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Yes, that discussion continues. I have had discussions with the Minister for Mental Wellbeing and Social Care, which have also related to how we can better deal with some of the issues in prisons. It is probably important to acknowledge some of the pressures that the police feel, first of all when a call comes in, as to whether that call is better passed on to somebody with a mental health background. It is sometimes the case, however, that people go to the police because they think that that is where they need to go, and the police can sometimes get to places more quickly in an emergency situation.

What is of more concern—at least as has been expressed to me by the police—is how long officers then have to stay with a case before being able to hand it to somebody with mental health expertise. That issue, call handling and how quickly a mental health professional gets involved are the main areas that we are considering now, and they all form part of the cross-portfolio discussions.

On the first point, about resources, I am not going to rehearse our differences of opinion about the munificence or otherwise of the UK Government. What I will say is that Governments of whichever colour, whatever resources they have, have to attach a priority. We have attached a priority to the fact that a constable will get £5,000 more if they start in Scotland, and every rank in the police, up to assistant chief constable, will get more. However, the decision on equipment and operational requirements is for the chief constable. I am not running away from the fact that he has to live within a financial envelope, which we have discussed previously.

I agree with the member about the benefits of body-worn cameras. For example, it might well be the case that, if officers have body-worn cameras that can provide a level of evidence, we can potentially avoid a huge public inquiry where there is a contested account of what actually happened. I do not doubt the benefits of body-worn cameras, but I think that it was Aneurin Bevan who said that politics is “the language of priorities”.

We have to decide on priorities, as does the chief constable. We have prioritised the pay and conditions of our police officers because we think that they are worth it. Beyond that, we have unavoidable pressures, but it will ultimately be a decision for the chief constable.

The option of getting out from underneath an utterly incompetent Westminster Government, which has presided over record inflation, a national debt that sits at £1.5 trillion—that can be compared with a country of Scotland’s size, Norway, which has an oil fund of more than £1 trillion—and the record levels of taxation that the Tories—

Rona Mackay will know that, before starting the process for a bill, we have to go through a process of making sure that there is financial cover for its implications. As she has rightly said, those are substantial. A victims commissioner is one; a cost will be associated with specialist courts, too, if those are agreed; and a number of other recommendations will inevitably have costs associated with them. However, we have gone through the process to make sure that we have financial cover.

That does not mean that there is not still a challenge in making sure that we have those finances, but that has been taken into account and there is substantial progress on Lady Dorrian’s recommendations—both those that require legislation, some of which I have mentioned, and those that do not.

I am very mindful and do not deny the logic of that. Also, there is a need for more information on electronic monitoring and other aspects to be provided to the judiciary, because there is not always the level of awareness that there should be. I am not saying that that is the judiciary’s fault, and it is not for me—by any means—to educate the judiciary, but that is a need for more awareness of what is possible. However, you are right that, at the root of it, the judiciary must have confidence that that is a legitimate disposal. It will not be a political direction not to send people to prison, because, of course, that will be for the judiciary, but I do not dispute the logic that the member draws out. That is our direction of travel and what we believe in, and it underpins the ideas behind some of the legislation that we are taking through. The issue is how we continue to do that with the available resources.

I do not think that I have anything to add to the previous responses that the First Minister gave, except to reiterate the point that the cost of that will not fall directly on the justice portfolio but will be borne across the whole of Government. I cannot tell you what the ultimate cost will be, because it depends on factors that are outwith my control and, obviously, pre-dates my time in office. I do not know whether my colleagues who were in post when that became a live issue have anything to add, but I cannot add to what the First Minister said previously.

I have chopped some of the commentary that I was going to make because you have had a long morning and the SSI is not dissimilar to ones that the committee or its predecessors have considered in the past.

The draft International Organisations (Immunities and Privileges) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2022 confers various legal immunities and privileges on the Inter-American Investment Corporation—IIC—and on persons associated with that organisation so far as that is within the devolved competence of the Parliament.

The order is limited to the issue of privileges and immunities. By way of background, I mention that the IIC is the main private sector arm of the Inter-American Development Bank Group—IDB—which lends to Governments and the IIC. The UK has opted to join the IIC, and the conferral of immunities and privileges to the IIC is required to ensure that the UK can fully comply with its obligations under article 7 of the IIC’s founding agreement. Joining the IIC offers the opportunity to be part of an important organisation in the Latin America and Caribbean region, which will support economic growth and leverage further private sector resources for development financing.

To assist the committee, I will say a little about the nature of the privileges and immunities involved. The conferral of legal capacity and privileges and immunities is necessary to ensure that the IIC can function as an international organisation in the UK. The order grants the IIC immunity from suit and legal process, inviolability of archives and premises and exemption from taxation. It also grants personal privileges to the IIC’s officers and employees: immunity from legal process with respect to official acts and exemption from income tax. The income tax exemption does not apply to British citizens.

The privileges and immunities conferred by the draft order are granted primarily on the basis of strict functional need. They are no greater in extent than those that are required to enable the IIC to function effectively.

So that the privileges and immunities are conferred in accordance with the agreement, the UK Government has introduced a statutory instrument through affirmative procedure, with the expectation that it will come into force late this year or early next year. The UK Government also laid its SI in Parliament on 11 October.

I welcome the opportunity to hear members’ views on the order and I commend it to the committee.

To clarify, convener, do you mean between different portfolios?

That relates to the point that Katy Clark made, which is that, if we build new prisons, they can be made more efficient and savings can be made in that way. I acknowledge that, but we cannot get away from the hard fact of the Government’s capital allocations, which have to cover schools, plants, machinery, cars and other vehicles for various services. We have to live within the envelope that we have, and I would say that it is a false envelope, because it was originally based on the Maastricht criteria, if we want to go back to that—the UK wants to cap the total level of borrowing to that extent.

As you rightly say, borrowing to improve public facilities pays for itself in the long term; I agree with that, which is why we are replacing Barlinnie. Members know about the programme of replacements and improvements that we have in place across the prison estate, and we are trying to work our way through that, but we can go only at the pace at which the money allows. To repeat my earlier point, that money is going less and less far because inflation is eating into it. However, I accept that, if we can replace prisons such as Barlinnie, we will make savings in on-going costs.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak briefly about the draft Scottish Biometrics Commissioner Act 2020 (Code of Practice) (Appointed Day) Regulations 2022. The Parliament passed the 2020 act in March of that year. The legislation speaks to some of the key societal issues of our time, touching on data protection, privacy, human rights and ethics as they relate to the police’s use of very personal information. The Scottish Government therefore welcomed the Parliament’s appointment of Dr Brian Plastow as Scotland’s first Biometrics Commissioner in April last year.

Given the rapid increase in the use of biometric data and technologies, it is important that we have an independent commissioner who will raise public awareness about rights, responsibilities and standards, as well as monitor compliance with such standards. It is vital that a clearer understanding of those issues is promoted in our communities, especially for young people and for vulnerable people.

An integral part of the legislation was for the commissioner to prepare a code of practice. That code has been prepared by the commissioner, and it symbolises what I believe is Scotland’s progressive approach to biometrics in a policing context. It is worth mentioning that the code is the first of its kind in the world. It is designed to promote good practice, transparency and accountability by setting out an agreed framework of standards for professional decision making. It is intended to strike the right balance between the needs and responsibilities of policing and the criminal justice system and the fundamental obligation to guarantee the basic human rights, privacy and freedoms of individual members of the public.

The commissioner has developed the draft code in consultation with key interests, including the bodies that will be subject to the code, statutory consultees and other bodies that are represented on the commissioner’s advisory group. Earlier this year, the committee had the opportunity to consider a draft of the code, alongside evidence from the commissioner, and I know that the contents of the draft code were viewed positively by committee members.

The purpose of the instrument is to bring the code into force on the appointed day. As agreed with the commissioner, the day that is proposed is 16 November 2022. From that day, Police Scotland, the Scottish Police Authority and the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner will be required to comply with the code. The commencement of the code will therefore represent a major milestone in the implementation of the 2020 act.

The Scottish Government is happy to work with the commissioner and other partners to ensure that an ethical, proportionate and lawful approach continues to be taken in the collection, use, retention and disposal of biometric data in Scotland for policing and criminal justice purposes.