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That was really useful. Thank you.

Good morning, everyone. I will focus on financing net zero based on the consumer. Should the capital costs of decarbonisation be paid for by the consumer through electricity and gas bills, or more widely through taxation or other wider means? Obviously, the consumer is at the heart of this, so I am keen to see how that will look.

Good morning. I thank all the witnesses for their good submissions.

I want to touch on prison modernisation, which Pauline McNeill commented on. It would be remiss of me not to ask about sustainability and climate change in relation to the buildings. Has sustainability been part of the talks about Barlinnie? Can the building be more sustainable? What will that look like?

The issue was mentioned yesterday by Michael Matheson, the cabinet secretary, at the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee. One comment featured the buzzword “prosumer”, which means a producer and consumer of energy and is relevant to energy efficiency. I am keen to know about that aspect.

My other question involves Pauline McNeill’s comments about Barlinnie’s being over capacity. When I was an independent prison monitor at HMP Shotts, one of the most common requests that I got was to do with progression. The majority of people in HMP Shotts were high-tariff prisoners who wanted to progress down the prison estate. Their problem was not only that Barlinnie was over capacity but that they were unable to get on to any rehabilitation programmes that were available.

I put those points to Allister Purdie and, if she is back online, Teresa Medhurst.

I wanted to touch on electronic mail, because you can now email prisoners rather than sending hard copies. I suppose that depends on the volume that is sent. I am conscious of the time, so I could write to panel members about that.

I have alluded to the fact that I was an independent prison monitor, and I inspected the national health service and the health of prisoners. When I visited the healthcare suite in Shotts prison, most prisoners were allocated their prescription drugs on a Friday. That was quite concerning, because it led to a lot of them sharing those drugs when they were locked up over the weekend with very little in the way of purposeful activity, as no educational facilities were available over the weekend. Those drugs became a currency, with them being swapped and whatnot. People who were suffering, to a varying degree, with mental health issues were also at risk of overdose. Angela Constance, the Minister for Drugs Policy, talked about slow-release injections that could be given by the NHS.

Has that situation changed? Is the NHS still dispensing drugs on a Friday afternoon? If so, could that be changed? Could slow-release injections be used so that there is no risk of overdose to the prison population? What can be done to address the challenges with drugs in prisons, such as their being used as currency?

Thank you. Is Teresa Medhurst not with us?

On the question of options for young people other than putting them into custody, I want to explore two elements. What stands out for me, as it did in the previous session, is the issue of alternatives to custodial sentences and the need to protect our communities. Having spoken to somebody who has gone through open prison, I know that they were able to engage with the Prince’s Trust, go out to work and play football. Should we have more of that?

I also want to ask about structured sentencing. How effective is that, and how could social work play a bigger part in it? I have worked in outdoor education, and what stands out for me is the empirical research in that regard, in particular around youth offending and people who are at risk or who are going into the criminal justice system for the first time.

Another initiative that stands out, which could work really well, is campus cops. I do not know whether any of you can come back on that. Campus cops came into a big school—probably one of the biggest schools—in South Lanarkshire, and they were able to gauge whether there was an element of offending coming through. How effective would that approach be?

I am throwing quite a lot at you, but I am keen to hear your thoughts, and to hear about what evidence exists in those areas.

Good morning. Before I ask my question, I note that it was heartening to hear about the crossover work with regard to the prison estate. I sit on the Criminal Justice Committee and we are going to speak to the Scottish Prison Service tomorrow, so I will feed back that information about Barlinnie and so on. It is good to know that that is moving along nicely.

In just over a month’s time, the eyes of the world will be on us, which is exciting. How is the Scottish Government liaising with the UK Government to ensure that COP26 delivers a world-changing agreement and a lasting legacy that we can all be proud of?

That is good. I think that the deposit return scheme will be warmly welcomed in the school estate in my constituency, given the number of plastic bottles that are used. I look forward to that scheme, which I think will come in legislatively at some point next year. Is that correct?

It is great to hear that we are investing in our young people, which is key in relation to climate change.

My next question is about young people and finance. The just transition paper that has come out touches on that, and you have touched on it, too. Will you outline what we are doing on green participatory budgeting with our young people? Have we started to roll that out? Are we doing it at a local authority level? What are the plans for taking it forward so that we leave a legacy and—I am sorry if I am not making myself clear—we include our young people in participatory budgeting and what happens in their communities?