Hansard

I thank my colleagues who sit on the Public Petitions Committee for their dedication in bringing this important issue to the chamber. I echo Liam McArthur’s comments: my experience on Education and Culture Committee inquiries informs me that this would have been a hard, uncomfortable and at times harrowing experience for Public Petitions Committee members. I for one am grateful for their efforts during the inquiry and for their speeches this afternoon.

That is, of course, as nothing compared with the experience of front-line workers, including those at Barnardo’s and in the various third sector organisations that work in this area, or with that of the people who contributed to the report with reference to their personal experiences. I thank them for their bravery and candour. I believe that everyone in the chamber holds the wellbeing and safety of our young people foremost in their minds in debating the committee report this afternoon.

Just yesterday, in the live online edition of the Newcastle Chronicle, there was an article about this very issue. The headline was “West End community’s shock at child sex exploitation allegations”. The report says:

“People living in Newcastle’s West End yesterday told of their horror after learning that a number of their neighbours had been arrested by police probing a conspiracy to rape young women and teenage girls.”

That was done under operation sanctuary. The article goes on to say:

“Today some shocked residents of the West End have told of their disgust at what could have been going on behind closed doors in their community.”

The article contains many contributions from local people, but I highlight in particular that of Dr Hari Shukla, a former director of the Tyne & Wear Racial Equality Council, who spoke of his upset that a group of that size had supposedly targeted its criminal activity at young women. The article says:

“Dr Shukla is a member of the Newcastle Safeguarding Initiative, founded 10 years ago to make sure schools, young people and families in the city were working together to protect children in the community.

He said: ‘We are upset by it and an alleged crime like this is not acceptable. It’s just wrong and I’m certain that all the communities involved feel the same way.’”

The shock and horror experienced by that community, and its reaction, are recognisable and understandable. It brings home to us all the fact that that type of child sexual exploitation can be happening. It is incumbent on us all—on all Scotland’s communities—to be aware and vigilant in this regard.

I welcome the comments that the Minister for Children and Young People made when she announced the expert group on tackling child sexual exploitation:

“Sexual exploitation of children is a reality here in Scotland. Anyone who thinks our nation is immune from this appalling crime is simply wrong. It is a problem we face and a problem we must face up to. Research we published last year makes clear that there is no reason to believe that Scotland is any different from other countries in this. Our aim, therefore, must be to ensure that child sexual exploitation in Scotland can be detected, dealt with and ultimately prevented.”

I welcome the Public Petitions Committee’s report. As a member of the Education and Culture Committee, I am aware that much of the work that was undertaken for the report sits alongside our deliberations on the Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill, which will shortly come before the chamber at stage 3.

One area that has proved to be controversial, and which, to my mind, has received a disproportionate amount of attention, is the bill’s proposal for a named person. I note that the Public Petitions Committee’s recommendations include a request for a named person to support victims of CSE through the justice process.

Other evidence, which we have also heard about in the chamber today, about the vulnerability of any young person online, using social media or in chatrooms, and about the risks that young people face in other social settings, has confirmed my conviction that the role of a named person, who is an appropriate professional for a young person, whatever their circumstance—be it in the justice system, in the children’s hearings system, in social work or involving additional support needs—is a very important one. As Dave Stewart said, if one child can be saved by the work that the Public Petitions Committee has done, it will have been worth it. I feel the same way about the named person provisions being enshrined in the bill. If there is one less headline about a tragedy involving just one person, it will have been worth the effort of putting that provision in place.

I hope that those who are opposed to the named person provisions will reflect on the report, and indeed on this afternoon’s debate, as the measure is supported by children’s charities, including Barnardo’s, which brought its petition to the Public Petitions Committee. The Aberlour Child Care Trust also provided briefings for this afternoon.