Seòmar agus comataidhean

Our next item of business is consideration of follow-up correspondence received from the Minister for Victims and Community Safety after we considered the issue of police searches for pyrotechnic devices outside football matches and other events. I refer members to paper 3. I again open up the discussion to members and ask if you have any issues or comments that you want to make on the letter that we received.

The result of the division is: For 6, Against 0, Abstentions 2. The committee therefore agrees with the Scottish Government that the Scottish Parliament should not give its consent to the relevant provisions in the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill, as set out in the Scottish Government’s draft motion.

Are members content to delegate to me the publication of a short factual report on the outcome of our deliberations on the LCM?

Members indicated agreement.

I will open up the meeting to allow members to come in with any questions.

It seems that no member wishes to ask a question. Okay. That was nice—short and sweet, and simple.

Okay; we can come back to that.

Finally, I invite members to agree to delegate to me and the clerks the publication of a short factual report on the SSI.

Members indicated agreement.

My question was whether you had had sight of the Scottish Police Federation’s submission and had had an opportunity to consider the points that it made about the constitution.

That is helpful. I point out that, in its submission, the Scottish Police Federation says that it feels that the proposals are

“relatively strong in our favour and in the spirit of fairness, acceptable to SPF.”

I open the questioning to other members.

I will pick up and clarify the point about the options for the committee today. We are aware that the Scottish Police Federation has made a number of recommendations for amending the SSI and, as the cabinet secretary has pointed out, it is not possible for a committee to do that, in so far as SSIs come to committee as they are and we either agree them or do not. The only option available to members if they wish to see changes is to vote against the motion or to ask whether there is scope for the SSI to be withdrawn and brought back in a revised version. From what the cabinet secretary has said, she is not minded to do that. I hope that that provides some clarity.

I will try to pull the discussion together. I appreciate the points that members have made and the cabinet secretary’s responses to them.

It is important to clarify that the federation seems to seek that the wording of the constitution be amended. We have heard—I refer specifically to the update from Louise Miller—that, down the line, the constitution can be amended, which would be a separate process from agreeing the SSI in its current form today.

Is that correct, cabinet secretary?

Thanks very much, cabinet secretary. I hope that that has been helpful and provided some clarity for members.

On that note, I will move on and invite the cabinet secretary to move motion S6M-08783.

Motion moved,

That the Criminal Justice Committee recommends that the Police Negotiating Board for Scotland (Constitution, Arbitration and Qualifying Cases) Regulations 2023 [draft] be approved.—[Angela Constance]

Motion agreed to.