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Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 20 December 2024
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Displaying 816 contributions

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Criminal Justice Committee

Pre-Budget Scrutiny 2025-26

Meeting date: 9 October 2024

Rona Mackay

I agree 100 per cent with what you have said. You will also be aware of the restrictions on the Government because we do not know what our budget will be. I am not using that as an excuse—it is just a fact.

That was a really useful contribution. Does anybody else want to comment, or has Karyn McCluskey said it all?

Criminal Justice Committee

Pre-Budget Scrutiny 2025-26

Meeting date: 9 October 2024

Rona Mackay

Sure.

Karyn McCluskey, do you want to comment?

Criminal Justice Committee [Draft]

Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

Meeting date: 2 October 2024

Rona Mackay

It is clear that vetting procedures need to be strengthened, and that is what the amendments are trying to do.

Going back to Russell Findlay’s comments, I am a bit confused about the Scottish Police Federation’s concerns; I did not take that part of it in. Why is the federation so against the amendments? A few times, you used the words “could” and “would”, but we cannot address hypothetical situations.

Criminal Justice Committee [Draft]

Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

Meeting date: 2 October 2024

Rona Mackay

I am a bit concerned about amendment 52, which is linked to amendments 13 and 55. It appears to me that amendment 52 would provide an open-ended time period for misconduct proceedings. The time that is taken in misconduct proceedings is one of the major factors that we are trying to address in the bill. Would your proposal represent a risk in relation to the European convention on human rights? Would it have a disproportionate impact on more minor cases, such as those involving driving offences? Fulton MacGregor mentioned the possible consequences for criminal cases. Have you thought about the fact that what you propose might hold everything up?

Criminal Justice Committee [Draft]

Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

Meeting date: 2 October 2024

Rona Mackay

I know exactly what Russell Findlay is trying to do and the reasons behind it, and I am sympathetic to that, but I am a bit concerned. What if that officer turns out to be innocent? Would they have a right of appeal?

10:30  

Criminal Justice Committee [Draft]

Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

Meeting date: 2 October 2024

Rona Mackay

I agree with Russell Findlay that body-worn cameras will transform the police, and I fully support them. However, I do not think that this is the right bill for the amendment. The amendment would be entirely out of place in the bill, so I cannot support it. As I said, it is not that I do not support the use of such cameras, but the amendment has come completely out of the blue, and it should not be in this bill.

Criminal Justice Committee [Draft]

Food Standards Scotland (Tackling Food Crime)

Meeting date: 25 September 2024

Rona Mackay

Is there an overlap between your work and that of trading standards? Do you work together or are you entirely separate?

10:30  

Criminal Justice Committee [Draft]

Food Standards Scotland (Tackling Food Crime)

Meeting date: 25 September 2024

Rona Mackay

That is interesting.

I am interested in the issue of online food and medicine purchases. You mentioned weight loss pills, which is a lucrative market. How do you police that? How do you get to know about—I will just use this term—dodgy products that are being sold to people online? Who alerts you to that?

Criminal Justice Committee [Draft]

Food Standards Scotland (Tackling Food Crime)

Meeting date: 25 September 2024

Rona Mackay

Has the online food market made your workload a lot heavier? How big a problem is it? Even cookery shows will tell you that, if you cannot get a product in a supermarket, you will be able to get it online. I would not know what was genuine and what was not if it was an unusual product. How much of your work is taken up with that aspect?

Criminal Justice Committee [Draft]

Food Standards Scotland (Tackling Food Crime)

Meeting date: 25 September 2024

Rona Mackay

Obviously, you will not go into details of the weight loss pills case, but would you have known about that from an individual saying that they have become ill by taking the pills or that they had experienced adverse effects?