Seòmar agus comataidhean

I will put down in writing what I have to say about victims, as I have run out of time in this short debate.

First, I thank Daniel Johnson and Liam McArthur. I do not agree with everything that they said, but their speeches were nuanced and thoughtful, and did not simply repeat tabloid headlines—the issue deserves much more than that.

One would think that we were in a war zone from what some members have said, but figures from the Scottish crime and justice survey show that only 11.9 per cent of people experienced crime in Scotland in 2019-20. Although that is bad enough, it compares with 20.4 per cent of people in 2008-09. It is also lower than the equivalent figures in England and Wales.

I was interested to hear Sir Keir Starmer’s response to the Queen’s speech. He said of justice in England:

“Fraud has become commonplace, seven million incidents a year, Britain routinely ripped-off. The Business Secretary has suggested it doesn’t even count as crime.”

That has been referenced already. He went on to say:

“But fraud is just the tip of the iceberg. Victims are being let down whilst this government lets violent criminals off. The overall charge rate stands at a pathetic 5.8%, meaning that huge swathes of serious offences—like rape, knife crime, and theft—have been effectively decriminalised.”

That is about the English justice system. I take no delight in repeating it, because none of us wants it to happen, but that, from the former senior prosecutor in England, is the record as it stands.

I turn to another fact. England has around 236 chief constables and at least 31 police commissioners, all well salaried. There are too many chiefs. We streamlined policing to focus on front-line officers—one chief; lots more Indians. We took money out of admin and put it into action, tackling and prosecuting crime.

I want to progress a little.

The nature of policing in Scotland has changed since the 50s and 60s. As referenced by Sandesh Gulhane in his speech, the police deal with social issues, addiction and mental health issues that take up a great deal of time and are not things that I would headline as crime. However, those issues often require two officers on the scene. We have to look at our overall problem with social disruption.

I will comment on a couple of other issues that have not been raised but which I think are important. I hope that they are not party political because they are facts.

I have not forgotten victims—

I will let the member in on this point but I am about to give an example.

There was a Polish man who murdered a lassie in Scotland. Within hours, using the European arrest warrant, the police got not only him but his clothing, which had the DNA of that unfortunate lassie on it. The issue is not only getting the person but getting the evidence. We have lost that immediacy by losing access to the European arrest warrant. There is a substitute but it is cumbersome and not all European nations subscribe to it. Ten new European Union members have declared that they will never surrender their nationals to the UK due to their constitutional rules. That is important because people who are involved in heavy-duty crime operate not only in Scotland, England, Wales or Northern Ireland but internationally. The European arrest warrant was key to success—

I have hit four minutes, I am afraid. Am I allowed to take an intervention?

Thank you. I had given up hope, Presiding Officer; not in relation to you, but of getting to ask a question. I am digging a hole, so I will stop.

I noted the exchange between the minister and Alex Rowley regarding the impact of Brexit on certain labour markets. I have raised the issue of the shortage of bus drivers across the Scottish Borders, and no doubt elsewhere, due to the impact of Brexit. However, drivers are not on the shortage occupation list, and it is disheartening to hear that the UK Government is not discussing the issue with ministers in Scotland. Is there any hope that lorry drivers and bus drivers will be put on the shortage occupation list in early course?

Members should listen first.

Serious organised crime knows no boundaries, but the UK has lost access to the Schengen information system—SIS. It failed to negotiate a replacement for SIS, which means that our police forces do not have access to Europe-wide real-time alerts and notices.

Scotland has also lost access to the European arrest warrant, which allowed people accused of the most serious crimes to be brought back to Scotland to face justice in a matter of hours.

Finally, very briefly, on victims—I meant to come to them much more quickly—

Given the failure of the UK Government to support—even in today’s Queen’s speech—those on fixed incomes with the horrendous rise in the cost of living and energy, and given that 40 per cent of pensioners who are entitled to pension credit—currently £182.60 a week for a single person and £278.70 for a couple—do not claim it and that the Treasury keeps more than £300 million a year in unclaimed pension credit in Scotland alone, rising to almost £1.8 billion in unclaimed benefits UK-wide, does the minister agree that the level of money that is retained by the Treasury in unclaimed benefits is a disgrace, that it should direct its energies into helping people to claim those benefits to which they are entitled, and that that would at least give them some help in meeting those living costs?