Seòmar agus comataidhean

Under our next item of business, we will continue our pre-budget scrutiny of the Scottish Government’s 2024-25 budget. I am pleased to give a warm welcome to Karyn McCluskey, who is the chief executive of Community Justice Scotland, and to Chris McCully and Bill Fitzpatrick, who are also from Community Justice Scotland. Thank you for your comprehensive written submission.

We have about 45 minutes for this session. Given the range of questions and responses that we had this morning, time has slightly caught up with us, so I propose that we drop items 3 and 4 from our agenda, which are our private discussions following the public session? Are members content with that?

Members indicated agreement.

As usual, I will open the questioning with a general question. Can you outline the main spending challenges relating to either Community Justice Scotland’s budget or the sums that are allocated for community justice more generally?

Caroline Bruce, do you want to come in on that?

You mentioned the framework and I am sure that members will have some questions about that. I will open the meeting up to members now, if anybody would like to come in.

That is really interesting. Professor Karatzias, do you want to come in?

Thank you very much. I will have to draw a line under the session. I thank our witnesses for coming along today.

We will have a short suspension to allow for a changeover of panel members.

Thank you. I am interested in your comment on wellbeing in the workforce and how important that is for the delivery of good trauma-informed practice.

Part of what you have spoken about perhaps speaks to trauma-informed environments as well as practice, which has come up in previous evidence sessions, so it is interesting to hear your comments on that.

We certainly brought the challenges of a whole-system approach in trauma-informed practice into the discussion with the first panel.

Thank you for your opening comments. I will now open it up and bring in John Swinney.

Can I bring this back to the provisions of the bill? Is there anything further that you would like to add?