Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 03 December 2015
03 Dec 2015 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Sex Offenders
Mr Martin mentioned the establishment of the working group. The expert advisory group has been in place for a number of months and its report, which is just weeks away, will give ministers advice on the use of GPS. There are some technical challenges around how it can be used properly in that it does not give the level of security that some individuals believe it does, but the expert advisory group has been looking at use of the system internationally in order to identify how it can best be applied in a Scottish context.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Elaine Smith)
Lab
The Parliament is still in session and I ask guests who are leaving the gallery to do so quietly, please. The next item of business is a members’ business d...
Paul Martin (Glasgow Provan) (Lab)
Lab
I recognise that the management of sex offenders is a difficult subject that challenges politicians in many countries. As we consider that, let us also consi...
Christine Grahame (Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale) (SNP)
SNP
I congratulate Paul Martin on securing this debate, and I recognise the courageous campaign of Margaret Ann Cummings, which came about after the horrendous m...
Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn) (Lab)
Lab
I, too, congratulate my colleague Paul Martin on his long-standing commitment to and campaigning on this issue and, of course, Margaret Ann Cummings, who has...
Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con)
Con
I thank Paul Martin for bringing this important debate to the chamber. It is a motion that I was more than happy to sign, not least because it gives deserved...
The Cabinet Secretary for Justice (Michael Matheson)
SNP
The member’s comment that there was an increase of a third in the number of breaches is factually incorrect. Year on year, the proportion of breaches is broa...
Margaret Mitchell
Con
I thank the cabinet secretary for that clarification, but it is still not in any way a statistic that we can be proud of. Urgent analysis needs to be carrie...
Graeme Pearson (South Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
First, I thank my colleague Paul Martin for raising a difficult and challenging issue. It is one that we repeatedly struggle with and find difficult to resol...
Michael Matheson
SNP
Mr Martin mentioned the establishment of the working group. The expert advisory group has been in place for a number of months and its report, which is just ...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Lab
You can have the time back for the intervention, Mr Pearson.
Graeme Pearson
Lab
Thank you, Presiding Officer. I am grateful for the cabinet secretary’s response. I have visited the monitoring centre and was advised that people there are...
The Minister for Housing and Welfare (Margaret Burgess)
SNP
I thank Paul Martin for bringing the debate to the chamber. He made it clear—and we all agree—that the issue is sensitive and difficult to deal with. I know ...
Paul Martin
Lab
The report also said that sex offenders could expect a monitoring visit once a month. Is that acceptable for the most serious offenders?
Margaret Burgess
SNP
We have received the report and we accept every recommendation in it. We all agree that the issue is very difficult, and I understand and share the concerns ...
Christine Grahame
SNP
I have looked through the recommendations and I return to rehousing sex offenders under the national accommodation strategy for them. I have been chasing the...
Margaret Burgess
SNP
I understand Christine Grahame’s concerns about the housing of sex offenders in communities. However, in every case when a sex offender is housed in a commun...
Patricia Ferguson
Lab
Will the minister give way?
Margaret Burgess
SNP
I want to push on a bit. If I have time, I will come back to Patricia Ferguson. A number of members have mentioned the report on sex offending by the Justic...
Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab)
Lab
Will the minister give way?
Margaret Burgess
SNP
I want to push on for a bit, and then I will come back to the member. Implementing that recommendation would make it harder to monitor offenders and manage ...
Johann Lamont
Lab
Does the minister recognise the urgency of a situation in which housing associations are saying and communities are feeling that sex offenders are being hous...
Margaret Burgess
SNP
On the budget, I cannot speak for the justice secretary, but I know that across government we are looking carefully at the monitoring of sex offenders. I wil...