of the percentage of the prison population that actually needs to be there, and of whether we are adequately funding alternatives to custody? You mentioned that a new strategy will be announced next year. Is it practical to shift resources from prisons into alternatives? What percentage of the prison population should perhaps have been dealt with in another way?

I reiterate and endorse what the convener said about the 10-year-old child who was killed in Wales this week. The issue continues to be a massive one in Scotland, particularly for postal workers, so I suggest that the committee encourages the Government to introduce legislation at the earliest opportunity. I know that the Government is already involved in discussions, but I ask that, in particular, it involves the Communication Workers Union—and within that the voice of postal workers—in the process.

In relation to contracts that Police Scotland enters into, another area of controversy has been the contract with Sri Lanka, which I think is due for renewal next March. Is it necessary for Police Scotland to raise external funds in that way? What is the process in relation to that? What is your involvement in that decision-making process?

I would like to follow up on that, because there are serious human rights implications. There are many countries in the world that Police Scotland could enter into contracts with that, unfortunately, have appalling human rights records. It is clear that there are issues of public policy at stake. The Scottish Government has to have a position on the matter, especially given its responsibility for Police Scotland.

Do you accept that Police Scotland should not enter into contracts with Governments that have a record of serious human rights abuses?

Drugs are obviously a massive problem in the prison system. Will you outline what you are doing to tackle that problem in the current situation? A number of measures that were brought in around mail during Covid have been referred to. Did that have a positive impact on the drug situation or are you currently undertaking any other initiatives that are helping to address that massive challenge?

I want to ask about drugs policy and the budgetary implications.

Lord Advocate, you recently made a statement to the chamber on class A drugs, and last week the committee heard representations from a range of campaigners on issues such as drug consumption rooms. Do you agree with the repeated representations to us that there are no legal problems with drug consumption rooms in the current legislative framework? Perhaps you could outline the policy in relation to that. Are there any budgetary implications as a result of some of the shifts in drug policy that we are seeing? I will then go on to the wider issues in relation to organised crime.

That is helpful.

I turn to budgetary issues. We know that organised crime is heavily involved in both the supply of drugs and prostitution. In relation to Crown Office priorities, will you outline how we can better focus resource on tackling organised crime, specifically in those spheres, but also more generally?

I want to pick up on a couple of the points that have been made. Peter Krykant spoke about the production and supply of drugs. As he knows, at the moment, the issue of drugs is completely tied up with organised crime, and a lot of the money ends up in places such as Afghanistan. Does Mr Krykant believe that it would be possible to bring the whole production and supply process into a legal framework that would not involve organised crime and despotic regimes? That seems to be the model that he is advocating, but is it completely possible? I can see how it might be possible in relation to drugs such as cannabis, but is it feasible for drugs such as heroin?

We are not really talking about something that is equivalent to fair-trade coffee, then. You said that you were worried about the small farmers. However, they are not the ones who make big money out of the drugs industry; it is the drugs cartels, which are dripping in money and blood. The challenges are massive.

You make that point powerfully. Those are important issues. Thinking through the detail is part of the discussion that we need to have about what alternatives there might be to the current legislative regime.

I have a question for the drug deaths task force. We have discussed prisons and the massive challenge that we face. The biggest changes over the past five decades have probably been in the level of drugs misuse in society that is connected to crime and the level of drugs within prisons, which impacts on how the Scottish Prison Service is able to manage prisons. Have the recommendations that were made in April 2020 about adequate provision for prisoners after liberation been implemented? That question is for Neil Richardson.