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I have listened carefully to the debate and am grateful to have had the opportunity to explain the Scottish Government’s position on the SSI.

On James Dornan’s point, I am absolutely clear that the regulations do not automatically lead to individuals being removed from the barred list. They simply amend the circumstances in which an application for removal is competent in that they change the timescales.

As I said in my opening statement, I invite Ms Gallagher not to press Mr Mundell’s motion. However, if it is pressed to a vote, I will ask members to vote in favour of the regulations.

Yes, I can confirm that.

No, convener, but I think that it gives some context.

It just gives us some context for the changes and shows that we are not just doing something—

We recognise the need for victims of crime to be respected and to feel that they have received appropriate support, regardless of how the person who perpetrated the crime is punished.

It is worth recognising that the change in regulation will affect young people and that there is a robust process to look at whether they should be removed from the barred list. Lynne McMinn has explained the process that people would go through. We can be assured that anyone who is removed from the barred list is suitable to work with groups that they had previously been barred from working with. None of us would want to remove from the lists anyone whom we felt was not suitable for work with children and young people or with vulnerable adults.

Thank you for inviting me to speak to the regulations. I will not go into the technical detail of what they do, because that has already been explained in the accompanying documents that have been produced by Scottish Government officials, which are complemented by the Scottish Parliament information centre paper.

I point out that the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007 has always included provision to allow barred individuals to make an application to be removed from the barred lists. Removal is contingent on ministers being satisfied that the applicant is no longer unsuitable to work with vulnerable groups.

To be absolutely clear, I point out that the policy proposal allows people aged 18 to 25 to apply to be removed from the barred lists sooner, but such an application does not lead to automatic removal. A thorough and well-established process for considering removal applications, which replicates the process for inclusion in the barred lists, is carried out by Disclosure Scotland’s protection services. The proposal in the regulations is also consistent with the situation in the rest of the United Kingdom, where individuals are able to ask for a review of a barring decision by the disclosure and barring service.

The system of state disclosure that we have today is in direct response to the tragic Soham murders of August 2002. This Government will never forget why the service is so important. Indeed, my predecessor introduced the bill that became the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020. Once fully implemented, the 2020 act will deliver a range of reforms to the protecting vulnerable groups scheme to strengthen the national barring service.

The Scottish Government is committed to giving everyone a better chance of overcoming early adversities, including youth offending, in order to allow people to become productive and valued citizens in adulthood. Our policy proposal in the regulations is in keeping with the wider reforms that have been achieved by the 2020 act, and it strikes a balance between safeguarding and proportionality by enabling people with offending in their past to move on—where safeguarding considerations allow it—into work, employment or volunteering.

Disclosure Scotland has been engaging with relevant academics and experts in the formulation of policy supporting the measure. There is a clear association between age and desistance from crime, and the evidence supports recognition in policy of that association. However, in every case it is right that the individual circumstances be considered in order that a safe decision can be made about whether it is right to remove a person from the barred list.

We know from the responses to the 2018 consultation on protection of vulnerable groups and disclosure of criminal information that there is stakeholder support for the changes that the amendment regulations will make—particularly for how they will benefit care-experienced individuals, who are more likely than their peers to have experiences with the criminal justice system. Who Cares? Scotland said in its consultation response, which can be viewed on the citizen space website, that it welcomes the change, which is

“motivated by an understanding that those who commit crimes at a younger age are often trying to move on when coming into contact with PVG processes.”

I invite Ms Gallacher, on Mr Mundell’s behalf, not to move his motion to annul. If the motion is pressed, I ask members not to vote in favour of it.

Yes, I can also confirm that.

Lynne McMinn can give some information about the process of automatic listing.

Anyone who is mentally ill or who lacks capacity at the time of their conviction would also automatically be added to that list.

The regulations will amend the prescribed period that must pass before a person has the right to make an application. They will increase the age threshold for what is referred to in the principal regulations as the shorter prescribed period from under 18 to 25 and under . That means that an individual who is included in the barred list when they are aged between 18 and 25 will be able to apply to be removed after five, rather than 10, years have passed since the date of inclusion.

I make it absolutely clear that the amendment regulations will not lead to individuals being removed automatically from the barred list; they will simply amend the circumstances in which an application for removal will be competent. As I said in my opening remarks, the proposed changes are consistent with the approach that is taken in the rest of the United Kingdom to when individuals can ask for a review of the Disclosure and Barring Service’s decision.