Meeting of the Parliament 15 January 2025
I thank all members for their contributions and for the spirit of constructive co-operation that has, by and large, been evident throughout the journey of the bill, despite one or two feisty moments.
It is clear to me, from listening to the contributions of Maggie Chapman, Douglas Ross, Fergus Ewing and many others today and throughout the committee process, that they have been deeply affected and touched by the personal testimony of individuals and their families when matters have not been dealt with as they should have been. Members know the value of those who have lived experience of the complaints and misconduct system. That lived experience has been deeply informative to all our collective deliberations, not least in the journey of the bill.
In equal measure, it has also been apparent to me throughout the scrutiny of the bill that there has been a very deep desire to ensure fairness to our police officers. I pay tribute to Audrey Nicoll, the convener of the Criminal Justice Committee, who, as a former police officer, embodies the determination to have exemplar public services, particularly in policing, where we must always strive for greater and better, as well as the determination to ensure fairness to front-line staff. I pay tribute to her scrupulous approach and to her fairness and her determination, on behalf of all members of the committee, not just to raise issues but to follow matters up. The committee as a whole will never just raise a concern as a one-off but will always see issues through. I have seen that with regard to this bill and other work that the committee has pursued—particularly the work in relation to policing and mental health.
I echo the comments of Ms Dowey and other members that we will all have to continue to work together, not least because there will be a massive amount of regulation to bring to the committee. I reiterate that, whether it is in relation to the issues raised by the PIRC on its new responsibilities, should the bill be passed, or the debate that we have had on vetting, there will be further consultation. That will happen at the Scottish police consultative forum, before regulations are brought to Parliament, or in the engagement that I have with individual organisations.
Our approach to improvement has been, first and foremost, to concentrate on Lady Elish Angiolini’s non-legislative recommendations, and then to focus on the bill to take forward the legislative requirements. We now have to get into the business of regulations. With all of that in mind, I reiterate my thanks to my Scottish Government officials.