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I still do not believe that there will be a large cost to that work. I spoke to the police about it. I do not know the exact systems that they use, but they said that certain things could be added and that it would be quite easy for us to use that information. For example, we know that 66,000 cases were reported to Police Scotland because somebody has collected that data. Of those 66,000 cases, however, how many involved victims who were disabled, of ethnic background or had other protected characteristics? We do not know, so we cannot tailor our funding, our services or the services that domestic abuse organisations provide.

I am not an information technology specialist, and I will not pretend to be one, but what I was told was that tabs could be included right through the system. I would hope that, when you take information from the police, that information is passed right through the system.

I have not spoken to COSLA or the Crown Office about the issue. However, I spoke to the police about it, and they said that it could be done.

To be clear, parts 1, 2 and 4 of the bill are based on models that are in operation already in Scotland. Part 2, on assessment of offenders for rehabilitation programmes and services, and part 4, on education, seek to ensure that the provisions for rehabilitation assessments and domestic abuse education are in place across the country. Everyone knows that, right now, there is a postcode lottery for those provisions. I want to ensure that they are included in statute. There is plenty of evidence that rehabilitation is a good thing—everyone on the committee probably accepts that. Similarly, committee members will agree that education and the equally safe programme in schools are also positive.

Part 1 is based on the sex offenders register. Unless I am missing something, in the past, no one has said that there is evidence that the sex offenders register does not work or that it is not value for money. I do not see why things would be different for domestic abuse offenders. I understand that organisations have concerns, but as this is the first time that such a register will have been created for domestic abuse, we do not have exact data on it. The same thing probably happened when the sex offenders register was brought in—there is always a first time for these things. Many bills in the Scottish Parliament have been quite groundbreaking in that respect.

I can also tell you that, according to the latest statistics, 10.6 per cent of sex offenders who are being monitored have gone on to commit another offence, compared with 27.1 per cent of convicted domestic abusers. Lastly, research carried out by Anglia Ruskin University has found that offenders who are managed under MAPPA are less likely to reoffend than those who are not.

Clearly, the system is broken. The number of domestic abuse cases is getting higher. I just want to make a difference, and I believe that my bill will make that difference. I hope that I have clarified everything.

That terminology was used among other comments that were made. Obviously, there is passion about this on the side of the people I have spoken to, who are victims and survivors. So, I am not sitting here—

No, I was not quoting. I was saying that some bills that go through the Parliament contain first-time measures—we have never done them before. Absolutely, we—

I will bring in Charlie Pound to talk about some of the technical stuff on that.

I will do that.

The provision was considered during the drafting of the bill, and we believe that the legislation is compliant with existing law. Having said that, I am happy for the legislation to be amended if committee members feel that there are contradictions that need to be addressed or things that need to be changed. For example, implementation of my bill would involve rolling out across Scotland the terms of the current equally safe programme, which is endorsed by the Government and in relation to which no concerns about UNCRC compatibility have so far been raised. I do not believe that my bill is outwith any existing law.

You probably heard my question to her, which was about the difference between what she had said separately to me and what she said to the committee.

However, putting that to one side, the committee will have the responses to the call for views in front of it—I am sure that the clerks will have provided those. I have mentioned how many women’s aid organisations support my bill and think that a domestic abuse register is a good idea. I do not agree with what Marsha Scott said, regardless of whether she was speaking on her own behalf or on behalf of Scottish Women’s Aid, because you have the evidence from the call for views.

No. I am trying to tell you what the evidence says. I am giving you the counter-argument. I do not think that I am wrong in saying that the committee has received responses from three women’s aid organisations that are against a domestic abuse register and six women’s aid organisations that support it. Therefore, how can you say that Marsha Scott was speaking on behalf of all the women’s aid organisations? I do not agree that she was.

Of course, a register alone will not fix everything—we know that. It is only part of the solution. You can see that my bill has four parts. We need to ensure that domestic abusers do not just get away with a slap on the wrist. That is why part 1 of my bill is so important.

Furthermore, I recently spoke about the stats that show that 10.6 per cent of sexual offenders go on to reoffend, as opposed to 27.1 per cent of all offenders. I also mentioned the research carried out by Anglia Ruskin University on how effective MAPPA is in relation to offenders not going on to reoffend. In addition, a study from South Carolina found that sex offender notification and registration was associated with reductions in first-time offending.

I absolutely understand that the register in part 1 of my bill alone will not be a magic wand, but it is part of the solution. Right now, domestic abuse cases are rising year after year. We need to do something different while complementing the systems that we already have in place.