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Can I ask a final question as well?

So your view is that the matter is not being taken seriously enough either by the police or by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

Would you like to add to that, Andy?

Thank you.

You have responded to a lot of questions about licences, and I will not go over those issues again. I have one remaining question. A significant number of respondents to the Scottish Government’s consultation were in favour of some kind of licensing scheme, and there were a significant number of responses to the consultation. Do you have a view on why that was? Could it have been because people do not feel that the current law is being enforced?

Rona Mackay’s point is also important. This is not just about antisocial behaviour. In most communities, noise after a certain time is a disturbance, but that is outwith the law. That may be what is influencing people. What is your view?

Is that what you are saying?

I just want to be clear. I do not want you to talk around my point, if you do not mind. Are you okay with the notion that, whatever we do here, there will potentially be more use of fireworks, if Norman Donald is correct, and that it is okay to have a framework that says that people can have fireworks all year round, albeit within certain periods, and that relies on people to be kind to their neighbours? Might we not be back where we started, if there was no way of curbing that?

Thank you. On that point, I am trying to get my head around the concept of legal and illegal fireworks. Could you tell the police the difference?

Is that really what you are saying when you talk about law-abiding Scots? Are you saying that law-abiding Scots might not be so law abiding if they had to apply for a licence?

So far, from the evidence that I have heard, we can fully understand why everybody opted for a licensing scheme and not a complete ban. As Chief Inspector Robison and others have said, we do not want to spoil people’s enjoyment. However, there are still pretty serious antisocial behaviour incidents that we want to get under control.

One of my main worries is that, so far, the system seems to be quite complex. There would be certain days and certain times when people could not use fireworks, so the public would need to be clear on that, because they are the ones on whom the police would rely to report that there had been an offence. That is one of my primary concerns.

Like Rona Mackay, as she outlined in her line of questioning, I do not favour a ban. However, I ask myself whether a ban would be easier to police, because the proposed system seems to be pretty complex. My first question is for Chief Inspector Nicola Robison. How confident are you, given the complexity of a licensing scheme, and all that has been said, that the bill would actually tackle the antisocial behaviour element of the misuse of fireworks?