Seòmar agus comataidhean

Good afternoon. I thank the witnesses for all their evidence and answers so far. It has been a really worthwhile session, as was the previous one.

The difficulty with asking questions last and being the only member taking part remotely is that a lot of areas have been covered in great depth. I appreciate that. I had questions about how young people can be helped to give their views, but we have covered a lot of that. Some really good examples have been given in relation to pets and the use of tables. When I was a social worker, the big table in the room was always an issue in children’s hearings, so it is great to hear that we are moving on from that.

I will focus my substantive questions on legal representation. I am happy for the witnesses to answer in any order. In your experience, how common is it, in practice, for children and young people to be legally represented at children’s hearings and tribunals? When they are, what are the advantages and drawbacks of that?

Good morning. Unfortunately, I do not have a dog to represent at the committee.

I have some questions about the restrictions, but I also want to pick up on some details from last week’s evidence. As Jamie Greene and Pauline McNeill indicated, industry representatives gave powerful evidence, which the minister will have read. What was most striking was that that was the only evidence that we have heard that has been counter to the bill. All the other evidence that we have heard from stakeholders has been very supportive. I know that you are pleased about that.

The Republic of Ireland and other countries were mentioned last week. What evidence was taken from those countries as the bill was developed? I know that there is more or less a full ban on fireworks in the Republic of Ireland. The evidence that we heard last week challenged the committee in our scrutiny of the legislation. A black market has formed in Ireland, which you have talked about a little.

The clerks asked for and got information from Ireland, which I have scanned through. There seems to be a mixed picture regarding firework incidents, seizures and the value of items seized. There is a general downward trend, although the figures go up and down from year to year. There has certainly been an overall decline in prosecutions, from 11 in 2015 to two in 2020, which is good. That seems to be the general trend.

Most importantly, the Government inspector of explosives at the Irish Department of Justice told us:

“While instances of illegal firework use do still occur in Ireland, in particular in the run up to Halloween, the Department believes the restrictions in place considerably mitigate against their widespread misuse, and the associated distress and risk they can cause to public safety and property.”

That seems positive, given the evidence that we heard last week.

What evidence or information do you have from other countries? That came from the Republic of Ireland; I think that Hawaii was mentioned last week.

It was about the evidence that we received last week on sparkler use.

That note of caution is fair enough, but given the evidence that we received last week, I thought that the question was worth asking.

Last week, we also heard about the industry’s 10-point plan, which I know that the minister will be aware of. To what extent has that been taken into account? Did it inform the development of the bill?

In the interests of time, I will join up my questions. I do not have a pet at the moment, but I have three young kids, and I was struck by the evidence that we heard last week that a lot of firework-related injuries are associated with sparklers. Did the minister, the Government and the review group take that into account when formulating the legislation?

It is good to have that clarified. I would also highlight the sensible suggestion that the industry made last week about promoting the use of gloves by young children when fireworks are used at organised events and suchlike.

I will now move on to the questions that the convener thought that I was going to ask, which are about the restrictions on the use and supply of fireworks. This is a line of questioning that I have pursued with various panels. The bill seeks to introduce certain days and times for the sale and use of fireworks, but are you able to say a little bit about the rationale behind that measure? It has received quite widespread support from the majority of stakeholders, which is really reassuring, but we have also heard concerns that, if you pick one date, that means that you cannot pick another—if that makes sense. Have you given any consideration to that?

Again, I will join my questions together. Do you think that it would be worth giving local authorities some flexibility to take into account other occasions—sporting or other cultural events, for example—that people could perhaps apply to use fireworks at?

I understand that caveat, and on balance I am probably convinced by the approach of having set days for the sale and use of fireworks. It still seems a wee bit unfair for people with autism, pet owners and whoever to have to put in place mitigation measures, including leaving their own homes, come new year. Of course, that option would not have been open to them the past two new years, when fireworks were used.

I have a final question. Has the Government carried out any assessment of the impact of picking the specific dates that are included in the bill on event organisers and retailers such as the independent retailer from Aberdeen who gave evidence last week?

I join my colleagues in welcoming you back to the committee today, minister. It is great to see you looking happy and healthy and very enthusiastic about this area of work, which we all know you have been a lifelong champion of.

As the convener said, your portfolio is incredibly big. I want to ask about the racial equality framework, which had a high priority in the previous parliamentary session. You appeared before our predecessor committee and came several times to the cross-party group, which I then chaired, to discuss the framework. You will be aware that at the end of the parliamentary session there was some criticism of the framework, with stakeholders saying that it was making slow progress. I was pleased to hear about the new immediate priorities plan that you outlined. Could you talk a wee bit about how that is progressing and what we hope to get from it? It would be helpful if you could focus on the employment gap for ethnic minorities and occupational segregation.

Thank you for that very comprehensive answer. You have anticipated many of my supplementary questions. The convener will be glad to know that I do not have many more questions.

I will focus on employment, as that is where we have ended up. As you mentioned, that extends across other portfolios, such as Richard Lochhead’s. However, taking a general overview, do you think that if the plan is successful and does what we hope it will do, it will have a big impact on employment? You know how much of a concern that was to the committee in the previous session—I know that that committee did not have exactly the same remit as this committee. There was a review of that area and, as you know, it is an issue that comes up often.

On the back of Collette Stevenson’s line of questioning, I want to ask about the dates that are proposed in the bill. We have raised some concerns about this issue in previous evidence sessions, and I have asked other witnesses about it. I have to say that those to whom we have spoken have generally been in favour of the proposals, which has reassured me as a committee member. I am guessing, though, that you might have a different view, and, if so, I want to give you the opportunity to explain it.

One of our concerns with the Government—or, ultimately, the Parliament—setting dates is that other dates that might be important to people will have to be ruled out. Do you envisage difficulties with the bill setting out certain days when fireworks can be used and other days when they cannot, given that some of the days when they cannot be used might be important festivals or milestones for individuals? Indeed, as Pauline McNeill has mentioned a couple of times, people might then choose to use fireworks on days that might not necessarily be festivals for them, if that makes sense. Can I get your views on that?

Thank you.