Hansard

The Presiding Officer (Alison Johnstone) NPA

The next item of business is a debate on motion S6M-04320, in the name of Jamie Greene, on tackling violent crime. I would be grateful if members who wish to...

Jamie Greene (West Scotland) (Con) Con

I welcome Keith Brown to the chamber. I suspect that his ears have been burning for the past two hours. I want to start my comments by saying two things abo...

The Presiding Officer NPA

I now call on Keith Brown to speak to and move amendment S6M-04320.2. You have up to six minutes, cabinet secretary. 16:17

The Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans (Keith Brown) SNP

I start by reflecting that the motion from the Conservatives conflicts with this Parliament’s majority position in supporting the new justice vision at its l...

Russell Findlay (West Scotland) (Con) Con

Thank for you inviting me to make an intervention. That is news to me. I will have to go back and look into what you said, and if it is correct I will come b...

Keith Brown SNP

I am happy to pass on the press statement; it was on three pages of popular newspapers and was also repeated by two of his colleagues. One of those colleague...

Russell Findlay Con

Will the cabinet secretary take an intervention?

Keith Brown SNP

I do not have much time, but I will take a brief intervention.

Russell Findlay Con

It relates to the very point that the cabinet secretary made. I now remember the exact information to which he referred. The issue was due to duff informatio...

Keith Brown SNP

I commend Russell Findlay for that apology, which is received in the spirit in which it was given. The Conservative motion highlights police numbers. I am h...

Stephen Kerr (Central Scotland) (Con) Con

Will the cabinet secretary give way?

Keith Brown SNP

I do not have time, unfortunately. We must rethink how we use custody in Scotland. Our consultation on bail and release was the first step in a wider discus...

The Presiding Officer NPA

Please conclude, cabinet secretary.

Keith Brown SNP

Let me conclude by highlighting, once again, the strong support for the Scottish Government’s strategy. It is endorsed by the national justice board of justi...

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow) (Lab) Lab

The Tory motion has a lot of important issues packed into it, and it is impossible to address all those very serious issues in five minutes. We agree with ma...

Liam McArthur (Orkney Islands) (LD) LD

I recall Liam Kerr choosing to kick off his time as the Tory justice spokesperson in the previous parliamentary session by leading a debate on restorative ju...

Daniel Johnson (Edinburgh Southern) (Lab) Lab

I wonder whether the member will agree with me that the war about numbers that takes place on that side of the chamber is unsatisfactory because it masks the...

The Presiding Officer NPA

Mr Johnson, in future, could you face your microphone?

Daniel Johnson Lab

I apologise.

Liam McArthur LD

I heard Mr Johnson and I certainly agree with him. Help to reduce the likelihood of reoffending and increase the likelihood of making a positive contributio...

The Presiding Officer NPA

We move to the open debate. 16:34

Pam Gosal (West Scotland) (Con) Con

I am honoured to be contributing to the debate on behalf of the Scottish Conservatives, and I fully support the motion lodged by my colleague, Jamie Greene. ...

Audrey Nicoll (Aberdeen South and North Kincardine) (SNP) SNP

Yesterday, two events drew my attention, both of which are relevant, in their own way, to this afternoon’s justice debate. The first was the Queen’s speech, ...

Jamie Greene Con

Will the member give way?

Audrey Nicoll SNP

I will come back to the member if I have time at the end of my speech. Let us look at homicide. The Scottish Government national statistics publication on h...

Sandesh Gulhane (Glasgow) (Con) Con

I believe that we should be candid in this chamber. Protecting people from violent crime is a priority for any Government, yet, under the SNP Government, the...

Daniel Johnson (Edinburgh Southern) (Lab) Lab

The cabinet secretary said that there must be no tolerance of misogyny in our justice system. The reports this week were sickening, and I put on record that ...

Jamie Greene Con

The context is in this table, in black and white. These are the Government’s statistics on rising crime in the past decade: sexual crime is up, sexual assaul...

Daniel Johnson Lab

The member is right—those statistics are bad—so he should come up with a solution. What are the alternatives? What Jamie Greene should have highlighted far m...

Christine Grahame (Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale) (SNP) SNP

First, I thank Daniel Johnson and Liam McArthur. I do not agree with everything that they said, but their speeches were nuanced and thoughtful, and did not s...