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Our main item of business is an evidence session on the continuing challenges that are faced by Police Scotland officers and staff in responding to people in distress. I welcome our first panel of witnesses. I am pleased that we are joined by Dr Inga Heyman, associate professor, Edinburgh Napier University; Assistant Chief Constable Catriona Paton and Chief Superintendent Matt Paden, Police Scotland; Dr Robby Steel, consultant liaison psychiatrist, NHS Scotland; and Dr David Hamilton, mental health manager at the state hospital. What a fantastic panel. Thank you all for giving up your time—we know that you are busy. We also appreciate the submissions that some of you were able to provide ahead of the meeting.

I refer members to papers 1 and 2, and I thank—in addition to our witnesses—all the organisations that have provided us with written evidence. I intend to allow up to 75 minutes or so for this session. To get us started, I will open with a very general question. We will start with Dr Heyman, and we will then work our way across the panel.

The policing response to people in distress is an issue that the committee has been interested in for much of this parliamentary session. What are your initial thoughts on the progress that has been made in that area of policing generally? In addition, from your respective perspectives, what are the key priorities that need to be considered in further developing a multisectoral or whole-system approach that enables officers and staff to transfer the care of a person to a more appropriate service?

I will bring in Liam Kerr and Ben Macpherson to ask two very quick supplementary questions and I will then have to end this evidence session, as we have only five minutes left.

Yes, if you are very quick.

Thank you very much, cabinet secretary. That has been very helpful. I think that all members would endorse the comments that you made in recognising the commitment of everybody who works across health and social care, particularly in the mental health and wellbeing space. We associate ourselves with your comments.

Based on the submissions and the helpful letter that you sent in August, personally, I think that it is fair to say that the dial is shifting on the work that is being done to support policing in relation to those with mental distress. That was borne out in the evidence of the previous panel, when we heard about a range of initiatives and approaches and the more strategic work that has been going on. That was helpful in setting some context. It also helped us to understand the complexity of the demographic of people that we are collectively dealing with. It is not always people who are in a state of distress—obviously, it can be much more complex than that.

One thing that I am particularly interested in and encouraged by is the Government’s scoping report on safe spaces. To be honest, I was unaware of the extent to which safe spaces have been, or are being, developed in Scotland, so I found that welcome. In regard to safe spaces, can you outline more on the direction of travel? Based on the work that the Government has already been doing, where do you see that going?

I will note a point that ties in a little bit with what the cabinet secretary and Dr Cook have just said. In our earlier evidence session, Dr Robby Steel set out some of the challenges and perhaps gaps when the police take someone to an A and E or an emergency department, for example, and, for whatever reason, that person is assessed as not suffering from a mental disorder but is considered not to be in a state in which they can be allowed to just walk out or leave of their own volition.

At the same time, for obvious reasons, an A and E department is not really in a position to allow such people to just remain, sleep it off, settle down and de-escalate the situation. Dr Steel was trying to reflect the fact that there is a gap, which links in a little bit to what Dr Cook has just outlined. Is that something that you would seek to address, or is there scope to address it within the wide range of work that is being undertaken?

I am not going to ask any follow-up questions, because I am conscious of the time. That was a very helpful opening session. I will now hand over to Liam Kerr.

Thanks for that, Fulton.

I am sure that we will come on to safe spaces in our follow-up questions. I do not know whether ACC Paton or Chief Superintendent Paden wants to pick up on my general question.

I advise members that we have a bit of extra time available, so I propose that we extend the meeting by about 10 minutes. If members want to come back in with questions, we should have some scope to allow that to happen.

I know that you want to ask a follow-up question, Ben, but I will bring in other members and we will come back to you. I ask for fairly succinct questions and responses to allow all our witnesses to come back in.