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Absolutely. I have spoken to many organisations. Currently, a lot of work is being done, but, as I said, some places have programmes in place and some places do not. We absolutely need to consider that. A number of programmes are already delivered in schools, not only on domestic abuse but on other issues in relation to which schools have to consider the situation that you mentioned.

If I focus on the bureaucratic side, and not on who Scottish Women’s Aid was representing at the time, yes, I do. However, I want to make it clear to the committee that one person came here and was saying one thing but the responses to the call for views are saying something else. The evidence is clearly in front of you. Is that person speaking on behalf of others?

Let us put that to one side and talk about the bureaucratic aspect. I make it clear to the member that I have at no time said that the bill will be cheap. Of course it is an expensive bill—I have not shied away from that—but it will make a difference.

To be honest, my bill’s focus is on domestic abuse, but I am not saying that amendments cannot be made, and I am not saying that somebody else cannot introduce legislation or something like that. I do not know.

I said earlier that these would be additional resources—I cannot be clear enough on that to the committee. That was a big worry in a lot of the evidence that we took, because money is very tight. We know that it is tight—that is why this is additional funding.

The Scottish Government currently provides enough funds for Police Scotland to monitor the notification requirements that are imposed on sex offenders under the Sexual Offences Act 2003. I am unaware of any representations from Police Scotland to the Scottish Government about wishing to alleviate itself of that existing burden so, if it is good enough for sex offenders, why not domestic abuse offenders, too, but with additional funding?

Funding decisions are of course a matter for the Scottish Government but, in the grand scheme of the Scottish budget, the financial costs that would be imposed by the bill are relatively minor. As I said, it would be 0.5 per cent of the justice budget, which is very minor considering what the budget is. As I said in my opening statement, I know that my bill comes with a significant financial burden. However, domestic abuse costs the public purse around £7 billion across a three-year period.

It is very challenging to estimate the exact costs of the bill due to a notable lack of data. The committee has heard that the data is not available. It is not even known how many people who are involved in domestic abuse are on MAPPA; that data is not available. However, I believe that the estimated cost of 0.5 per cent of the justice budget is absolutely nothing compared with the difference that we would be able to make through the bill. I hope that that answers your question, Ms Dowey.

Thank you for clarifying the question. The police do not recognise every single high-risk domestic abuse offender—that is clear. We have heard enough stories in this Parliament, and enough parents and families have come in, breaking down and distraught, saying, “If only the system knew, if only the perpetrator had been monitored and if only there had been one more chance for safety”. Those offenders, who are mostly repeat offenders, are not covered, and you are absolutely right that the data is not there.

I will bring in my colleague Charlie Pound if he has anything to add.

For part 1?

You are talking about Police Scotland. As I have said, I am fully aware of that and it has been accounted for. There will be work to be done but it will complement the systems that are in place. I do not believe that adding a domestic abuse register to the systems that are in place for sex offenders would not work.

There will be some bureaucracy—of course there will. That happens with any bill. I am sure that every Government bill is full of bureaucracy. However, it is important that we make sure that resources are provided for the provisions in my bill, and I believe that I have done that.

I do not agree at all that it will provide a minimum amount of protection. I have spoken to many survivors and many survivors’ parents—I know that the committee has not done that. The register would have a lot of information in it to make sure that survivors and victims can be kept safe, and to allow the police to monitor offenders. I do not believe for a minute that the system will be very minimal compared with the actual result that it will provide.

It will keep women safe—especially women. I know that my bill is about men and women, but women are the biggest victims. If we can save that one life, it will make a difference; I do not count that as being minimal—to me, it is a difference.

No. As I said, I am not in the Scottish Government, so I will not sit here and tell the Scottish Government how it should run its business. If I was in power, I would certainly answer that question. However, I would also say to you—

Ms McNeill, I am absolutely open to working with the Government and with the committee on any amendments or ideas. I will be speaking to the Government and will listen if the minister wants to highlight any gaps to me. I have spent a lot of time on the bill because of the passion behind it. I grew up seeing domestic abuse and I want to help people, so I am absolutely open to working with everyone to ensure that we have the right legislation to prevent that horrendous crime.