Meeting of the Parliament 17 December 2025
I whole-heartedly agree with the member. It is not just about skills for Police Scotland and businesses; it concerns individual householders and consumers protecting themselves against cybercrime as far as they can.
On Police Scotland, £6 million is a relatively small sum in terms of Government expenditure. It is a small price to pay to help prevent and mitigate serious harm to individuals and businesses. I am sure that ministers do not need reminding that the Scottish Police Federation has been warning for some time about the risks of underfunding the police. Ignoring such warnings simply means that we will end up playing catch-up to the criminals.
The police need the training and the tools to combat cybercrime, but the police cannot do everything, so it is important that we ensure that the public are well informed about how to protect themselves from cybercrime where possible.
I have already spoken about the widespread impact of fraud, but what really struck me was that Age Concern reports that around one in five cyberfraud victims do not report it. That was down to uncertainty about where to make a report and whether anything would even be done about it. That is important, because reporting incidents helps the police to gather intelligence on the criminals behind the scams. There is scope for the Government to help educate the public and, in the process, help to build valuable intelligence and public trust in the police’s ability to tackle the scammers.
I want to highlight a matter raised by Scottish Chambers of Commerce in a letter to the Criminal Justice Committee: the growing gap between smaller and larger businesses when it comes to cybersecurity. The organisation noted that its predominantly SME membership has raised concerns about falling behind on this front due to a lack of resources and expertise. It makes the point that cyber essentials certification can cost a small business more than £1,000, which is not an easy ask when many businesses are running on razor-thin margins. I encourage ministers to look at the SCC’s suggestion of publicly funded training at the local or regional level to help mitigate such barriers.
I urge the Scottish Government to step up and put in the resources where they are needed: in the police, public awareness and business support. Making that investment now will have a huge positive impact for many years ahead.